London Cocktail Club conveniently lies at the top of Shaftesbury Avenue – the life and soul of the West End – where "show-time" is a constant and crowds of people flow steadily towards the trendy districts of Soho and Covent Garden.
The Venue
Walking down the stairs of the London Cocktail Club I find myself carried away with ideas to transform my garage into a trendy underground hangout – if only I had a garage! The 'cool kid' bar has a distinctly industrial design, with dark tones, a mix of vintage and modern furniture and an edgy tattoo parlour charm. The mix of modern punk and vintage blends together seamlessy, creating a quirky basement hangout decorated with graffiti art and a fabulously retro black and white tiled bar.
Unashamedly cool and quirky, LCC is a basement cocktail cavern to be reckoned with.
The Atmosphere and Clientele
If you asked me what the main thing I rated bars on was, I would always say service, and by jiminy are they on to a winner here. Around every corner was Kat; the most energetic, happy and genuinely friendly waitress I have ever had the pleasure of coming across in London! Then there were the bartenders and chefs popping by every now and again; just to check in and have the odd cheeky tequila shot with the gang. The atmosphere was rife with excitement and Friday night revelry, and with the staff joining in it felt like one big end of the week blowout. The dark lighting, open layout and classic party mash-up tunes makes this a perfect place to kick start the weekend.
Friendly bartenders use all sorts of outrageous techniques in the creation of their luscious drinks.
The Drinks
With a name like the London Cocktail Club, these guys certainly put themselves under a bit of pressure to deliver top-dollar mixed drinks. Testing this theory, I decided to trial out the cocktail of the moment – the Porn Star Martini – giving it a solid 9/10, swiftly followed by the Heisenberg Blue Meth; which provides a playful Breaking Bad twist on the Margarita. Vibrantly coloured and topped with a bag of 'blue meth', this one delivered a perfect 10/10, and is a must for all Bryan Cranston fans. My third drink was the Bacon & Egg cocktail; experiment with those taste buds and give it a go, you won't regret it! As if this wasn't enough, the sharing cocktails are show stealers in their own right, coming to the table with flaming wooden casks and 'black pearl' pirate ships full with a sharing size liquid treasure.
Breaking Bad cocktails sit alongside Egg & Bacon laced mixes to create a unique menu.
Summary
London Cocktail Club offers a creative, contemporary alternative to the 1920’s speakeasy. With a strong sense of fun, innovation and high quality running throughout the venue, the service and the marvellous array of cocktails offer a spectacular all round experience. Fancy something different? Head down to this Central venue for a cocktail (or six) and be prepared to stumble out the door in style.
