The Underground Drinking Club is an immersive bar concept which launched this year, inside Old Street Station. There are no menus or recipes, instead guests are waited by a creative mixologist who will join the table and conjure up bespoke cocktails for the guests.
During the night Underground Drinking Club hosts 3 separate two hour sittings, where for £25 guests are able to sample as many cocktails as they’d like and are encouraged to connect with the people around them for a truly unique experience! We chatted to the UDC Founder, Ben Prevezer to find out more...
What inspired the bar?
We wanted to create a bar that produced extraordinary cocktails with only the finest ingredients. We also wanted to enable our guests experience flavours they'd never experienced before and get to know the process behind their drinks, which is why we’ve banned menus and recipes and put our guests in the capable hands of a mixologist.
What are the key components for a successful bar?
The ingredients for a successful bar concept reach well beyond the drinks and service. Today people are on the hunt for something truly amazing, and a unique location can play a big part in this. Old Street Station ticked all those boxes for us. As it had never been used in this way before it was especially appealing!
It’s also important to pay attention to the details. Everything from the setting, the lighting, the decoration, the music - it all needs to be perfect. Imagine that every piece tells a bit of the story. You want your readers to hang onto every word!
What have been the benefits / disadvantages of hosting it in an Underground Station?
Benefits: Huge visibility with the enormous footfall and as a unique location it became a real talking point for our guests.
Disadvantage: The space itself can sometimes be a bit tight for running a full on bar operation!
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Every night the bar serves three 2-hour sittings, which means maintaining momentum for 7 hours non-stop in a full bar is full on!
What have been your best moments?
Our best moment was last month - the Underground Drinking Club collaborated with Russian Standard Vodka and the atmosphere was insane, by the final sitting the entire bar was dancing on the tables!
What advice would you give to someone wanting to launch their own pop up bar?
Even if your bar is only short-term, don't cut corners. High quality everything is key. Take care over every last detail and think carefully about each part of your guest’s experience.
What’s next for Underground Drinking Club?
We're currently looking for a permanent site, which will allow us to expand the Underground brand into new food & drink categories. Watch this space!
The Underground Drinking Club returns to Old Street Station on the 22nd & 23rd December in partnership with Auchentoshan Whiskey
Reserve your place here
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