Complete bar
Mobile bar with staff
We supply an appropriate bar from our existing range, build it in the agreed position and provide the team for the planned service.
See the Ballroom mirror-bar case studyLuxury events | London
Cocktail bars and event bartenders for Claridge's Ballroom
For couples, planners, caterers and production teams who have already secured the Ballroom and need the drinks service to feel every bit as considered as the room itself.
At this stage, the question is rarely whether a bar can be put in the room. It is whether the frontage will sit properly within the setting, whether the working area behind it is genuinely usable, and whether the team can serve the planned number of guests without becoming a distraction from the wider event.
Cocktailhire has completed independently commissioned events here, supplying substantial mobile bars, experienced cocktail makers and an organised guest-facing service. We can be appointed for the complete bar and staffing element, or for the bartending team alone where the planner, caterer or production company already controls the drinks infrastructure.
About the work shown
The events documented here were commissioned through independent event organisers, caterers or suppliers. Claridge's was not Cocktailhire's client or contracting party; no endorsement, affiliation or approved-supplier status is claimed.
Real work, photographed in the room
The bar you see here is ours
These photographs document Cocktailhire's mirror-brick bar installed and operating inside the Ballroom. They show the real finish, scale and working footprint rather than a generic hotel image or a product photographed somewhere else.
The wider photograph shows how the bar sat among the tables, florals, lighting and service activity. The closer views show the actual mirror-brick frontage and the depth of the working position. That distinction matters when a planner or couple is deciding whether a mobile bar will feel like hired equipment or a deliberate part of the room.
Photographs are useful proof, but the practical detail behind them is just as important. The finished frontage concealed the sinks, tools, working surfaces, stock and preparation area needed by the bartenders. Guests saw a clean bar face; the team had a proper place to work.
Choose your service
Bring us in for the part of the bar operation you need handled
People
Event bartenders
For events where the bar position and wider drinks plan are already controlled by the organiser, caterer or production team.
View the bartender serviceWedding service
For couples and planners
A clear bar and staffing scope that can be coordinated directly with you or through the professional team delivering the wedding.
Explore wedding bar hireWhere Cocktailhire fits
One clearly defined part of a much larger event
Working with a planner or production team
For a professionally managed event, we do not need to take over the whole drinks plan. We need a clear scope. That might mean supplying the mobile bar, its working equipment and the bartenders who operate it. It might mean supplying experienced people to a bar position created by the caterer or production company.
The important point is that stock responsibility, ice, glassware, water, waste, access, service hours and the event contact are agreed before arrival. This gives the wider team one dependable drinks-side supplier rather than another loose set of decisions to resolve on the day.
Working directly with a couple
If you are planning the bar directly, we will translate the event into practical requirements. Guest numbers and service hours matter, but so do the running order, the moment the bar opens, the likely first wave, the position in the room and whether another supplier controls wine, Champagne or table service.
You do not need to arrive with a technical bar plan. Send what has already been decided and identify the professional contact handling venue or production details. We can then explain which part Cocktailhire can carry and what still needs to remain with the wider event team.
Planning the service
The questions that shape a Ballroom bar
When will guests reach the bar?
A room arriving at once creates a different service requirement from guests moving gradually from a reception. The opening wave influences team size, preparation and how the first drinks are made available.
What is already being served?
The bar brief should sit alongside Champagne, wine, dinner service and any drinks handled by the caterer. Clear boundaries prevent duplicated stock, gaps in service and confused responsibility.
What does the running order require?
Speeches, dinner, room turns, music and guest movement all affect when the bar should be active. We work to the agreed event plan rather than treating the bar as a separate attraction.
Where will the bar sit?
The position affects frontage length, guest approach, bartender access, working depth and the route used to bring modular sections into the room. It must work visually and operationally.
Who is the decision-maker on site?
A named planner, producer, caterer or event contact keeps access, build and service decisions clear. Our lead bartender then knows exactly who owns the running order.
What happens after service?
Stock removal, glass collection, waste, de-rig and the collection route should be understood in advance. The close of the bar is part of the event operation, not an afterthought.
Choosing the mobile bar
Start with the room and the working requirement
A mobile bar has two jobs. It has to look resolved from the guest side, and it has to give the bartenders enough usable structure behind it. Selecting only from a front-on product photograph can miss the part that determines whether service runs comfortably.
