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You’re used to cocktails in bars, but what about behind them? Get ready to clink glasses from inside the clink, as ‘London’s first prison cocktail bar’ arrives in Brick Lane. And it’s called Alcotraz. Yep, try escaping that pun.
It’s a three-month pop-up bar and immersive experience inspired by the famous US prison, and it’s promising to ‘replicate the eerie atmosphere and mystery associated with prison life.’ Maybe they had a Cosmo happy hour at ‘The Rock’ back in the day? Maybe that’s why nobody ever really escaped?
Alcotraz is taking 30 guests – sorry, inmates – per session, who will then be given an inmate number and an orange jumpsuit, their attire for the evening. Visitors will then need to smuggle in their own contraband booze if they want to make the most of the bar aspect of the event. It’s a BYO thing, but a prison mixologist will be on hand to whip up cocktails to suit personal tastes, served to guests in prison cells or the visitation area.
So if doing tequila slammers in the slammer is what’s missing from your life, get booking tickets for a winter lock-in.
Or, if you think the idea of a prison-themed bar is in poor taste, do something more positive with your cash. Check out Surrey-based charity The Clink, helping aid prisoner rehabilitation by teaching cookery skills to inmates and even operating restaurants within prisons. Find out more at www.theclinkcharity.org.
Alcotraz Penitentiary is at 212 Brick Lane, E1 6RL, open from Sep 28 until Dec 17. Tickets cost £30 and can be booked at www.alcotraz.co.uk.