New Evaristo Club

Fuck you! This place is awesome. Buy a membership. Drink until your sideways. Have fun. Live a little.

I remember the first time I set foot in this wonderful bar: It was New Years night and my brother in law said– I’m gonna take you to this place I know. I know the owner, we went to Uni together.
So I let him take me there and I still thank him for that night.
On Greek street, on the same side with the Barclays cash machines and across the street from Pillars of Hercules, you will see this tiny, blue door with the number 57 on it.
You knock, a husky voiced bouncer opens the door and asks you if you have a membership– you say «No, I just want to have a drink. C’mon, let us in.»
He lets out a sigh, lets you in and tells you– «Right, go downstairs and pay £4 entry». You say «ok» but they never ask for your money– I think its their way of filtering their customers– see who’s willing to pay and who says «I ain’t got no £4 to pay».
When you go down the stair you realise that you are actually in someones house… or on the set of one of Tarantinos movies.
You open the door and you are instantly transported to the 50s-​60s. I love it! Its kind of grotty looking but I think that what adds to the atmosphere.
The tables have oilcloths and the chairs have little worn out cushions.
The drinks are cheap, the people are friendly and talkative (I met and had drinks with the guy who invented the tile app
).
It has a small back garden where you can smoke — but it kinda feels like you’re in a tiny prison cell when you are outside.
The bar staff is super friendly and all smiles. If you’re lucky enough you might get to meet and talk to the lady of the house.
Go and enjoy a night of wonders and wonderful people.

Walking down Greek St, I would say that you can blink and you’d miss it but you’d probably miss it even if you’re looking for it as there’s no signage anywhere to be seen. You need to look for a blue door that looks similar to number 10 Downing Street next to a bright red Lebanese restaurant called Kaslik and you’ve found the place.
It’s meant to be a member’s only club but if you sign the guestbook and pay a couple of pounds then they’ll let you in. With the old heavy Italian décor you feel like you’re in a Godfather movie but everyone is friendly and the place has a nice relaxed atmosphere. The drinks are reasonable and you can have a tranquil time with friends as you have a chat and enjoy music of Italian crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
The place isn’t very big but if you’re looking for a place to have a quiet drink and escape the chaos of the surrounding bars then get here early (8 – 10) as it gets packed closer to midnight.
This place is one of the best kept secrets in London so take your friends here but swear everyone to secrecy or you may never be able to set foot inside again!

We almost didn’t find it, because it looks like the entrance to an apartment. There’s no sign, just a closed door that leads into a hallway. It’s «members only,» but since it was fairly early in the night, we had no problem getting in. Just get there before 10 or 11.
You decent to a tiny basement room plastered with pictures of celebrities with an Italian influence, there was maybe room for 30 people, and has a tiny patio surrounded by a brick wall for smoking.
We chatted with the bartender and owner Tricia, and she assured us that many American celebrities visit this place all the time. Seemed like everyone knew everyone in this place, and a couple more locals were at the bar who had some interesting life stories. Everyone we met was so friendly and open to a conversation.
Before we knew it, by midnight, the bar was packed and filled with over 50 people, with hardly any room to breathe. I’d be a local if I lived in London… but keep it a secret.

No sign on the door, a bouncer, dimly lit, laminated 8.5×11 sign stating New Evaristo Club downstairs and then a random carpeted staircase take you down to a basement bar, tables, walls adorned with old photos. There is a sign on the back wall down there that says the Hideout so I thought that was the name. It is casual, unassuming, fun, a bit of a secret and open late. You can buy a membership (I think it is about 50 quid) but easy to just pop in for a drink and some Sinatra and escape the heaving bars of Soho on a Saturday eve.

Been here twice and I’m still not sure how I made it in!
Entrance is through a non descript door in the very busy SoHo area. They usually have a bouncer outside who will ask you if you are a «member». Both times we have gone we just said we went here last week and they let us in.
You will then head down a hallway that looks like it belongs in a flat before going to down some sketchy stairs and ending up in the club. Honestly, I was a bit scared my first time, but it is actually a very cool bar.
Cheap drinks and a very cool crowd. Everyone seems to know each other. They have pictures of Al Capone, Goodfellas, and Godfather up on the wall.
So my advice is don’t be scared, head to New Evaristo Club and see if you can get in! If you can make it to a nice gem of a bar in the touristy area of Soho.

This place is brilliant, and a well kept secret… so much so that I even questioned whether I should review it on here for fear of spoiling it, but what the hell — good things are for sharing, right?
Chances are you still might not find it anyway! The entrance is pretty inconspicuous, a single door with a small metal nameplate — not exactly flashing neon signs or even anything close for that matter. The discreet entrance is just the first indicator that this might be somewhere a bit different, and when you go downstairs you’ll soon see why.
To start with the effect is bit like walking into a hidden gin joint during prohibition, assuming prohibition was during the 1970’s that is… and the décor of the day involved lots of black and white photos of stars and kitsch (but original from the period) décor.
It’s one of those places where you start to suspect that the aged items and décor may have been there so long they’ve now become fused into the fabric of the building and any attempt to move/​remove them might require a visit from those stripey jumper clad archeology experts on Time Team.
Once you’ve entered you’ll see lots of wine bottles and candle-​lit tables and a small bar serving mostly wine to the interesting looking and hip but not overly trendy clientèle.
Prices are reasonable, £12ish gets you a decent bottle of red with which to put the world to rights, discuss Nietzsche, people watch or work on your latest prose/​screenplay or other creative masterwork you suspect half the people in here are also plotting/​working on… just don’t tell to many people about this place, you might spoil it.
p. s. It is meant to be a members club but I’ve never been asked to sign in/​join or anything of the sort.