DRINK: Ziggy’s at Hotel Café Royal
Among his numerous achievements, Ziggy played guitar, jammed good with Weird and Gilly, and actually was the nazz. Now to this list we can add ‘inspired a bar’, because now open in the Hotel Café Royal is a speakeasy dedicated to all things Stardust. Which means iconic and rarely seen images of Bowie taken by Mick Rock, his official photographer in the Spiders from Mars period, and themed drinks named after Zig’s more famous lyrics, including the Cat From Japan (cognac, burnt maple syrup, pineapple) and the Tiger on Vaseline (billed as a modern take on the piña colada). In 1973, Bowie hosted his famous ‘last supper’ as Ziggy at Café Royal, with Mick Jagger, Lou Reed and Paul McCartney in attendance.
Now open
Ziggy’s, Café Royal, 68 Regent Street, W1B 4DY
FOOD: Black Cod & Wagyu
Now, we’ve no idea what’s on the menu at this mysterious new pop-up… But we’re getting an inkling that it might involve black cod. And wagyu. Which, historically, are two foods reserved for Russian oligarchs and anyone with the surname of Beckham. But the special thing about this new temporary Soho restaurant is that you can tuck into these ultra-luxe dishes for a mere £15 each at lunch and £20 at dinner – meaning that we, the people, can enjoy them too! With no need to remortgage anything! Plus, we’ll also have pennies left over for the tempting tiger prawn tempura, lobster croquetas and tuna tartare also on the menu. High life, here we come.
Throughout October
Black Cod and Wagyu, 2 St Anne’s Court (access via Zelman Meats), W1F 0AZ
NIGHTLIFE: Glitterbox
We always love it when the Glitterbox crew are in town. Partly because we get to pretend we’re in Ibiza, when we’re actually in Elephant & Castle (not a mistake you can often make). Partly because, as befits residents at the White Isle mega-club Hï, the line-up is always top-notch – and indeed, Joey Negro, Horse Meat Disco and Melvo Baptiste will all be behind the decks for this Saturday’s bash, with iconic dancer Lucy Fizz leading the biggest, sparkliest, most fabulous troupe Glitterbox have gathered together yet. But mainly, if we’re honest, because we just bloody love a confetti cannon. THERE.
13 Oct; from £26
Glitterbox, Ministry of Sound, 103 Gaunt Street, SE1 6DP
CULTURE: City Life Festival: Bass in the City
City Life Festival is – guess what? – a festival to celebrate city life. But not in a delayed-on-the-tube, overpaying-on-rent kind of way. In a creative, connective, we’re-all-in-this-together kind of way… with excellent beats and eats thrown in. Hooray! The debut festival thrown by Spitalfields creative hub Second Home, it’s a month-long, multi-venue beast taking in supper clubs, screenings, workshops… and, this weekend, Bass in the City – two days saluting the impact of Jamaican sound-system culture. Expect discussions with the likes of Soul II Soul’s Jazzie B and DnB star Fabio at Libreria, a whole lot of jerk chicken and bass from the inimitable Reggae Roast sound system at KERB – annnnd (wait for it) Carnival Queen life-drawing sessions. Ain’t city life grand?
Bass in the City 13-14 Oct; City Life until 27 Oct
Second Home Spitalfields, 68 Hanbury St, E1 5JL
FASHION: Blade Hairclub
Going to the hairdresser. Going to a high-end cocktail bar. Two disparate concepts, one would think. But not at Blade Soho, oh no. Here, amid black-walled, vinyl-playing, rock’n’roll-style surrounds, your drinks consultation takes as long as your hairstyling one. Which is an excellent thing. While your on-point stylist takes charge of your ‘do, the mixology wizards downstairs sort your aged and limited-edition whiskies, your original, inventive cocktails (we loved the new cranberry and marachino-cherry twist on The Last Word), and your biodynamic wines. It all makes for a vibe that’s one-part salon, one-part tasting session, and one-part night out with your friends... which the salon staff will be after a couple of the Kilkerran whiskies. Trust us: no ‘where did you go on your holiday?’ small talk here; just fun vibes, great tunes and delicious drinks. And the best bit of all? You come away with a hot haircut rather than a hangover. YES.
Blade Hairclub, 26 Frith St, Soho, W1D 5LD
DRINK: Heist Bank Beer Festival
Beer, a wise man (OK it was Homer Simpson) once said, is the cause of and solution to all of life’s problems. And if you happen to be faced with the problem ‘where can I try 60 varieties from hip international breweries in one place?’ then this weekend the solution comes in the form of Paddington hotspot Heist Bank. For the second year running, it’s throwing a beer festival featuring free tastings from the likes of Fourpure, Wild Beer Co and Siren Craft Brew, plus Scandi craft ales, beer and cheese pairings, beer bingo, massive pizzas by the slice and DJs spinning tunes late into the night. In short: one keg-cellent party.
12-14 Oct; £15 including festival glass and two beers
Heist Bank, 5 N Wharf Road, Paddington
NIGHTLIFE: Printworks
Like dance music? Sick of seeing all-male line-ups? Well, you're in luck. Smirnoff Equalising Music is taking over London’s Printworks this Saturday with an impressive array of female talent.
The Black Madonna, Honey Dijon, Peggy Gou and Nastia will all be taking to the decks. Each internationally renowned DJ has also hand-selected 10 talented aspiring DJs, who you'll also being able to see perform. The gender imbalance on club and festival lineups is often blamed on the smaller pool of female talent to pick from, so the Smirnoff Equalising Music initiative attempted to tackle this through a new DJ mentorship programme. They're aiming to more than double the number of female and non-binary artists performing at the club in 2018.
Which means you can watch rising stars Alexis, Catalina, Eva Crystaltips, Jaguar, Jay Carder KIIA and Trudy Knight and be safe in the knowledge that you absolutely saw them first.
Sat 14 Oct; £37.50 for4th release tickets
Printworks, Surry Quays, SE16
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