Behind a unmarked maroon entrance in central London is one of London’s most exclusive, influential private clubs. Members include politicians and celebrities as well as royals.
5 Hertford Street, located on the corner of Shepherd Market in Mayfair, is owned by millionaire aristocrat and Tory donor Robin Birley and often considered one of the most secretive in London.
The club hit headlines after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss requested departmental funds to host a £3,000 lunch while wining and dining Jo Biden’s trade representative at the club.
The venue suffered six-figure losses and was also the first meeting place for Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Membership is utterly exclusive, with two recommendations from existing members necessary for approval, and while the club have not publicly revealed their annual fees, it costs £1,800 annually.
Guests can descend down a steep flight of stairs into the opulent basement club Loulou’s – featuring the venue’s beloved giraffe’s head mascot – loved by A-listers and royals alike.
Jewellery designer Alicia Jane is pictured posing outside the famous unmarked maroon door of central London’s exclusive 5 Hertford Street
Made in Chelsea’s Mark-Francis Vandelli is pictured frequenting the club with socialite and reality star Victoria Baker-Harber
Influencer Vanessa Monaco is pictured lounging in the Mayfair club which is owned by Tory donor Robin Birley and often considered one of the most secretive in London
The club opened in June 2012, with Loulou’s named after Birley’s late cousin, Loulou de la Falaise – an English fashion designer with close links to Yves Saint Laurent.
Official launch party of the club – Lady Annabel’s birthday celebration – was attended to by A-listers Mick Jagger and Kate Moss.
A Vanity Fair journalist who was present at the launch party said online that it was a long, gossipy table with Goldsmiths Rothschilds. He also enjoyed a few Guinnesses. It fills up with carefully selected founder members.
The club quickly became a staple of London’s social scene, with members rumoured to include Harry Styles, Margot Robbie, George and Amal Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio.
It is also popular for younger Royal Family members. The club was said to be frequented in the past by Prince William, Princess Eugenie of York and other royals.
An influencer is pictured posing in the mirror of the shell bathroom mirror designed by fashion designer Rifat Ozbek
The Parisian-style interiors were created by fashion designer Rifat Ozbek, known for his love of working with colour, textile and pattern – with the club’s trademark look featuring clashing patterns and prints
The location is also popular with younger members of the Royal Family, with the club said to have been frequented by Prince William and Princess Eugenie of York in the past.
The Parisian-style interiors were created by fashion designer Rifat Ozbek, known for his love of working with colour, textile and pattern, who created the club’s trademark look of clashing patterns and prints.
Described by Vanity Fair as ‘like sitting in a fairy story or being swallowed by a dragon’, the club includes a warm, dimly-lit restaurant area with tones of crimsons and maroon.
The bar – which serves up the highly recommended Gin Fizz – is made of shells and features an illuminated peacock and flamboyant wallpaper.
Exclusive London club 5 Hertford Street (above) is where Cabinet Ministers and young royals rub shoulders with plutocrats and Hollywood actors – and it is also now Ground Zero for plotters against Boris Johnson
The private club has restaurants that feature bright and clashing colours, marble décor and a large selection of floral arrangements.
Club members have access to cosy areas with marble fireplaces and stunning artworks.
The guests can descend a flight of steps to the basement club Loulou’s, which features a Parisian floral floor and dim lighting that is loved by royals and A-listers alike.
You will find bars and restaurants in the club. The club serves both breakfast and lunch, as well as dinner, supper and tea.
You can sit or dance in the various rooms. You can find corners to sit, snooze or think.
The venue also has its own cigar shop and restaurant – serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper and tea – where you can bring your dog along for lunch.
The dress code is strict and men are prohibited from wearing shorts, collarless tops, sportswear, or shoes that have been damaged or worn in the past, sandals, flip-flops, or sandals.
Women are prohibited from wearing any type of ripped jeans or dirty shoes, as well as trainers that have holes and other sportswear.
Vanity Fair described the Club as ‘like being sucked by a Dragon or sitting in a fairytale’. It also features a warm and dimly lit area that serves food with maroon tones.
Club bar offers a range of lavish and extravagant cocktails. The most popular is the Gin Fizz.
A central London maroon door hides one the city’s most exclusive and influential private member clubs.
Members only have access to the club’s calendar of events, as well as reservation details. Most of the website content can be accessed by members who are also members.
Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, Conservative MPs have frequented the Gentleman’s Club. Truss reportedly used it to meet potential financial backers in order to support a leadership campaign.
Birley is the son of Lady Annabel Goldsmith and Mark Birley – who owns private members clubs Annabels; Harry’s Bar; George; Mark’s Club and Bath & Racquets – all of which have a strict vetting process and require members to be recommended.
‘King of clubs’ Robin Birley (pictured) took the extraordinary step of spending millions of his own money to lure members back to his fashionable Mayfair nightspots last year
He is the half brother of Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park and donated £20,000 towards Boris Johnson’s leadership bid.
Last year, Robin Birley took taken the extraordinary step of spending millions of his own money to lure members back to his fashionable Mayfair nightspots.
He gave every member of 5 Hertford Street and Oswald’s a free meal up to the value of £500 — that’s more than the net weekly salary of the average Briton.
At the time, a friend told Richard Eden: ‘Robin thinks the members have been so wonderfully loyal to the club over the past few months that he wants to show just how much he values their support,.’
There are understood to be at least 3,000 members of the two clubs so it could set Birley back more than £1.5 million.
Whitehall mandarins tried to stop Liz Truss wining and dining US diplomat and eight others at Tory donor’s Mayfair club to save just £400 on bill
Whitehall mandarins tried to stop Liz Truss wining and dining a US diplomat and eight others at a Tory donor’s Mayfair club to save just £400 on a lunch bill.
The Foreign Secretary ‘overruled officials’ and ‘explicitly asked’ to use 5 Hertford Street in central London, owned by millionaire aristocrat Robin Birley, before spending hundreds of pounds on gin and wine alone.
In June, Ms Truss requested departmental funds to host a £3,000 lunch at the venue with Katherine Tai, Jo Biden’s trade representative, while International Trade Secretary.
Reports The Sunday Times that Ms Truss reportedly “refused” to consider other options for lunch.
The bill’s savings are being made just months after the Foreign Office was accused of attempting to reduce costs by allowing civil servants at other departments to be blamed for failing to grasp the gravity of August’s Afghanistan evacuation crisis.
A whistleblower cited an eight-hour shift culture and the refusal to work weekends as reasons for failures that led to Afghan civilians being ‘left behind and murdered by the Taliban’.
Sarah Healey, a top civil servant and permanent secretary to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, is also being accused of undermining attempts by ministers to bring back officials last year. She had praised the advantages of working remotely because she could ride her Peloton bicycle.
However, the rules regarding lunch were followed by civil servants from the Department for International Trade. They said that they were so worried about the cost of the event and its links to Tory parties, they suggested Ms Truss to the permanent secretary, the highest ranking official in the department.
Its owner, Mr Birley, is the half brother of Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park and donated £20,000 towards Boris Johnson’s leadership bid.
It has been used also by Foreign Secretary 46 to host meetings called ‘Fizz With Liz’ to mingle with Tory MPs as well as ‘Biz for Liz’ events to meet potential financial backers for his leadership bid.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss ‘explicitly asked’ to use 5 Hertford Street in Mayfair, owned by millionaire aristocrat Robin Birley