McQUEEN Shoreditch is a towering success and testament to the vision of the owners who placed themselves on the ‘fringes of creativity’. A few years ago plain Old Street roundabout was a taxi rat-run, a strip of fried chicken shops, a few East End boozers, foam parties and the barbarella-esque basement Bar 104. Now it’s Silicon Roundabout with glittering towers, gourmet coffee shops and sushi bars. What was once a wasteland has been transformed by tech dollars – Google has a campus, Amazon’s delivered a digital hub, there’s Microsoft’s Yammer and funders Seedcap and Springboard are feeding the clusters of thousands of new start-ups. With all that ‘Tech City’ money they’d likely be drinking at a classy joint such as McQUEEN. Imposingly transecting Tabernacle Street, king of all it surveys, McQUEEN Lounge Bar, Restaurant and Club is the coolest kid on the block.
McQueen Bar Shoreditch London
Opening up the glossy black doors is like walking onto a beautifully lit set. Dark Chesterfield sofas, buttoned leather bar, fur cushions and shiny black mannequins sprawled across exposed brick walls – tell of style with a touch of ruggedness. It’s fifties Hollywood.
Steve McQueen at home in Palm Springs by Life magazine photographer John Dominis
The amber lit windows look like plate-glass sound booths, where we are the ones being watched. It’s clear they take their lighting seriously as the place simply glowed.
the glow of cool at McQUEEN
Frames hang portraits of the dirt-bike riding, Ford Mustang racing, slim tie-wearing all-action-hero, film star Steve McQueen.
Steve at McQUEEN Shoreditch
Thankfully it’s not overdone with Bullitt cocktails or a selection of Magnificent Seven canapes. Oh no, it’s had a great escape, groan, not to fall into that cheesy trap.
Greeted by Marketing & PR Manager Fabio Adler – half-German, half-Brazilian and ALL cool, we were ushered into the 60-seater dining room. The best seats are on the raised floor at the back, uplit in gold with faux fur throws to disappear under if you’re not quite ready for your close-up.
We ordered some crisp, fried courgettes to nibble on while choosing from the short but perfectly-formed menu based on an American grill restaurant. The kitchen is now headed-up by Nehanda Campbell who used to work at Gordon Ramsay at Claridges and who has been making her mark at McQUEEN with simple, well-cooked delicious food.
McQUEEN’s just introduced a new menu with Mixed Beetroot Salad, Coconut Coated Prawns and Pan-fried Quail. Main courses such as Honey Spiced Tenderloin Pork, Duck and Parsnips Two Ways and Pan-Fried Lemon Sole.
And of course, what it’s known for – steaks!
McQUEEN Steak and crabcakes
On the night we were there, the Maryland crab cakes (£7) were sensational – big, juicy with saffron & lemon mayonnaise, steaming on puy lentils to give some crunch. Big steaks need big wines and we were rightly recommended the Argento Seleccion Malbec 2010 Argentina (£22.00) – intense, chocolate and long soft tannins, perfect to cut through the béarnaise and fat chips. The rib-eye (£22) was served simply with grilled tomato and field mushroom. Nothing fancy, just honest, straightforward great steaks.
If you are in the area in the afternoon you won’t do much better than the Express Lunch for £10 available Tuesday to Friday from midday to 2:30 pm or an in the evening a McQUEEN platter for £15 including two cocktails.
Choose 2 selected cocktails + a McQUEEN platter for £15. Offer available every Tuesday and Wednesday before 10:30pm until end of November.
Stay a bit later and there are some great nights to be had downstairs in the sexy ’boutique’ nightclub. Under the banner ‘it’s only cabaret but we like it,’ Thursdays see The Secret Rendezvous with Chrys Columbine who is hailed ‘Britain’s answer to Dita Von Teese’ and trapezist & aerial performer Will Davis with his James Bond act. Entry to The Secret Rendezvous is FREE.
Sexy Downstairs club at McQUEEN
If it’s good enough for model Arabella Drummond to kick back in, then…
Arabella Drummond at McQUEEN Shoreditch
Apart from being blown away by the location, lighting and atmosphere, my first question was ‘where can I buy this music?’ So here it is ‘Bar Sessions‘ – suSU and McQueen’s first music compilation from resident DJs Max Bloom and Shane Macauley, either a 2-disc CD from the bar or on itunes.
McQUEEN Bar Sessions Compilation
As Steve’s widow Barbara Minty McQueen says: ‘Steve would have dug this place.’
And if your final round funding does come through there’s a Louis Roederer “Cristal” 2002 Magnum for a grand. Perhaps Steve would have loved that too.
McQUEEN
Address: 55-60 Tabernacle Street, London EC2A 4AA
Tel: + 44 (0) 207 036 9229
www.mcqueen-shoreditch.co.uk
http://twitter.com/__McQueen__
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