Hester's Hideout

A subterranean and sexy retreat below the notorious Exmouth Market, Hester’s Hideout is a decadent den that's more than rich in history, where those in the know sip cocktails, while burlesque dancers, musicians and performaners entertain until the early hours of the morning.

If walls could talk, they’d surely whisper tales from the early 1900s, when the guv’nor of the previousl-named Clerkenwell Tavern let his basement become the spot for market traders to store their wares. Shortly after, it became a hangout for market workers who liked a wager or shady deal, concealing their trades from the prying eyes of drinkers upstairs or bobbies on the beat.

With the market traders having moved on, the basement space has been given a new lease of life, now hailed as an immersive cabaret and cocktail destination where mixologists prepare the best of drinks using vintage recipes left by the traders, alongside modern, molecular tipples that arrive smoking and bubbling to the table.