Eurostar reopens its cocktail bars – and Rhys names a drink!

Eurostar reopened the cocktail bars in its London and Paris lounges this week, as well as bringing back its lounge canape collection. Both bars had been closed since the pandemic broke out although the lounges themselves have been open for some time.

The bars will be open for longer. From 6am to noon, Monday to Friday, they will operate as smoothie bars. From 3pm, the cocktail service begins which runs until the last train departs.

Rhys and I went down to the St Pancras lounge on Tuesday night to celebrate, and Rhys won an unusual competition – he got to name a cocktail!

A new drink, blending vodka with orgeat, amaretto, absinthe, egg white and fresh lemon, has been added to the cocktail menu but was in need of a name. The assembled guests were asked for suggestions and Rhys won, with ‘Snow Bird’.

The name was used in the official press release for the reopening which was sent out yesterday, so they were serious about using it.

Rhys will be celebrating his win by drinking his prize of Toujours 21, Eurostar’s very own gin. (He is also trying to get a Eurostar ticket thrown in, as he has never actually been on it!) This comprises ‘a delightful fusion of French botanicals and honey from the Kent countryside.

You can see Rhys with his prize in the first picture above, and immediately above is Raymond Blanc modelling the gin – which he used to design his own signature Eurostar cocktails – with our very own Anika back in 2017.

In terms of service levels, it was great to hear that Eurostar will be back to 15 daily services to Paris from mid-May (it is already back to 13). This is a step change from when I last travelled in November. There will also be seven daily services to Brussels and three daily services to Amsterdam. A fourth daily Amsterdam service is being pencilled in for the Autumn.

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How to get Club Eurostar points and lounge access from UK credit cards (April 2024)

Club Eurostar does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Club Eurostar points by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards. 

Cards earning Membership Rewards points include:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 1,333 Club Eurostar points. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 2,666 Club Eurostar points. Card benefits include Eurostar lounge access.

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 666 Club Eurostar points. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 15:1 into Club Eurostar points.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, so you will get the equivalent of 1 Club Eurostar point for every £15 you spend.

American Express Platinum comes with a great Eurostar benefit – Eurostar lounge access!  

You can enter any Eurostar lounge, irrespective of your ticket type, simply by showing The Platinum Card at the desk.  No guests are allowed but you can get entry for your partner by issuing them with a free supplementary Amex Platinum card on your account.