Please note, The London Gin Club is currently closed for repair work. Time Out Editors, December 2019.
When is it easy to find an empty seat at the London Gin Club? Only on Sundays and Mondays, when this Soho bar is closed. If you need proof that gin is the current It Girl among London’s liquid lovelies, come here any other evening of the week without a booking, and try to get a seat. More fool you.
The Gin Club sells nearly 200 gins, and there are four ways to order it. G&Ts are poured in double measures and start from £8, but breaking the two-digit barrier gets you more unusual gins. Served in whacking great goblets, each gin with a particular brand of tonic, they look fabulous and make a foolproof Friday-night muscle relaxant.
Then there’s a cocktail list, majoring on classics (negronis, collinses) but with some of their own inventions as well. Check out their list of ‘ginfusions’ too – the Broker’s gin brand vigorously mixed with different flavourings before being served as a G&T.
For the hardcore curious, there are tasting menus: four or eight gins, served on trays, for those who like to compare and contrast. Prices start from £25, and after talking you through your menu, the staff will leave you to sip in peace. Unless you want them to hang around.
If this all sounds a bit gin-geeky, don’t be put off. The atmosphere is that of a bar, not a laboratory or place of worship. The room is high-ceilinged and moodily lit. You may come here for the love of gin, but you’ll stay for the love of life.