I am always setting myself mini cigar challenges… this is another, I am trying to visit as many cigar bars, terraces, smoking lounges in and around London. As I do, I am hoping to review each one, to work out which is my favourite. You can see some of the places I’ve visited and reviews so far on the Cigar bars terraces smoking lounges page.

I came across The Wellesley Cigar Lounge & Terrace through my social media, and was keen to secure myself a reservation at this venue straight after the UK’s nationwide lockdown started to ease, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It wasn’t clear how to make a reservation on the hotel’s website, so I dropped them an email to ask about making a booking. Unfortunately they got back to me with the following…

“As per our Hotel policy, I am afraid to inform you that we do not take reservations for our Cigar Terrace, however, you are more than welcome to visit us and we will do our best to accommodate you on our Cigar Terrace.”

This was a real shame, as I didn’t want to venture all the way into London to find that there was no room at the inn.

Fortunately, I also didn’t realise how close this venue was to The Garden Rooms at The Lanesbourgh Hotel (literally next door) that I visited and I blogged about recently. So after a visit to The Garden Rooms and with a little encouragement from some online cigar friends, I decided to do a bit of a ‘cigar crawl’ (not sure if that’s even a thing!) and popped inside The Wellesley to see if there was any space to smoke my ‘second’ cigar of the day. Good news… there were plenty of spare spaces!

The staff greeted me upon arrival and informed me about a minimum spend of £25, I said that’s absolutely fine – I know the cost of cigars 😁 – then escorted me to my seat.

The heated terrace is small and cosy with the most inviting blue leather seats. Immediately I was struck by the very cool bespoke commissioned artwork.

At that point I was told to scan a QR code, which has become common practice amongst most cigar venues and restaurants post COVID-19…

… this would grant me access to the cigar menu, which you can view here.

I was keen to view the hotels collection of cigars first hand, upon requesting access, I was escorted over to the walk in humidor.

The Wellesley’s Humidor showcases over £1.5 million pounds worth of the world’s finest cigars, and is the biggest collection of cigars sold on a stick by stick basis in Europe. The Humidor was commissioned by Italian humidor experts DeArt, in conjunction with Fox Linton and features a laser cut marble inlaid map of Cuba on the floor.

The staff were very knowledgeable about cigars and it was fascinating being shown everything inside the humidor. I also jumped at the chance of having a photo with some of the great artwork on show – like a typical London tourist 🤦‍♂️ – with the Churchill cigar painting.

In terms of cigars… I had decided to opt for a Trinidad Topes which cost an almighty £50.00, but as mentioned in previous posts, these venues do tend to charge a lot more for cigars compared to your normal cigar stores – so this was expected.

I must say I enjoyed the Trinidad Topes more than the Cohiba Maduro, that I smoked earlier in the day. What a marvellous cigar, right up there as possibly one of my favourite smokes. I’m not sure whether the atmosphere enhanced the experience here or not. Hence I’m keen to purchase another couple of Topes’ – to try at home.

I felt totally relaxed and really enjoyed my time at The Wellesley cigar lounge and terrace. I think out of all the places I’ve reviewed so far, this cosy venue could be my favourite so far!

The venue also includes a food menu, but due to the amount I was spending at the Lanesborough and the Wellesley – I opted to eat somewhere else after to save on money.

My rating: 9 out of 10 – a great place to visit as a solo smoker, and with friends – a lovely cosy and warm heated venue to relax and enjoy your cigar.

If you would like to visit the Cigar Lounge and Terrace at The Wellesley, you can find it at 11 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7LY.