Private Barman Hire

Yes! That is what we specialise in. All our barmen are available to hire on an hourly basis.

Please call us on 0203 441 4656 and we will send you a copy of our latest cocktail menu, as well as any season menus we are currently using.

You can choose as many as you would like, however, we recommend you choose a maximum of six or seven cocktails. This way you do not have to buy a hugely extensive list of ingredients and things are more manageable for the barman on the night of the event.

Not at all. We do not have a minimum party size (or a maximum!)

Of course! We have a team of barmen who will serve beers, wines, spirit mixers, soft drinks etc. As well as waiters and waitresses. Prices for these staff members start from £25 p/h.

Yes! This is our The Works service – where we take care of absolutely everything for you. All you need to do is tell us what drinks you would like us to serve!

If you would like the barman to stay for extra time, just agree with them on the night. We will invoice you for this time in the days after the event. The hourly rate will be the same as the other hours that you have paid for.

We will travel up to around 90 minutes outside the M25. Because our barmen are based all over London and many have a car, we can normally get someone to your event. If you are not sure, please give us a call on 0203 441 4656 and we can let you know!

Flair is the practice of barmen entertaining and impressing by the ‘juggling’ of bar tools and bottles in tricky, dazzling ways whilst making cocktails, enhancing the guest experience and incredible to watch. Hire The Barman has a team of experienced, world-class flair barmen available to hire who will bring their tricks and skills to your event. We can also deliver a ‘flair show’ as a showpiece at your event if needed.

You can find out more about flair here.

Flair barmen need as much space as possible. Ideally a space at least 2m x 2m is best – ceiling height is crucial too (this needs to be ideally at least 2m). The flooring is also something to consider – the softer the better! although our barmen don’t intend to drop anything, they are only human! For hard floor surfaces, we can provide rubber floor mats so the flair barman can still show off his skills!

Something we get asked all the time! There is no definite answer to this question, however, we suggest that a figure of around £1.50 per cocktail (inclusive of the ingredients and ice) is a fairly accurate benchmark.

The cost of the cocktails can be affected by lots of things including what cocktails you choose (eg champagne will make it more expensive), where you shop, what brands you buy, any special deals the retailer is offering, what ingredients you already have, etc.

Don’t forget that you will also have to factor in the cost of the glassware you need. as a rule the fewer cocktails you choose, the less the cost per cocktail will be. Cocktail ingredients include alcohol, juices and mixers, fruit, purées and sundry items.

The glasses you need will depend on what cocktails you choose. We will send you a glassware guide outlining what glasses you will require, what ideal size they should be and how many we recommend you get.

Hire the barman does not have any glassware available to rent. Once booked with us, we will send you a glassware guide outlining what glassware we recommend that you need based on the cocktails you have chosen. We will provide you with a number of options for sourcing it including free glass rental companies, catering hire companies we trust as well as where you can get plastic glasses.

No, our barmen will bring all of this with them. this is free of charge – each barman will bring with them the equipment they need as part of the service. They will also supply something to store ice and fruit in while serving.

Our drinks menus contain non-alcoholic cocktails for you to choose from for those not drinking. our barmen will also be happy to serve other soft drinks alongside making cocktails. We also have a cocktail menu designed for non-drinkers and children. Please get in touch and we can send you a copy of our cocktail menu.

We will advise you on how much ice you will need once we know the specific details of your event. Lots of people are surprised by how much we require – cocktails need lots of ice! It is crucial to cater for ice to chill glasses, put in shakers, add to drinks as well as taking into account the ice that melts!! We suggest buying your ice from the supermarket or ordering it to be delivered by a specialist ice company.

All our barmen are insured. Hire The Barman has full employers and public liability insurance.

Our team is made up of around 100 bartenders. The majority are professional full-time event bartenders, some have other commitments in bars and restaurants and a few are ex-bartenders that now have office jobs but still love to come and make cocktails in their spare time! Because we have so many staff and the team is always evolving, we cannot let you choose your barman although we will listen to specific requests and make sure we find the most suitable barman for your event! Headshots and videos are available for corporate clients.

This is entirely up to you! most clients do give the staff something at the end of the event…

Yes, we are VAT registered and as such we have to charge it to all our customers. For our corporate customers, this is a benefit as you can claim the VAT back. For our private clients, although maybe a little more expensive than some of our non-registered competitors, you can be safe in the knowledge that we are amongst the biggest and best and never let our clients down.

To hold the booking we will require a 50% deposit – we cannot guarantee your order until we have received this payment. The full balance is due seven days before the event.

Yes! we accept payment by all major debit and credit cards. Please call us on 0203 441 4656 to make a payment. Please note we cannot accept American Express and payment by credit card will be subject to a 3% commission on the total invoice value.