Named after a tyranical teenage Roman Emperor who allegedly murdered the guests at one of their lavish dinner parties by smothering them with rose petals dropped from the ceiling, this secretive spot next to Dalston Junction station styles itself as a ‘Queer Clubhouse’, and is by quite some distance the fanciest LGBTQ+ venue in the city (and certainly the only one to have featured in World of Interiors). With plenty of conspiratorial nooks and sumptuous, low-lit interiors featuring burlwood cabinets, plaster busts, marbled vanity tables and bespoke leopard print carpets, this place has the rakish air of a branch of Soho House managed by Sebastian Flyte from Brideshead Revisited.
Patrons arriving at the inconspicous front door are given stickers with which to cover their phone cameras before they’re allowed to slip through the curtained entrance into a sumptuous ground-floor bar where a chic crowd of Hackney queers sip on cocktails from an ever-changing menu of booze-heavy modern classics – think boulevardiers, Trinidad sours and an arguably-too-dirty martini.
Wander even further into the warren-like venue – past a small ‘library’ stocked with erotic coffee table books – and you’ll find a cabaret space with a curved stage, where east London’s most outré drag acts keep guests entertained with weeknight cabaret shows catered by regularly-rotating chef pop-ups. Venture downstairs and you’ll discover a subterranean sweat box where DJs play on weekends, as well as a second bar and some really quite fabulous loos.
If you’re after a date night drink somewhere a little bit more sophisticated than Dalston Superstore and don’t mind being completely surrounded by immaculately-groomed, 35-year-old freelance creative directors dressed in head to toe Issey Miyake, you’ll fit right in. Just be sure to make a swift exit if rose petals suddenly start falling from those tasteful wood-panelled ceilings.