The acclaimed and multi-award-winning Mr Lyan has announced the opening of a new cocktail bar, Seed Library, located at East London’s newest hotel.
Opening at the beginning of March, it marks a return for Mr Lyan and his team to East London, an area with which Mr Lyan has had a special relationship since the opening of his first bar, White Lyan, in 2013. Located in the basement of One Hundred Shoreditch, the bar will have a lo-fi, analogue approach to bartending. Seed Library will be overseen by Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan, along with the group’s global brand director Alex Lawrence, whilst day-to-day operations will be run by general manager Stevie Kane and head bartender Dan Garnell. Both Stevie and Dan have worked in Lyan venues previously, including Cub and Lyaness respectively, alongside other acclaimed cocktail bars in London and across Europe. Together they will bring the irreverent and welcoming brand of Lyan hospitality to Seed Library for which Ryan’s bars are well known.
In contrast to the progressive and philosophy-led ethos of the group’s award-winning bar Lyaness, the venue’s drinks programme will focus on a more lo-fi, analogue approach to cocktail making. Alongside a short, frequently changing list featuring new takes on classic mixed drinks, such as the Sancho Leaf Martini and the Perilla Gin & Tonic the bar will also feature a curated list of low-intervention wines alongside a diverse range of beers from craft brewers. The food menu will offer sharing snacks and seasonal picks, including guest dishes from a rotating collection of friends from both East London and further afield.
The bar will have a relaxed, neighbourhood feel, with walk-ins encouraged. Designed by Lore Group Creative Director Jacu Strauss, the interiors feature panelled wood and bespoke furniture upholstered in orange and red tones with a warm eclectic soundtrack to provide a sanctuary from the bustle of Shoreditch High Street above.
Ryan comments, “Seed Library marks our return to East London – which has been home to the Lyan team since the brand’s inception a decade ago. The project is really exciting for us too as it provides the opportunity to explore a totally different facet of our philosophy – giving a creative route for the team and I to really challenge ourselves and the Western approach to bartending, and to create a bar that is very much reflective of the spaces where we’d want to hang out!”