Bourne & Hollingsworth

Bumped into it by sheer chance and danced the night away. I struggled to find proper oldies music to dance to in this country so I was more than satisfied.

A great place for a classy weekend brunch. Great bottomless cocktails options and their french toast is probably the most decadent meal you’ll have in a while. Their English Breakfast is spot on too.

The first time I tried to go here, I ended up veering off to a different bar as on a hot day, a subterranean speakeasy isn’t necessarily the most appealing choice. However, I made sure I returned as its website had appealed. It turned out to be a good decision. It’s a sweet little venue with a cocktail list that had a great many appetising options on it — it was very difficult to choose one!
On the downside, it was quite empty when I was there so the atmosphere was a bit lacking, and the bar staff seemed quite bored. The cocktails tasted pretty good but not exceptional and were priced fairly for the area but weren’t surprisingly good value or anything.
I’d come back and think it might be a fun place to take friends but might go later in the evening.

Amazing cocktails and cool funky music — what is not to love about this place.
We came here in search of cocktails and fun and found both in abundance here. The cocktails are fantastic albeit not cheap and décor is really quirky. The ambience is that of a speak easy. The music was great and vibe was cool and hip.
The one downside was the lack of toilets for the ladies — one toilet really isn’t enough but I can forgive them that as everything else was perfect. Definitely a great venue for a night out with friends or for an amazing date.

As a food and drink lover, I searched Unilocal for the best lounge near where I was staying during a business trip in london. Bourne came up number one, but I was rudely turned away before I could enter, by a stuffy little bouncer who told me that this establishment was too «fancy» for me. That’s to bad. I was looking to have dinner and plenty of cocktails. Wish I could have made a more educated assessment.

The cocktails are the main attraction here. They are very good at the price. This is also a very cool café /​restaurant /​bar. There is a great vibe on a weekend night and it is well visited. The food is OK at a reasonable price. Service seems attentive and friendly too.
The main drawback is the location. It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere so can be a hassle to move on from there. Also they were out of cheese burger on the night I was there. How is that possible!

Such a lovely cocktail stop hidden away down this staircase! It’s a bit like hiding out during prohibition in your grandmother’s parlour, complete with faded flowery wallpaper and tealights in china teacups on each table.
My mate and I were guided to a table with a reserved sign on it, which made me think it was a prop, though the place was quite full in the pre-​dinner slot on a Wednesday eve. Our waiter was tricky to get the attention of later but so nice — potentially because I was carrying a giant 1kg chocolate santa for a charity raffle I’m running, which attracted some amusing chat over the evening… :)
My cocktail was good but not great — but perhaps my own fault for trying to choose something different with gin and pear when I know I don’t like pear very much. I did love the way the cocktail menu unfolded like an old treasure map though. Friends were also suitably entertained when their sharing cocktail arrived in a giant teapot.
It’s all slightly surreal then but somehow works! Recommend stopping by on a cold London eve to cosy up with a small group of mates or a date for a kitschy boozy cuppa.

Almost like a speakeasy without the pretentiousness of being a speakeasy. Pleasant little discovery at the bottom of the steps with floral décor and distinctive tea cups. Their menu of drinks and cocktails is almost overwhelming (in a good way) and takes indecisive people like me half an hour to decide what they want. And that’s why I ended up getting 3 drinks that were all quite tasty and about £8.5 each. Got there around 7pm when it was still quiet and easy to gossip over «tea», but by 10, there was a DJ and an Italian couple making out in the corner… it gets quite busy. Whatever your preferred atmosphere may be, you can choose the right time.

Came in here after a terrible experience at the Roxy. I only wish we had one of these in Las Vegas. I mean who doesn’t like a shortbread or tea sandwich with their cocktail! The staff was super friendly and the drinks were awesome. I couldn’t have found a better place — just wish we found it earlier in the trip!

If your grandmother opened a cocktail shop and invited in all the hipsters in London, she could call it Bourne & Hollingsworth 2.
That’s not a bad thing, mind you. There’s a simply joy in the quaintness in this Fitzrovia drinkery. Knowing that they actually worked hard to make it feel this way, with the faded floral wallpaper, candles inside teacups at every table, flowers on the bar, does not actually take away from the point that this place is lovely.
They embrace the Prohibition style atmosphere to the tea. The bar is semi-​hidden down a flight of stairs and the cocktails are all made classic style with gin and fruit (and often served in things like teacups or marmalade jars). I got the Gatsby, which was as rich as the man himself (and of course had champagne in it.) The cocktails are not cheap, but not overly expensive either, and come in at about £8 a pop.
It’s a nice spot for a nice drink. And if you see your grandmother there, don’t be surprised at all.

This place is easy to miss on the street so don’t. The space is tight and cozy and the drinks are perfect.

This place is a bit of a contradiction. I thought it was going to be a cute place to have some cocktails. I can imagine if you were to go there early in the eve it would be that way. If you go there later is a small packed space with people dancing (and drinking fabulous cocktails). The highlight was the DJ. He was awesome – I don’t know how to describe him but nothing overly trendy, mixed in good oldies and we did not stop dancing for two hours. A fun place but not a sit down and chat cocktail bar if you are going to be there past 9pm.

