Seven Stars, 25th January

The Seven Stars is a dinky little pub behind the Royal Courts of Justice. There’s scant room at the bar or a smattering of tables with green and white chequered tablecloths to sit at and that's it. Barely room to swing a cat, if that's what you're into. 

It’s an odd place – I expected it to be cosier given it is so small, but the tables make it feel more like a little dining room. It terms itself a ‘gastropub’ and I was amused to find that pulled pork had found its way onto the menu at even such a traditional-seeming establishment.

I arrived early and managed to claim one of the small tables for me and my friend. These were soon in short supply so the place was quite full. But rather sedate, and not the sort of place to have the types of conversations I often have without raising an eyebrow if I were overheard. Kinda cute, but I think one visit is enough. 

My Old Dutch, 15th May

I have had My Old Dutch on my list for yonks. It's probably not the sort of place I'd normally seek out but I do love pancakes. Finally I got around to going for dinner before heading out for the evening. I was kind of in the middle of a health kick so I ordered more modestly than I might otherwise have.

I decided I wanted to try their savoury and their sweet offerings so to start I ordered the tricolore - mixed cheese, freshly chopped tomato, basil, feta and spring onion. Should have been a pretty delicious combination and it did all taste very fresh. But it wasn't very warm at all which made eating it hard going. It all needed to be melted more and then it would have been less stodgy and more pleasant.

My boyfriend decided to go full on and order a normal-sized pancake which was bloody huge. We couldn't get over the feeling we were eating a kind of discount version of a pizza, although he did say it tasted decent. He also said it should have been warmer.

Again, for dessert I tried to pick something a little smaller - the poffertjes. Literally small pancakes. I just got the traditional ones - dusted with sugar, and served with butter and maple syrup. Again, where was the heat?! They weren't even hot enough for the butter sitting on top of them to melt! But despite that. they were pretty tasty. Tasty enough for me to come out with a smile and tasty enough that I would go back again. But I would just stick to the sweet ones. 

After this I went to Knightmare Live at Udderbelly which was a tongue-in-cheek live action version of the famous 90s TV show. If you were a fan of it at the time, seek it out.

Bar Polski and Trisha's, 23rd December

My bestie was in town, which had been the perfect excuse for lunch at the Wine Library, and was an excellent excuse for hitting the town later that evening.

First stop was our favourite little pub, Ye Olde Mitre, tucked out the way near Chancery Lane. We almost always go here for at least one when we go out in central London, and I take people there all the time. You can’t find a better specimen of a proper English pub with real history. And the wine is good too.

Next up – Bar Polski. This is a Polish bar that focuses on their favourite tipple – vodka. A bit like an indie version of Revolution, this bar has every kind of vodka you can imagine in terms of flavours. I don’t know where they get them from – whether they are in-house creations or not, but the range is certainly innovative.

The menu is split into divisions of Dry and Interesting, Nice and Sweet, Clear and Clean, and various brands of vodka. You can try flavours such as starka – a vodka aged in barrels so it becomes a bit like whiskey, or  a vodka infused with bitter digestive herbs. We tried quite a range, having about 7 between us in the short time we were there. First up we chose two each – I had honey and spice and melon, Alison had lemon drops and hazelnut.  At only £3.00 each, you can definitely try a few different ones so after these four we went back for another three. I chose these and this time I picked sweet plum, kminkowu – sweet caraway seeds and husarska – green fennel bulb infusion.

You can either take the view that they sell shots and so you should shoot them, or, you can sip them and savour the different tastes. For they actually do have quite intense flavours that are (mostly) pleasant to drink, rather than mainly tasting of vodka with a hint of something else. We didn’t shoot ours and instead shared them between us so we could try them all.  I liked all of them except the fennel one which had a more powerful aniseed taste than real fennel tends to.  The most pleasant surprise was the sweet caraway seed flavour, which reminded me of sesame. Nutty, but indeed sweet.

Being the night before Christmas Eve, with very few people in town, Bar Polski was all but empty. There was just one very drunk work party, and us. So the atmosphere was lacking, and it being rather hidden behind Holborn station I can imagine it doesn’t get too packed anyway. Obviously, this is the place to go for any vodka lover, but I’d highly recommend it for those who profess not to love the spirit as well – the flavours here will convince you.

After this we went to some godawful pub that just happened to be opened while we were passing. We were really just biding our time until we thought it was late enough to go to Trisha’s, otherwise known as 57 Greek Street.

Sure enough, you would never know it was there if you didn’t know. We knocked and were permitted to enter. I think it’s supposed to be a ‘members’ bar, but it’s a members bar in the same way that Manero’s is – basically if you can find it, you’re allowed in. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting though it was a cool little bar and one worth remembering for late night drinks. I thought it would be livelier, with people dancing, but there was barely room for this and people were quite happy to sit at the checked cloth tables or stand at the bar. It was all quite civilized, basically a place to keep drinking when the other bars were shut, not necessarily to keep partying. Or perhaps I was just there on the wrong night.

Freemasons' Grand Lodge Tour, 18th August

Just realised I wrote this blog post ages ago and then forgot to put it live! So here it is...

