After being told by a friend that I “just had to go”, I found myself sauntering down to Queen of Hoxton, a stone’s throw from Liverpool Street on Curtain Road– for a Friday night of enjoying the views over East London.
The Venue
As we stepped inside, we were greeted by a dimly lit open-plan space, with a smattering of tables and a long bar running down one side. This was the ground floor, one of three at Queen of Hoxton. Downstairs they have a cosy basement club space which houses live music during the week and DJs at the weekends. We then proceeded up a few flights of stairs to the rooftop; spacious, and with its own bar area and BBQ, this really is the crowning glory of the venue.
The eye-catching ground floor bar at Queen of Hoxton is just the starting point for your evening.
The Atmosphere and Clientele
Arriving at 7:30pm, the vibe was very chilled with a real mix of after work drinkers sipping beers and kicking back. But as the night progressed, the trendy nature of this venue came to light. Shoreditch’s night owls came out to play and what was a chilled affair quickly turned into a pretty raucous party. By 10pm the ground floor was a sea of bodies and navigation was almost impossible – but despite all that, it really was a great place to spend a Friday night. Way more than your average DJ bar, Queen of Hoxton is easily one of the premier party bars in Shoreditch.
By 10pm the basement club is full of Shoreditch's trendy elite pulling shapes.
The Drinks
We started on the rooftop with a few bottles of beer, admiring the view as well all the goodies cooking away on the BBQ. After doing a full tour, I didn’t see many people drinking cocktails – god knows why because they are great. We tried the ‘Lovely Pair Of Monkeys’ (Monkey Shoulder whisky, pear, lemon and bitters) and the ‘Don’t Go To Dalston’ (Absolute Elyx vodka, raspberry, lemon, topped with Prosecco); both were unexpectedly good and really hit the spot, showing that this bar isn’t all beer in bottles and basement clubbing.
Queen of Hoxton's rooftop is a cool hangout with steallr views across London.
Summary
Queen of Hoxton is a cracking night out that's for sure. I was concerned the charm would start and end at the rooftop, but that’s definitely not the case. This venue is a slow burner, gathering pace as the night goes on; by the end I guarantee you’ll either be drunk on great cocktails on the roof, or dancing away in the basement.
