Bars & Pubs

By ben McFarland

Housed within the tapered walls of a 1960s site originally built in reverence to the Cunard, the famous trans-Atlantic shipping line, Jetlag claims to be an international bar inspired by the giggle juice-induced japery of Japanese bars in the 1980s.

Lustrous and a little lost in translation, the upstairs bar is a sleek, small space peppered with pop-art, arty mags and funky, far-out furniture.

An audio-visual aquarium awaits downstairs in the basement where they showboat in style with the lighting, a seriously swanky sound system and an HD projector that occupies an entire wall.

Boothed, aeroplane and crocodile suede style-seating makes for a thinking-loafer’s sports bar.

Guinness, Asahi and Orangeboom make up the trio of beers on tap, there are a couple of bottled ales courtesy of Fuller's, Aspall Cyder and a sensibly priced, 16-strong selection of wines spanning both hemispheres.

The cocktail list, covering both classics and Jetlag’s own drinks, is not overly lengthy, features fresh fruits and includes non-alcoholic combinations and smoothies.

In tune with the jetlag theme, there’s morning to midnight munching with a menu that brings breakfasts, burgers, fish finger sandwiches and sharing platters to the table.

The basement bar regularly seeks solace in the sweet bosom of screened sport, regardless of how obscure it may be. Women’s doubles anyone? Tennis, that is.

Time Out London Issue 2041: October 1-7 2009