Nola

Definitely the best cocktail bar I’ve been to during my stay in London. The speak-​easy, gentleman’s club kind of style, the beautiful interior, perfect service and high quality drinks made me a fan. The nuclear hurricane was my absolute favorite. The words ‘strictly two per customer’ just almost made me order two of those. I had a nice time here with my girl and would definitely visit this place again, the next time I’m in London. Oh, sweat memories.

Randomly stopped by this bar around 7:15 on a Saturday night and was told we could have a table for 45 minutes which was fine with us. When we got there it wasn’t too busy but by the time we left around 8pm it was getting pretty noisy.
Good drinks, fun décor, nice staff, and great music (while you can hear it). I’ll definitely go back.

The place is beautiful and the cocktails really good made. You feel to be jumped back in time. 20’s atmosphere with soft light and nice ambient music. The only bad was the service in particular the girl with short hair that was taking care of our table. She was rude to us, and since was our first time at Nola we asked a second advice on the menu. She didn’t repeat herself nicely. Also she pushed several times to leave the table from ten minutes before that our reservation ends making our last minutes in the bar really annoying. We was so sad about the service because the place itself is stunning.

Incredible. My friend and I literally stumbled across Nola on a Thursday night while looking for some post-​dinner cocktails. And oh my word. It was AMAZING. It’s hidden above Bedroom Bar, and the perfect place for a date or an overdue catch up. It was fairly quiet when we arrived around 9PM, but got a bit more raucous by the time we left at around 11:30. We had 3 or 4 cocktails each, trying signatures, hurricanes, and sours. Everything was fantastic.
The ambience is NOLA speakeasy, with low lighting, dapper staff, and a menu of delicious cocktails for every kind of drinker around. I highly recommend the French 75, it’s a classic and a new favourite. The service was outstanding, the vibe fantastic, and we were sorry when we needed to leave. I will definitely be returning, next time with a booking so I can snag a swanky booth.

I’d been looking forward to trying Nola for a long time and finally got around to checking it out on a Monday night. Sadly for me there was a weekly takeover happening every Monday for Chartreuse so they normal cocktail venue wasn’t available.
The venue was pretty cool and there was a nice little balcony as things were slightly hot inside and the bartenders really seemed to know their stuff. The drink I had was OK but not something I would ever have ordered and probably not something I would ever order again.
I’ve had better cocktails in the area and I don’t feel like I’ve had the Nola experience so I’ll make a point of heading back there on another night and updating my review

Nicely themed bar, pretty good atmosphere and ambient music. The waiting staff are friendly and service was great.
Drinks selection good, plenty varieties of hurricanes and I’ve also tried a few of the Nola signature cocktails. Quality of the drinks is very good. Prices are expensive for the area but worth it.

Never too busy on a school night, do some great prohibition new orleans cocktails, staff are great too. Pro tip: come hideout here in the blazing sun, it’s much cooler.

Wow. I was beginning to think the speakeasy theme had been done so many ways it’d be hard for another to impress me. Then we found this place.
It turns the ‘hidden in the dark depths of a basement’ style on its head by being a hidden upstairs bar for once (phone reception win!), accessed via a plain wooden staircase from Bedroom Bar that has you convinced there’s nothing at the top. Keep going though because you’ll eventually reach a gorgeously relaxed spacious bar at the top, with classy leather booths and waistcoated waiters. My friend had reserved a booth for 5 but on a Tuesday evening there was really no need.
The clue is in the name, with NOLA being a common abbreviation for New Orleans, Louisiana — a fact that I seem to be the last person around to realise! Learn something new every day eh. The whole place is faithful to this theme though, and I was loving the blues and jazz playing in the background.
The cocktail menu takes it to another level, with Big Easy inspired (another nickname I learned!) classics such as the Hurricane and the Sazerac, and some with a more modern twist. It has a no-​nonsense, serious drinking feel and was a treat to read. The drinks themselves were similarly no-​nonsense, carefully made, and strong — I was very happy with my (panic) choice the Bourbon Street Blues. Ironically the friend that asked for the strongest drink on the menu was left disappointed as it tasted the weakest, so a place to be careful of such hidden dangers! There’s plenty of options with the superstrong Wray & Nephew rum I’ve had err interesting experiences with in the past, whilst they’re also happy if you go off menu. There was a page for cigars too, though I didn’t spot the terrace where you’d smoke them this time.
The waiters were attentive in refilling water, though I’d hope so being the only table in there for the first 15 minutes! These guys do seem like real pros though — our server maintained the relaxed vibe and was comfortable answering questions about the drinks and making recommendations, so seemed to know his stuff really well.
Seductive, naughty and relaxed southern hospitality by the bucketload — I think I’m a little bit in love with you, Nola.

