Gear -- 5 hours ago
10 Of London’s Quirkiest Bars & Restaurants To Visit This Weekend
Words: Alex Woodhall
Gentlemen, the weekend is here and plans are there to be made. Rather than spending your big night out down the local as per usual, or taking the better half to a favourite Italian eatery, mix it up for the bank holiday weekend by taking a trip to one of London’s quirkiest bars and restaurants.
THE NIGHTJAR
Billed as “a hidden slice of old-school glamour”, the speakeasy-style subterranean bar certainly lives up to the hype. Requiring you to book online in advance for entry, this low-lit, adventurous jazz and swing bar is well worth the planning, as the extensive list of cocktails certainly attests to.
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THE LITTLE YELLOW DOOR
This surprisingly authentic, flat-share themed pop-up bar in the heart of Notting Hill boasts an impressive experimental cocktail menu and similarly zany bar food. If you weren’t paying for the privilege, you wouldn’t know you weren’t at another one of your friend’s house parties.
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WAXY O’CONNORS
An Irish pub with a difference, this West End venue is set over a 6-level labyrinthine interior housing 4 unique bars all linked through mazy passages and staircases. Extraordinary décor from the cathedral like features, stained glass included and preserved beech tree inside make this a must visit. The menu may touch on the simplistic side, not always a bad thing, but this place is genuinely fun.
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QUEEN OF HOXTON ROOFTOP
Eagerly anticipated by a certain London sect, the Queen of Hoxton rooftop bar is opening up this weekend for its summer long pop up theme inspired by the city of Havana’s cigar smoking legend, Graciela. The faded glamour and eccentricity of the icon and her city are well reflected with rich colour and flavour, a great way to spend a balmy summer evening or the long-weekend.
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BUNGA BUNGA
Colourful in appearance and nature, disgraced former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi serves as the poster boy for this tongue-in-cheek Battersea pizzeria. Decked out political caricatures and suspended mopeds, the obvious Italian ostentatious references are deafening but complete the charm. Don’t expect an intimate supper however; the place gets packed pretty quickly on any given day.
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INAMO
The future is here gentleman. Inamo features a unique interactive menu that is projected onto your table for you to order from. The cuisine is Asian fusion and the décor suitably space age, for dinner or drinks this Soho spot is worth a look.
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DALSTON ROOF PARK
Dalston’s only rooftop garden is reopening this Saturday for the summer, and well worth the journey northeast for a visit. Sat atop a former four-storey factory, the space is transformed into a traditional English garden, the best way to spend an evening with beers and an artisanal barbecue overlooking the cityscape.
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DANS LE NOIR?
This radical dining experience reevaluates the basic approach to eating. You eat in complete darkness and are led to the pitch-black basement space by the restaurant’s blind guides/waiters before picking one of four colour-coded secret menus. Unique doesn’t quite do this justice, a particularly good for a couple’s dinner.
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CANDLELIGHT CLUB
London has a number of secret, pop-up events but Candlelight Club could well top the lot. The speakeasy style is arguably overdone, but when it’s done as exceptionally as here, it takes some beating – you wont get closer to a real jazz age, clandestine experience than this. The dress code is strict and everything from the time and location is secret until a few days before.
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ARCHIPELAGO
The eclectic exotic menu is unlike anything else you’re likely to experience in London. Highlights include zebra jerky, sweet-chilli smoked python carpaccio, pan fried chermoula crickets and crocodile wrapped in vine leaves. Unconventional with the occasional touch of luxury, this is a culinary experience you need to make time for.
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