53. 54. 55. 56. 5¦7¦ really? You want us to go in there?
My companions for the evening were les than impressed by the open door and dirty red carpet leading into a block of flats you would not want to pay to live in. Only the buzzer with Trishas, New Evaristo Club and the reassurance of a passing cyclist confirmed that this was the London bar we were looking for. We steeled ourselves and headed downstairs; we had no idea what pleasures awaited us round the corner.
If you are not taking up a stool at the bar, the other option is to share one of the three large-ish tables, all covered with dark green wipe-clean tablecloths, and a range of slightly wobbly old bar stools and chairs. Do not expect menus, it is more of an ask and well do it if we can. We started with beer (in this case Peroni) and G&Ts, which led to a cockney rhyming slang lesson at the bar concerning Vera Lynn and London Philharmonic by a local who could have stepped straight out of 70s police show Life on Mars. At £3.50 for almost any drink, we could have stayed here all night for these prices alone considering we were in the middle of Soho. For the next round I resisted the old university insist of Vodka/Coke when there is no menu and opted for a bourbon and ginger beer. It was a little flat but generous and still £3.50, so whos complaining!
There are various rumours about what the New Evaristo Club aka Trishas (the owner) aka The Hideout used to be. The walls are a combination of dark green paint, national and Italian flags, Al Pacino film posters and panelled with wood think sticky MDF rather than country house study! I did not venture to the toilet, but one companion described an outhouse in the courtyard so close to the smokers she got stage fright.
Finding New Evaristo Club in Soho is a tough job so look out for the door buzzer!
Ten minutes in, toes a-tapping to the beats of Frank (also painted on a wall) and the Rat Pack, and we were delighted to see a gentleman walk in with a saxophone. Whether this was planned or not I really dont care; it was fabulous to add some live sax to the jazz soundtrack and seemed the most natural thing in the world in this funny little time capsule.
The crowd was picking up as we headed out about 10 oclock, and an eclectic crowd they were. There were top-buttons down up under rain macs, 50s style wrap dresses, brogues, jeans, rugby shirts, everything really reflecting the laid-back attitude of this venue. And there were no smug knowing looks that we had found the hidden gem of Soho, just people chatting, drinking and having a good time. The bar seems to have effortlessly cool perfected and it is easy to feel a part of this. It also turns out this is a members club (£5) although what this gets you for your contribution I am not sure we were not only allowed in but got a table no problem and the bouncer (and table clearer and bar stocker¦) even helped us plan our route to the next location on his iPhone, the cherry on the top to the all-round casual yet top-class service.
New Evaristo Club, Soho, also known as Trisha's Bar is a London speakeasy to disccover.
If you are feeling a little adventurous and like a quirky London bar it would be a great place to impress a date, or to impress friends come to that, and in fact I feel like this is one bar you could pitch up to on your own and enjoy a chat with the locals, and the barmaid - who was smiles all night despite her 5 inch heels! Without a doubt Trishas is a new favourite for my list.