Si vous recherchez un bar à cocktails confidentiel, planqué, synonyme de tranquillité absolue et de coupure hors du temps et dans l’esprit des clubs de la Nouvelle-​Orléans, il faut que vous trouviez votre chemin jusqu’au Nola !
Pourquoi un tel préambule, me direz-​vous? Tout simplement parce que ce bar né se situe pas au rez-​de-​chaussée, mais au premier étage d’un bâtiment et n’est presque pas signalé par une indication. Il faut demander aux videurs du bar en dessous de vous indiquer le chemin. Ou bien, vous y allez franco, en sachant qu’il vous faut prendre la porte à droite, emprunter les escaliers et une fois en haut, c’est sur votre gauche. Le Nola se fait désirer et se mérite.
De suite, on est charmés par la lumière tamisée, l’ambiance et la déco rétro du lieu. Ici, on joue à fond la carte de l’esprit Prohibition. Le fond sonore n’est pas envahissant. La carte des breuvages est particulièrement fournie, limite gigantesque et le choix est un véritable casse-​tête.
J’ai opté pour un Nola Milk Punch, à base de rhum, de banane épicée et de liqueur de noisette. Le tout était élégamment présenté, mais j’ai trouvé que le rhum l’emportait trop sur les deux autres saveurs. J’espérais tomber sur un cocktail sucré et j’ai été déçue. Ça né m’a pas franchement emballée pour tenter un 2e breuvage… Peut-​être une erreur de casting.
Enfin, une étoile en moins car un chanteur de folk/​blues est arrivé très tôt dans la soirée pour un gig et même si c’était agréable, ça nous empêchait carrément de tenir une conversation. Pour l’esprit cozy, on repassera…

OK i kind of love this place. Although I didnt make a booking, we were able to have drinks by the bar. The atmosphere is cool with a bunch of booths for groups to have drinks in.
I had the OTHER woman, which is clearly a very risqué drink but very delicious and probably very dangerous because it was so easy to go down the gullet :). I will definitely take my hubby there soon!

I first came here a few months ago on a weekday evening, and it took a few times up and down Rivington Street before we figured out that the bar was situated above Jubo, a Korean restaurant. There is a sign on the street but not at eye level, and once in, you have to find your way up some pretty narrow stairs before you reach Nola. The place was fairly empty so we had no problem grabbing a table, ordering some drinks, enjoying some light jazz tunes and then going outside on the balcony when one of my friends wanted to try a cigar.
This time, we came shortly after 11 PM on a Saturday night, after Strongroom around the corner had a long and stubborn line, and we managed to get in without paying the cover that the bar downstairs was charging when we mentioned Nola. The place was much livelier this time around but everyone had a table and there were a lot of people coming in and out, which I liked. We stayed inside for a bit but again found ourselves out on the balcony, which was well heated and a quieter place to catch up with friends.
They have a fairly extensive cocktail menu, and both times I ordered a fruity drink that came served over a lot of ice. It almost felt like a slushie and was far too cold for my tastes… I think it would have been far more enjoyable over large cubes of ice. But the cool vibe of the place makes up for these slight faults, and I think it has a pretty unique offering amongst all the Shoreditch craziness. It turns into members only after midnight, but from my understanding, membership is free and you can get an application from the bartender and just donate an amount of your choice. Would be great if you plan to be a regular!

I’ve been to Nola way more than I’ve been to any other bar in London for three simple reasons. 1. Great drinks, 2. Terrific service, 3. It’s actually open till a decent time on weekends.
Considering most things in shoreditch shut at 1 – 2, Nola is an absolute godsend being open till 1 on weekdays and 3 on weekends. They do have a slightly weird membership system where you theoretically either need to be in before midnight or a member to enter after midnight. That being said, I’ve never had problems (the key being to act confident with the bouncers downstairs).
Inside the bar is quite a decent size and has a nice heated outdoor area as well. They have live music at certain times but I haven’t quite worked out when these times are (I think earlier in the night on weekends).
Basically it’s a really nice cocktail bar.