One of the (very few) upsides to having the ‘in-laws’ visiting is that it gives you an excuse to geek out a little and be a tourist. Having lived in London a long time, we’ve pretty much run out of the traditional touristy things to do and have started to look for the stuff that is more under the radar. (Having said that, the afternoon was filled with wandering round the Imperial War Museum which is pretty obvious.)

So, for one of our ‘things to do’ we went to the Grand United Freemasons Lodge in Covent Garden/Holborn and had a tour. It’s only 45 minutes, and if you expected a treatise on the history and evolution of the Freemasons you’ll be disappointed, but it does give you the chance to gawp and marvel at some architectural splendour. You start in the library/museum and from there go to the robing room where the masters put on their gowns and then down the corridor they walk in procession towards the Great Hall/Temple where they convene. You also get to see the route the lowlier Masons would take, through the three halls representing the stages of a mason’s career through the huge copper doors into a hall almost as high as a six-story building, and completely hidden from the outside world.

The place is literally full of symbolism. There doesn’t seem to be a symbolism they didn’t appropriate from Greek gods to astrology to the expected religious artefacts and symbolism. The hall formerly known as the peace hall is one such wonder with a shrine to those Freemasons who lost their lives in the Great War – all of their names have been transcribed and are held in an engraved chest bedecked with idols.

The place is mainly art deco and is full of Italian marble (plus some Tasmanian timber) and several beautiful stained glass windows. But when it was built in the 1920s-30s Egypt was also in fashion so there’s a bit of that thrown in as well. Unsurprisingly a lot of the tableaux represent masonry and also, there are a lot of religious references which will surprise no one who has read or watched The Da Vinci Code. Hearing how it is headed up by some of the wealthiest and, traditionally, powerful men in the land also doesn’t help – heirs to the throne have routinely been Grand Masters until taking the Kingship themselves.

No photos are allowed on the tour and there are so few people it’s impossibly to flout the rule. So you will just have to go and see this ridiculously extravagant building for yourself. It’s well worth doing. 

Prohibition, 23rd Jun

Prohibition is a night run by Bourne & Hollingsworth who are supremos when it comes to alternative nightlife. As the name suggests, a night at Prohibition is a night that takes you back in time to the roaring 20s when alcohol was on the downlow and flappers were in their ascendant. They are incredibly popular and always sell out in advance. Doors to the secret location (revealed a couple of weeks prior) open at 8, entertainment starts at about 9 and the doors to the ‘speakeasy’ close at 2, which means that it’s quite a short night by most other clubs’ standards. It also means that you don’t want to make the mistake of drinking elsewhere until 11 and then turning up as you will have missed a lot of the action.

People are not only encouraged to dress in period costume, but you are told that entry without making an effort (ie avoid jeans and sneakers) isn’t allowed. The organisers probably don’t have to worry too much that anyone is going to take their chances with the dress code though, as the people who go clearly enjoy making an effort. It’s a great period of time to dress for - sexy, shimmering dresses and fun, feathery head gear for the ladies; pinstripes and flattering waistcoats for the gents.

This time the event was held in the glamorous Bloomsbury Ballroom. We arrived at about 9:30 and put our coats away. There was a trio playing in the hallway, and two rooms. 

One room had the main stage and dance area, with a bar. The second was showing silent movies (think Charlie Chaplin), had tables and chairs and also the gambling pit where you could try your hand at blackjack. Upon entry you were presented with a fake $100 bill which you then cashed in with the croupier for chips to gamble with. At least, that is the idea. Me and my party must have arrived at the wrong time as we didn’t get offered any money to gamble with, fake or not. I don’t really think this would have been a problem had we insisted on participating – it’s all about joining in and having fun. 

Cocktails and bottles of beer were the order of the day for drinks. Innocuous books were placed nonchalantly at the bar, but when 
you opened the first page, you could see the short cocktail menu. There were four or five to choose from, all priced at normal bar cocktail prices - ie £7.50. Except for the ‘signature’ cocktail at 
£8.00 - the Gatsby - which, along with one other, was served in teacups. Well, you don't want the feds busting in and sussing
you've got moonshine on the go! 

About an hour after we got in, the live entertainment in the main room started. I didn't dance as much as I'd hoped to this - I was too often waiting at the bar for our cocktails - the downside of having mainly cocktails to choose from is that they take longer to prepare, leading to longer queues leading to feeling like I’d missed out on some of the night. Just can’t resist the illicit booze! The Gatsby, incidentally I found very sweet and preferred the gin fizzes overall.

When the band were done DJs took up the reins to keep you going until the place closed, playing retro sounds right up to the 50s and 60s and by this point everyone was getting down and cutting a shine in the main room. The second room remained quieter, for those who needed a respite and to rest their feet, or who preferred the sophistication of dancing with Lady Luck on the blackjack table.

I thought Prohibition was fun and I’m glad I went. If I were to rate it out of ten, it would probably lose a couple of stars, though I can’t put my finger on why. I think, perhaps, that the Ballroom was a bit too big for the number of people. It’s nice not to be overcrowded, but a little intimacy helps build atmosphere. I will definitely try out some of their other nights as soon as I can though, such as the Blitz party, and the one I particularly like the sound of – the Belle Epoch. Bustier ahoy!