The Bloomsbury Club
Bar of my dreams
As a cocktail maker of some experience I was delighted to make my first visit to the famous Bloomsbury Club – the famous meeting place of the equally famous Bloomsbury Set. For those not fully acquainted with this society of ‘bonne viveurs’ from the1920’s and 30’s it was essentially made up of intellectuals, writers, artists and philosophers who placed pleasure and leisure at the forefront of their ideology. This hedonistic group believed that their pursuit of pleasure was a vital ingredient to personal cultivation, which would ultimate, equate to their happiness levels going off the chart. Where better place then to spend a few privileged hours watching cocktails being expertly created and then expertly consumed with and equivalent gusto than the Bloomsbury Club – surely one of London hidden gems (although hidden in plain sight).
I was completely taken aback by the relaxed and easy charm of the place. Customers are immediately taken back a hundred years to a different time and place. It was easy to imagine sharing some bar space with the likes of EM Forster, Virginia Woolf or John Maynard Keynes over one of two gin slings. If you like cocktails this is the place for you. If the world’s 150 best-known cocktails are not on your wish list the expert mixologists in attendance will gladly do a customised version for you.
I was lucky enough to be given a tour by George who showed me the two main rooms – the first a quiet and intimate meeting place for that confidential ‘tete-a–tete’ and the second – a marvellously busy area. In the latter, the bartender/cocktail makers are the stars of the show where they stand in the middle of things displaying their not inconsiderable mixing techniques. The larger, busier area is a work of art in itself replete with gorgeous confection of art deco chandeliers. Sadly the 2-3 hours I spent in this fantastic establishment disappeared as quickly as the cocktails but I will definitely be back.
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