18/10/10: O. M. F. G. – as the kids say. We fully appreciate a new drinking den here at QX Towers… it signals the beginning of a clean bar tab and somewhere we’ve yet to be forcibly ejected from. But we love it even more when said new bar gets it right!
Recently opened in the heart of Bloomsbury, not only does the name conjure up literary greats such as Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster waxing lyrical on intellectual pursuits, but once you head down the discreet, almost old school staircase, what awaits is a stunningly turned-out venue. It just screams out for sophisticated gayers to drink and be merry.
Of course, you don’t have to be well versed in early 20th century fiction or social/economic politics to come in here. Weeknights especially are the perfect setting for a romantic date or quiet drink with friends, with some chilled acoustic-based music making a refreshing change to the never-ending GaGa remixes and nondescript house (which this reviewer has shouted over in many a bar over the years). The two cubby holes are a real attraction too, ideal to sit in for an intimate drink, or hire with a bunch of mates. With TV screens in both snugs, there’s a collection of DVDs behind the bar or you can bring your own. Weekends here are suitably more frenetic – a perfect place to start your night on the town or escape the hustle and bustle of Soho just down the road.
Being a lazy bitch, I love that it’s 10 minutes from my gaff! So if you see an afro’d, fag rag journalist in the corner knocking back Bombay and tonics… please stay away from me, I don’t know you… 😉
76b Marchmont Street, Bloomsbury, WC1N 1AG
Words by Lee Dalloway
Photos by Chris Jepson
