A brand new gay bar just opened in Central London

Flamingo

Twinkle-eyed Romanian Florin Petrisor has done a very brave thing – opened a gay bar, in Central London, in 2017. It’s not going to be easy, but he’s got an attitude we highly approve of here at QX – he’s diving in head first with gusto!

Flamingo Bar is slap bang in Central London, a two minute walk from Chancery Lane Station (and a four minute walk from the QX office, which is why we’ve been hungover every morning this week). It’s only been open for a month or so, and it’s still fairly under the radar, but the area’s discerning businesspeople and PR execs are starting to wake up to it.

We had a chat with Florin about his grand plans for the newest, cutest edition to London’s rollicking gay scene!

Flamingo Manager, Florin Petrisor

Hey Florin! So Flamingo is London’s newest gay bar – tell us all about it

Flamingo LGBT Cocktail Bar has been officially open since July 14th. It’s an underground bar/club with a capacity of 130 people. It’s a great place for dates, events, parties, meeting, conferences and for those who like clubbing!

We have variety of cocktails, wine, champagne, beer and spirits at very good prices. Double spirits & mixer from £5, Shots from £1.50, Cocktails £7.95 and we have also Happy Hour from 4-8pm everyday!

What’s it like opening a gay bar in the current climate of venues shutting down?

I see this as a great opportunity to bring something new to the LGBT community. It’s a big challenge for me, as the competition is still there and now I really need help from all my friends and from the community to make Flamingo Bar work and to keep it open for everyone.

What inspired you to do it?

The inspiration was from my investor. He was searching for someone with lots of passion, marketing and bar management knowledge, someone who can take the ownership of Flamingo Bar and who has the skills to bring it up. Hopefully that person is me, and I’m looking forward to building up the place, as I can see it has so much potential. It’s exactly what we need now in London. As we know, so many gay clubs are shutting down. We’re different from other gay venues. My idea of Flamingo is to make it for everyone who wants to be a flamingo in a flock of pigeons.

We love the interior features and the smoking area – where did you get ideas for the design?

The design ideas are from my investor who is 71 years old and has a pastry and a pizzeria! When I got the business, I added just few touches to make it more lively and interesting. The designated smoking area is a great advantage for an underground space and everyone loves it. We also have a small private area with separate air conditioning, perfect for events of 10-20 max.

Does the name “Flamingo” have any significance?

“Flamingo” symbolises beauty, balance and grace. Wisdom of Flamingos includes: the ability to maintain soul purpose in group living, and understanding how to maintain balance and happiness in love and relationships. Life gives beauty and true beauty is intrinsic. Flamingo Cocktail Bar is a place where people can be exactly who they are, can be themselves, as all of us are beautiful. We were born to stand out, not to fit in, to be special in this life.

So what plans have you got for the future?

Once a month we’ll do Minky, because it was great on Saturday! It was really successful. So we’ll definitely do it again. I’m also setting up bar snacks, like nachos, cocktail sausages, something for people to nibble. After you’ve spent an hour or so drinking, you start to get hungry. We’re also going to do a Christmas set menu, because we have a license from 11am. So when we book parties for Christmas, we’ll open then. I’m also looking to make Wednesday nights karaoke night! That starts on the 23rd August. And there will also be a drag queen, Alexa Darling! Thursday nights we’ve already got salsa classes, which are successful.

This is a great space for promoters to bring their nights…what’s the best way of doing that?

They can get in touch with me, and give me their ideas! Come into the bar for a chat or email [email protected]

Flamingo Cocktail Bar is at 29 High Holborn, WC1V 6AZ. 

Advertisement

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here