Oh Nola! Hello New Orleans and cocktails!
After a jaunt in Calooh Calley, Jane G, Isabel F and myself were looking for another place to try. I had heard about this place upstairs from a bog-​standard looking pub. So we wandered in and walked upstairs. I felt very much like I was trying to sneak into the place, use the free toilet and sneak out again without buying anything (that feeling by the way is one of slight guilt at being caught by beady-​eyed barstaff).
But not this time barstaff! Upstairs is the coolest old style New Orleans cocktail bar this side of the Atlantic. Friday night, no reservation but we were seated by a charming gentlemen who recommended to us all his favourite drinks.
These drinks are STRONG! But strong in a good way. Strong in a ‘I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth with good quality alcohol’ way. I felt a tad underdressed though, definitely a place where you’d feel more at ease in a shirt.
We only stopped for one, so I would most definitely HAVE to go back and sample more. But on our way out I was chatting with the knolwedgable barman and he gave me a lovely list of other places to try that he thought were good. So a quick shout-​out here to Bar Bohemia, Satan’s Whiskers and Zetter Townhouse. If you get my business, recommend Nola because they did you a good turn!
Onwards with our night, happier and more drunk

Nola is one of those hidden bars hidden to even those who love hidden bars.
I love a great speakeasy and thought I had heard of all the ones London had to offer, or at least all of the great ones, but then my friend goes, «Hey, come with me to Nola.» To where?
To Nola, a New Orleans bar hidden above Bedroom Bar in Shoreditch. I’m not a giant fan of BB, since it can come off as a little too university party-​atmosphere all the time, so I was a little wary. But upstairs, away from the chaos, is an amazing space. Mood lit with candles, great jazz on the radio and some of the most passionate bartenders in all of London. They not only make drinks with style, but with love, and each one is incredibly well crafted. They’re staples are the ones you’d expect from a bar called NOLA — The Hurricane and the gin fizz are specifically good.
It’s a members only bar, which means that you have to be with one to get in — but only when it gets crowded. Before then, they usually let everyone in if you ask for it by name. And when you’re up there, ask for membership. It’s free and so worth it, trust me on this one.

This bar is located *inside* the bedroom bar, so you won’t be able to spot a sign from the street. Head inside (we all had our bags searched on the way in), then ignore the rammed area downstairs and wander up to the lovely spacious oasis upstairs.
I didn’t realise this was a members only bar (we arrived before midnight, so wandered straight in…) but I saw people being turned away at the top of the stairs later on in the evening, so I guess the early bird catches the cocktail.
I’m not used to cocktail bars with drinks so strong that you’re only allowed to order two per person!* My friend ordered the super strong nuclear hurricane (of course)… now she, unlike me is pretty good at holding her alcohol… but after these two drinks (and the others we all tried) she was so tipsy that she wandered off at the end of the night on her own. So beware of the sweet-​tasting, but knock-​you-​over-​sweetly cocktails. The waitress did keep re-​filling our glasses of water, so at least they are on anti-​hangover patrols. This must have saved my brain the following morning.
So this is a relaxed, friendly and pleasant bar… Just make sure you have mates to carry you home if you’re a lightweight like me!
*The nuclear hurricane is the only cocktail that you’re only allowed to order 2pp, but the waitress did say she’d allow us more if we really wanted.

Located across from Callooh Callay on Rivington Street, this recently opened cocktail bar is heavily inspired from Bourbon Street, New Orleans, hence the name.
This place is amazing… their sazeracs are crisp, and I would highly recommend their ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ (half cognac, half rye). Their hurricanes are super good, made with passion fruit and lime, and some overproof rum… goes down nice and easy. If you’re feeling bold, go for the nuclear hurricane, which adds a dash of chartreuse (limit of 2 nuclear hurricanes per person… lol).
Open from 6pm to midnight for non members, and until 3 am for members.
One word. GO.