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There are only so many stars I can award a place that is playing Ed Sheeran’s ‘Galway Girl’ at full blast as you step inside. Especially when it’s immediately followed by 50 Cent’s ‘P.I.M.P.’. But while the choice of music is eccentric at best, London Cocktail Club’s newest location on Bishopsgate is still tremendous fun.
If you’ve been to any of the other eight branches of the cocktail chain, you’ll know the drill: eclectic, chintzy décor met with speakeasy aspirations. On a Saturday night, though, this place had more of a sports bar atmosphere, right down to blokes at the bar chanting: ‘One, two three – LCC!’ Luckily we were able to join the party just in time to make the most of happy hour (all night on Mondays; 4pm-7pm Tuesday-Saturday). It’s only two-for-one on the same cocktails, which is how we found ourselves each holding a pair of white ladies and white russians. Hey, no complaints!
The cocktail menu is largely made up of old reliables like these. They were hardly world-changing drinks, but they were delivered with enthusiasm by a chatty bartender doing his best Tom Cruise in ‘Cocktail’ routine. It’s the staff, really, who make this place: they’re game, friendly and clearly enjoying themselves as they work the room offering out table service. Don’t go here for a romantic tête-à-tête; do go if you’re out on the lash with pals in Shoreditch – you can get merry with Fiddy, Ed, et al.