Drink Shop Do Birthday, 12th August

I am no stranger to Drink Shop Do. I used to work around the corner from the place and on my first visit went there for lunch and was back again for drinks that night. When I wanted to celebrate my birthday, they had by that time opened Drink Shop Dance in the old sex shop below so this is where we ended up and had an excellent night. I found myself there again for a vintage hen do, where we all had our hair and makeup done while having afternoon tea. But I had never been to one of their ‘Doing’ events so when I was invited for their fifth birthday party I was quite excited.

They’re famed for nights involving arts and crafts or just being silly – such as Doodle Shop, making Lionel Richies out of Rich tea biscuits, and also having lunchtime discos. On their birthday we had a round of Lego robots and then some Musical bingo. I’ve played musical bingo before (though not with Jess Indeedy) so I knew what to expect and it was just as fun as the original night – she played mostly 90s hits that were as fun to dance in your seat to as playing the game of bingo itself. Prizes were such things as pom poms and fake mohawks – what more could you want?

For lego robots the rules were simple – it had to have a name, a special power, and limbs of some sort I seem to recall. I was quite pleased with my half-truck-half-oven creation but didn’t end up submitting it as it kept falling apart.

We had been treated to some delicious cocktails throughout the evening (as well as some delightful cakes and sandwiches to soak it up) and also, rather magically, bubbles of gin and tonic! Actually catching these was quite difficult but I managed to get a couple in my mouth. 

At the end of the bingo everyone made a conga line to the basement where the party continued and I started sipping on some frozen slushie margaritas and dancing around. Hell of a birthday party. And the perfect excuse to draw your attention to my previous post about Drink Shop Do. Here’s to another five years at least!

The Black Door, August 3rd

This is a rather odd complaint to make of a bar, but the The Black Door was entirely too popular. I guess it has been a long time since I went to a cocktail bar that is more like just a bar, and not the kind of place where you make sit-down reservations. I was ill-prepared for the masses and just didn’t warm to the place, and neither did my party. When I suggested we move on after one drink, everyone was very enthusiastic about this idea. Perhaps it was because there was a sizable group of us and too many people in the way for us to be able to mingle as we would like. I had made arrangements ahead to reserve an area, which was waiting for me when I arrived, and throughout the email exchange they were very professional and accommodated me, but I must admit, they did come across as a bit cold in email. I had a nagging impression they didn’t really care if they got our custom or not (understandable once we got there and saw how full it was). This is in contrast to the Star of Kings who I also emailed about reserving an area and who seemed somehow to exude cheeriness over email, even though, in the end they hadn’t actually set aside an area for me. That didn’t really matter though, as when we got there we pretty much had our pick of places to sit.

After a very enjoyable few hours at the Star of Kings (which was markedly busier than the first time I went there), we moved on to the Black Door. I was firstly disappointed that you couldn’t actually get to the cocktail bar through the black door down the side street. Instead we had to go in through The Fellow, which definitely ruined some of its mystique. Then, there were the aforementioned crowds. So, we found our table, but it was so crowded that not everyone could fit near those of us who were sat down. My friend and I ordered a julep and this was nicely strong and tasty. I have no complaints about the drinks. But the music they were playing wasn’t at all what I was expecting – I thought they stuck to retro 50s and 60s but apart from one Talking Heads song (which doesn't fit that brief anyway), I didn’t know or care for what they were playing. In some ways, this didn’t really matter as there wasn’t any room to dance like I’d hoped there would be anyway. It was a shame though as I am very fond of The Fellow, the pub downstairs. I’ve had a few drinks in there on more than one occasion and think its lovely with a menu that I plan on trying one day. As you’d expect from the sister pub of the Owl and the Pussycat. So I was expecting more of the same charm from the Black Door, and it didn’t deliver.

So, we moved on. To the downstairs part of Drink, Shop and Do, which is called Drink, Shop and Dance. This was MUCH better. Busy, with an atmosphere, but not crowded – there was enough room to start dancing by the bar, but they also had a dedicated dance area at the back which we made much use of. The music policy was commercial but eclectic. Perfect for people who had been drinking for about 5 hours, then.

And, the cherry on the cake, was when we spotted John Torode dancing away in there. So far Stephen and I have seen Michel Roux, Monica Galetti, and now John Torode. Only a matter of time before we see Gregg Wallace chowing down on a pud somewhere and we'll have spotted the full deck.

DrinkShopDo x 2, 13th January

It so happened that the first time I went to Drink Shop Do, I went twice in one day. I had already organised to go for drinks with some friends there on the evening, and then my colleagues decided to lunch there. As Drink Shop Do is a café/shop by day and bar by night, I thought it would be good to see it in both its guises. 

Everything in Drink Shop Do is for sale – there is a little shop of craft type stuff at the front, including some wry cards that I particularly found amusing, and then you go into the back where they serve the food and drinks. They also hold different arts and crafts type evenings. Hence the name. They have some specials on every day and we asked the waitress to tell us what they were. We all ended up ordering one of them. I had the spinach and ricotta quiche, which I asked to be warmed. It was very nice and came with an assortment of salad which I wasn’t expecting. However, I must admit I had food envy when I saw what the others had ordered. The soup special was thai coconut and sweet potato, with a bit of chili, which I didn’t go for because I don’t like coconut. To my chagrin I was informed that it didn’t taste coconutty at all, and also came with some lovely crusty tiger bread and a clump of butter. The other order making me see green was the special of beef and ale stew. This too came with some bread and butter and was served in a cute stew pot from which you could see the great hunks of beef and veggies poking out. It looked delicious and I am told it was. And all very reasonably priced. They have a selection of home made cakes on the shelf which looked amazing, but as no one else was indulging, I wasn’t tempted to. Not this time round anyway.

At the end of the working day back I went to DrinkShopDo. While it wasn’t exactly transformed, the ambience was definitely different. There seemed to be more tables and the lights had been dimmed. The cakes had been removed from the bar, and though I think you may still have been able to order them, by the time I got into drinking, the tasty bar snacks of vegetable crisps and chilli wasabi peas and cashews they serve seemed more appropriate. They have a selection of cocktails, as well as wine, beer and cider. The prices are fairly average for London. A cocktail will set you back £7.50, which is actually less than what I have been paying at other cocktail-oriented places. I must highly recommend the Gorgy Porgy. If you have a sweet tooth, this is the drink to go for, like liquid creme brulee.

I was at the venue by 5:45 and the place was already quite busy. I’d say by 6:30 there wasn’t a free table. But luckily, for anyone arriving later, there is a downstairs area with a bar, playing music. You would be forgiven for thinking there wasn’t, as the sign advertises a toilet down the stairs and nothing else, but if you do go to the loo you will discover it. It used to be part of the sex shop next door, which explains the multicoloured streamers at the entrance.

Downstairs is a bit livelier. Upstairs is perfect for having a catch up with a few close friends. When we went in the daytime there was an assortment of board games at the bigger tables, and it was still commonplace to find people getting them out and settling down for a game with their pint.

I think this place is delightful and will definitely be going back for lunch and cake. I tend to go to places that are a little more upbeat in the evenings, but when I’m looking for somewhere friendly, where it’s important to be able to talk without straining your voice or ears, then this would be the place to go.