Scandals? This city's seen a few, and they never fail to make a splash. If, like us, you're a sucker for the salacious we've found a few venues around the city with some juicy tales to tell. From the Carnaby cocktail bar that began the Profumo Affair to the celebrity restaurant that was born from one man's desire for revenge, these London haunts have been linked to some very risqué rumours.
Disrepute
A swish spot in Kingly Court, this cocktail bar and private members club was once the most exclusive watering hole in London. Formerly The Pinstripe Club, the walls of this Carnaby Street bolthole have hosted swathes of the rich and the famous, from Oliver Reed to Marilyn Monroe. It was also a favourite of sixties politician John Profumo, and is believed to be one of the spots where he first began his affair with model Christine Keeler, a move that would have disastrous implications for both his career and international security.
This Kingly Court cocktail bar is said to be the site where the Profumo affair first blossomed.
Quaglino's
One of St. James' most famous eateries, Quaglino's was born from rivalry. Working at The Savoy in the 1920s, Giovanni Quaglino joined fellow maître d'hôtel Giovanni Sovrani when the latter opened a restaurant on Jermyn Street. However the relationship turned sour when Sovrani began took too keen an interest in Quaglino's wife. Proving that revenge is a dish best served on fine tableware, Quaglino left Jermyn Street for the St James' Palace Hotel, enlisted his brother Ernesto as head waiter, and turned a central London basement into a glittering dining space favoured by royals, writers and most of Sovrani's customers.
A rivalry was the key to this gorgeous restaurant famously loved by the royals.
Cora Pearl
Covent Garden's Cora Pearl may seem all sweetness and light with its sleek interiors and delicate but decadent plates, but the restaurant's namesake certainly made splash in 19th Century London and Paris. The English courtesan was linked to a string of European noblemen, including heirs to various thrones, and was noted for her creative fashion sense, which often saw her dying her hair vibrant colours to match her carriage interiors. There was even a popular cocktail named after her - Tears of Cora Pearl - that mixed vodka, creme de violette and fresh lemon juice.
The Covent Garden spot takes its name
from one of 19th Century Europe's most notorious ladies.
The Kensington Wine Rooms
This unobtrusive wine bar in Kensington became a site of international intrigue in 2016 thanks to a drunken conversation between an Australian diplomat and one of Donald Trump's chief policy advisors. What started as shop talk over a few glasses from the bar's expertly curated wine list became the spark that ignited an FBI inquiry into Russian hackers, The Clintons and the validity of the 2016 presidential election results.
A
neighbourhood wine bar was one of the places at the heart of the
Trump election inquiry.
The Macbeth
A staple that's stood the test of time, The Macbeth is a pub and live music venue with an illustrious history - having played host to the likes of Peter Doherty and Bombay Bicycle Club. Hoxton has been the site for many scandals and illicit activities too though, including bull and bear baiting and being a hide out for religious sects.
In 1598, playwright Ben Jonson killed actor Gabriel Spenser in a duel fought in the courtyard behind a local inn - but he was spared hanging by reading a passage from the bible. Most notably, though, Hoxton Street (where you'll find The Macbeth) was where the famous Gunpowder Plot was uncovered via shocking letters. The Macbeth itself became famous in the tabloids when Amy Winehouse’s boyfriend nearly killed the previous landlord, and so the legacy of scandal continues.
From eras gone by to just a couple of years ago, this area has been rife with scandal.
Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens
Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens (once known as New Spring Garden) might seem like an unassuming park, but this used to be the home of the most notorious entertainment venue in Georgian London - an area that features in the likes of Netflix period drama, Bridgerton. From Venetian playboy Giacomo Casanova to Charles Dickens and William Thackeray - whose novel Vanity Fair mentions the hangover-inducing 'Vauxhall punch' - many famous figures frequented the venue in the 18th and 19th century.
Everything shocking, stimulating and splendid existed here, with the space existing as both an art gallery, concert hall and park as well as a brothel. Today, the much-loved Royal Vauxhall Tavern, which was built around 1865, acts as the gateway to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. The pub is renowned for its place in London's LGTBQ+ scene and is said to be where Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett took Princess Diana for a night out in disguise.
A sleazy and scandalous place for all of London's classes to mix.
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