Illegal Late Night Cocktail Bar, 17th November

This is definitely not going to go down in lore as my most comprehensive blog post ever. By the time I got to the Illegal Late Night Cocktail Bar, I was a little worse for wear (understatement). So I can really only say what my vague impressions of the place were.

For me, the name suggested an illicit speakeasy with interesting cocktails, an intimate space to dance in the dark. Maybe a bit of jazz. What it was, was nothing like this. It took place in the... Actually, I probably shouldn’t say where the venue is as it is supposed to be a secret. Sod it, this time around it was in the Red Gallery, a place I’d never much paid attention to in Shoreditch. Apparently it was there last time they did this, but next time they're promising a new venue. It felt like a warehouse inside and the night felt more like an illegal rave than a cocktail bar.

The music was housey and while I actually do like that sort of stuff, I still felt a little disappointed that it was the kind of thing I could hear any old night in Fabric. I don’t remember much about the cocktails, whether that was my drunkenness or the fact that they were unremarkable, I couldn’t say. With your ticket you get a Grey Goose cocktail on arrival but they only guarantee these if you arrive before 1 am and we were sadly too late to take up the offer. Considering tickets are only £10 this isn't a bad price for a night out, especially with a little free booze thrown in. I wish I could have taken advantage of said free booze, in order to determine if it was really a free cocktail, or some weak vodka and orange that you'd not be willing to pay more then £4 for.

Mainly I remember a slightly grey, quite large place that reminded me of any East London warehouse space. I can’t say that I didn’t like it, as that sort of thing is just what I’m after sometimes, it just wasn’t what I was expecting from this kind of night. If someone suggested I go back, I would, but I think there are more exciting things on my List I'd like to get to before returning here.