We work from Cocktailhire's existing range of mobile bars. The right choice depends on available footprint, intended frontage, guest numbers, service format and the visual direction already established by the planner or couple. We do not create a new bar design for each booking; we identify the most suitable established option and confirm whether its modular build can be accommodated.
For the completed wedding shown here, the mirror-brick bar made sense because its reflective frontage settled into the formal room while concealing a substantial working position. Another event may need a different finish or scale. The useful brief is therefore not simply “we need a bar”, but where it must sit, how many guests it must support, how long it will operate and which drinks responsibilities sit behind it.
Completed wedding example
A 4.5-metre mirror bar for 180 guests
The modular bar was carried through the building in sections, assembled inside the Ballroom and staffed by two cocktail makers for the agreed service from 5pm until 11pm.
The team arrived before 11am, allowing the structure and working position to be dealt with well before guests needed the bar. The completed frontage was assembled inside the room in around twenty minutes once the sections had reached the setup position.
This is a record of one completed event, not a universal staffing formula. A future brief must be assessed against its own guest number, drinks list, service window, first wave and the responsibilities held by the other appointed suppliers.
180guests
4.5mmirror bar
2cocktail makers
A clear division of responsibility
What should be settled before the event
The Cocktailhire scope
Our written scope should identify whether we are providing the mobile bar, the bartending team, agreed working equipment and the defined period of service. It should also confirm the selected bar from our existing range and the information supplied to us about access and setup.
Our team prepares its own working position, operates the agreed bar service and follows the running order through the appointed event contact. Where the brief is bartenders only, the supplied infrastructure must be ready and suitable for the agreed service.
The wider event scope
The planner, caterer, producer or couple should make clear who controls venue permissions, stock purchasing, glassware, ice, water, waste, power where relevant, service access and any drinks taking place outside our bar. Those responsibilities can vary from one event to another.
Clarity here protects the guest experience. It prevents a bartender arriving to a beautiful but incomplete position, or two suppliers assuming the other has arranged a practical essential. We will ask direct questions because the cleanest events are the ones where each team knows its lane.
Selected venues, brands and events
Experience built across demanding rooms and briefs
The marks below represent a mixture of venues where our teams have worked, organisations that have hired us, and events we have supplied, either directly or through an independent event contractor. Display does not by itself imply endorsement or a direct client relationship.
Useful answers
Before you brief the bar team
Have you worked in the Ballroom?
Yes. The photographs here document our completed, independently commissioned work inside the room. They include the real mirror bar, the surrounding event setup and the bar during service.
Can you supply both bar and staff?
Yes. We can supply an appropriate mobile bar from our existing range with the team to operate it, or quote for bartenders only where the wider bar setup is already in place.
Can you work through our planner?
Yes. This is often the cleanest route for a complex event. We can coordinate our defined bar and staffing scope with the planner, caterer or production team already controlling the wider schedule.
How early does the bar team arrive?
Arrival is planned around the agreed build, preparation and access window rather than the first guest drink. A substantial mobile bar needs to be in position and the working area ready before service begins.
How many bartenders will we need?
There is no sensible answer from guest numbers alone. The drinks list, first wave, bar length, service hours, glassware plan and other drinks activity all affect the team required.
Can you create the event drinks list?
Clients choose from Cocktailhire's existing menu where our drinks service is included. The event selection is then built from those chosen drinks and agreed alongside the wider stock and service responsibilities.
Can you provide only the cocktail makers?
Yes, where another appointed supplier has created a suitable working bar and controls the remaining drinks infrastructure. The handover between suppliers must be made clear before the event.
Who coordinates access and setup?
The appointed organiser gives us the correct event contact and working schedule. We then coordinate the practical information for our bar and staffing scope through that route.
What should we send first?
Send the date, guest number, event type, planned service window, selected room, preferred bar style, current drinks plan and the contact coordinating venue, catering or production details.
Start with the practical details
Send the date, guest number and service window
You do not need to finish the entire drinks plan before making contact. Tell us what has already been decided, which suppliers are appointed and whether you need bartenders only or want us to assess a mobile bar with staff.
We will identify the useful next questions, explain where Cocktailhire fits and set out the information needed before a firm scope can be prepared.