Sometimes I love being a Unilocal member. Recently it’s because I’ve been to tis little gem in Fitzrovia before, but couldn’t tell anyone about it because I wasn’t a member. Well I am now! WIN
So another instalment in the saga of ‘let’s show my Warren St working friend some local cocktail bars so she can impress her other work friends.’ I think that last time I promised to think of an appropriate title and now it has definitely got longer and more rambling. Darn
We rocked up just before 7pm and managed to grab the last unreserved table in the place. A good sign when somewhere is popular, although here with about 10 tables it’s not difficult to fill. Down some rickety stairs into another basement bar, Bourne & Hollingsworth has a typically British shabby chic theme, with peeling yet flowery wallpaper and teacups that serve as receptacles for both cocktails and candles. An open box patterned menu hosts a variety of cocktails fit for the lover of British produce, including blackberries, elderflower, herbal liqueur and cucumber.
£9−10 is a bargain for this place and hidden doors hide the toilets nicely, got to love a hidden door to reveal rooms beyond (even if it is a toilet!).
We sampled refreshing pear and gin concoctions, strong cognac and apricot liqueur served neat with a twist of lemon and lychee liqueur which actually tasted of lychees. All very well presented and well worth the money.
Suggestions for the 5 stars — table service, some complimentary water with cucumber and mint, quieter and more themed music (I felt English country garden was much more appropriate) and a couple more tables would give a little more liveliness to the place. A very safe 4 though

When I lived in London, this was my favorite place to meet up with friends to grab a drink during the week. Unless you know what you’re looking for, it can be difficult to find. Come early to ensure that you will be able to get a table.
Once inside, the place is adorable. Very cute menus and they make all the drinks at a bar open to the whole space. All of the fruit is freshly zested and squeezed. They make an awesome cocktail here! Overall I love the vibe of the place, the bartenders really know what they’re doing, great attention is paid to detail, and I think you get a very fair value for what you are paying.
Would absolutely recommend this place!

I seriously love the cocktails here. I would have given the staff an «excellent» rating but the last time I was here the bartenders seemed a little bit «too cool» to answer any questions people had. But the selection of gin cocktails makes this adorable, prohibition-​style bar one I’m always happy to visit. Even if it does look a bit like my grandmother’s living room…
I love the little touches, like the menu showing the type of glass your drink is served in, or the half sandwich that comes with a teacup drink. The bartenders clearly know what they’re doing, too, and are usually happy to talk you through it.
One thing to note, though, is that cell phone reception is minimal — so if you’re meeting someone there it’s probably best to meet outside if one of you thinks you’ll get lost.

Hidden place downstairs that was surprisingly a fantastic time.
Cost to worth it rating: 3
Return worthiness: yes
Highlights:
— Atmosphere: decorated like a grandmother’s house with patterned walls and cozy small, but a nice bar and DJ made it cool.
— DJ: loved him. Was just doing his thing spinning fun music in the corner. Not clubby or mellow either – just the right mix. Extra points for wearing a Chupa Chup tshirt :-)
— Cocktail menu: interesting stuff and displayed in a square layered menu layout
— Black tea and ginger beer drink: I forget the name if it but I loved it. Not sweet due to the tea, sparkly from the ginger beer, and some added blackberries. Served in a camping canteen type cup rounded out the win for me.
Lowlights:
— Bit small and since they have specialty cocktails, it takes longer to make them
Had a wonderful time here and definitely would be back as long ad I can find it.

if you get a seat its great. the drinks are probably a little overpriced but they’re very good. mixology game was up there! it was packed when we went it and they had two dudes making the drinks but far too slow. hence the massive queue. I got shitfaced on espresso martinis, had a whale of a time but probably had more to do with the company than the venue.
on a plus note the DJ was money.

«Urm… how many of you (drunken idiots!)? Worse thing that a gal can hear from a bouncer when really quite tipsy trying to get into bar. Straight away, the brain was wondering if we were getting ourselves into some horrendous situation with boy/​girl ratio, drunkeness ratio, hotness ratio, undressed ratio and generally «my 2 quid H&M mini skirt and duvet jacket really, probably, won’t get us into a cool bar» drunken panick. (Yes, I get into these stupid internal panics when drunk. It’s dumbass).
Anyways, so my 3 seconds panic over and managed to get down the stars (hey, hey, I’m an EXIT veteran with lots of experience climbing rickety (drunk rickety?) stairs!), we wandered into a ol’ ratty grandma style tearoom. Kinda like the Italian bar but with an actual bar. Amazing!
Drinks were yummy, and tended to be on the tart side– excellent! I tried one in a teacup, the gatsby (only can remember from discussions) and god knows what, as it definitely wasn’t what I asked to be ordered.
Watching the boys get lost trying to find a toilet in a bar slightly bigger than my bedroom was HILARIOUS. Them pushing the door on the wrong side and not getting in, wandering back all confused? Worthy of a master card ad.
Not sure why it’s not 5 stars. but it just wasn’t.

They serve cocktails in jars
and they have the coolest wall papers–
I love this place despite the fact we were only allowed a centre table facing the air conditioning (which gave me bad neck pain) when half the tables were empty; but that doesn’t discard the fact that they offer great yummy cocktails

I absolutely love this place — the quality of the drinks is amazing, it’s reasonably priced and there is something quintessentially English about this place.
It’s cute and the staff are approachable (when it’s not busy) and their selection of alcohol behind the bar is superb.
The only issue is that as the place is so small there is limited space to stand and seating. I have yet to go and get somewhere to sit.
However the cocktails served in tea cups with little side snacks are a wonderful idea and makes ups for this…
This place makes me feel like a prohibition floozy!