In Mayfair on a Thursday evening, the clang of central London subsides into a hum. Guests arriving from taxis are received by a black-clad doorman outside The Connaught. Within, the hotel’s fabled bar is filled to capacity. Bartenders move unobtrusively behind the bar, shaking martinis from the trolley which has become part of London cocktail heritage. The amber-lit room is hushed. No one rushes.

Mayfair has changed in the past decade, but not as you might suppose. The big developers have moved in, high-end brand names have made their presence felt, but the charm of the place still depends on restraint. The glamour here is less raucous than it once was. It survives through service, polish and tone. For visitors who long for the days when London nights were refined rather than frenzied, Mayfair still has a great deal to offer.

The Return of Old Ways

The new vitality of the district is in part the result of investment following the pandemic. Mount Street, which was once reserved, is now lively once more. Restaurants such as Scott’s, 34 Mayfair and Bacchanalia are seeing full tables mid-week. Their clientele is a combination: city professionals, passing Americans, fashion PRs, and older loyalists who have been dining in the area for decades.

Oysters sit at the bar at Scott’s, where they have for decades. The interior was last renovated a year ago, but the change is barely noticeable. The allure is in continuity. One waiter describes the restaurant as “somewhere you bring people you want to impress quietly.”

Across the road, the Audley Public House shows the modernizing ways of the area. The pub was refurbished by the Artfarm group, who run the Hauser & Wirth galleries. It looks unassuming from the outside but inside contains modern artwork. The clientele shows Mayfair’s new balance: locals and collectors drinking together under genuine Damien Hirsts.

Dining Without Spectacle

For a dinner out in the evening, 34 Mayfair remains a reliable bet, The dining room is warm and bustling, the menu traditional rather than trendy. Steak tartare, roast chicken and truffle fries still dominate the orders. Regulars appreciate that the restaurant avoids gimmicks. A manager summarizes the mood: “People come here to talk. They don’t come to pretend.”

This approach has become Mayfair’s hallmark. In the midst of a city that is replete with new launches and social media hype, the area has mastered resisting the temptation for reinvention. Even when new places crop up, they follow the same recipe: excellent design, top-notch service, and patrons who are more concerned with comfort than novelty.

Late Night London

Even in the evening after dinner, Berkeley Square streets hum along. The exclusive clubs such as 5 Hertford Street and Loulou’s remain the center of life at night. They remain discreet, but membership lists still grow. At The Arts Club in Dover Street, the music is gentle and the clientele mixed. Inside, the atmosphere harks back to an old London — black-tie formal, yet laid-back enough for a second round.

For the more colorfully inclined, Mayfair’s small gaming salons offer a variation on old-fashioned glamour. The tables are surrounded by regulars spinning a round of roulette less for its gambling nature and more out of habit. The mood is low-keyed, the bets steady, the service flawless. The draw is in the ritual: the whir of the wheel, the instant pause prior to resolution, the equanimity that follows either.

What Keeps Mayfair Alive

Outside, it is strangely quiet. Grosvenor Square is virtually domestic again. On a clear night you can still hear people walking and the far-off rumble of a taxi cab going past on Park Lane.

Mayfair’s survival depends on that calm. The area offers what most of London no longer does: continuity. Restaurants open and close, but the rhythm of the area never varies. The service culture is maintained, expectations the same.

Workers here insist the allure is a matter of familiarity. “Everybody likes to have some sense of what kind of night they’re walking into,” says one maître d’ at one of the older establishments. “They don’t want controversy. They want tradition.”

That is why Mayfair remains fashionable. While the rest of London plays fashion-following catch-up, the district holds out against it, still dealing in solidity. The glamour is dulled now, but not erased. It’s there in the manner of service to a drink, the rhythm of a meal, the confidence of a room that knows its worth.

For a town always on the lookout for the next big thing, Mayfair is happy to remain as it is. And that, in London’s recent temperament, may be its most contemporary characteristic of all.