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If you’ve spent any time in Shoreditch, you’ll be well acquainted with the two graffitied tube carriages that sit on the roof of gig venue Village Underground. Once emblematic of the ‘ditch’s heyday, in all its graffitied and hipster glory, these carriages always looked cool, but were elusive to Londoners. How did they get there? What were they used for? Well, they were the offices for the Village Underground team until they decided to turn them into a cocktail bar.
This skyward spot makes good use of its quirky location without turning it into a gimmick. Inside, the locomotives are minimally decorated with mid-century style seating. Laid out like the Bakerloo line, seating is either a long banquette or a booth with a tiny table. You can even step inside the driver’s cab and go to town on the buttons and levers. On the spacious lower level there are bigger tables, the bar and a kitchen courtesy of Time Out-favourite Bad Boy Pizza Society.
All of this makes for a winning evening in the iconic east London tube carriages. My only complaint: if you are sitting in the trains you have to order drinks at the bar below and carry them up the stairs yourself – no easy feat a few bevvys in.
Order this
Cocktails are the thing to get – they aren’t pretentious or overly complicated, and with most coming in at £12 it's not bad value. The Trade Winds is a delightful short concoction of pineapple-infused rum, mezcal and lemon – it’s delicately smoky, with a subtle pineapple zing. The mai tai is an expertly made memory of your most recent tropical holiday, and has a charming retro garnish of maraschino cherry, orange slice and mint. Everything comes in a crisp frosted glass.
Time Out tip
Don’t skip the pizza. We soak up the booze with Bad Boy Pizza’s signature ‘vodka-roni’ – a crisp NYC-style pie loaded with pepperoni, rich vodka sauce and a luxurious quantity of mozzarella – and the ‘funghi town’, a rich white pie laced with truffle, fresh thyme and lemon.