Shadow Lounge

I was dragged to the Shadow Lounge by a friend of mine who had been there before. As i trust this friend’s taste to be the same as mine i walked in with confidence. I really like gay clubs for they have great tastes in music and decoration. And not being bothered by creeps is definitely a plus.
We paid £10 for the entrance. It’s pretty ok for Soho. Imagine that you pay the same price to enter O’Neills (from which we had just escaped), not quite the same worth.
For once the bouncers and staff members at the entrance were quite nice.
The cloakroom is just at the entrance so you can drop off your coats easily on the way down to the club.
The dance floor is small but i like it. A disco ball hangs off the ceiling and i liked the atmosphere and ornaments and decoration. Some of the waiters are topless and there are two dancers (either dressed or in their underwear) lasciviously dancing in separate booths. Great touch, truly a sight for sore eyes. I’d love to learn these moves.
There are quite a few booths with seats available if you’d like to make a reservation for a table.
The population of the club was nice and didn’t annoy me for once. The age range goes from 20 to 40 so it’s quite diverse.
I’ll state something weird, but i came with a gay friend and a straight one, both men. I say that to precise that my straight friend enjoyed it really much as well. I know straight men sometimes feel they shouldn’t go to gay clubs (which i don’t understand), but trust me, you can go for it. And having your butt touched by a couple of men is nothing different than a usual woman’s experience in a regular club ;).
The drinks are served in pretty glasses (i love pretty glasses) and my Gin and Tonic was good. But then again, can you really fail a Gin & T? The barmen were friendly and fast.
I don’t know if it’s always like that but there was a live singer and she was lovely, great voice and catchy tunes. I absolutely LOVE that kind of things. I hope it’s a regular thing because i would come back for her.
The toilets are clean and look nice. The smoking area is outside.
We had a really good time until it closed. The only set back is they could make the effort on the music. I knwo the 70’s/80’s were the golden age of the Gay culture but come on, we want to shake those butts on some 21^st century tunes as well. Apart from that, i don’t thnik i’d change anything.
*I’ll add that for once i didn’t feel uncomfortable by the temperature inside. A big plus ! I hate to sweat.

Douche bag central. The bouncers are above themselves and want to let twinks and coke heads to the front of the line. We had an ungrateful «sigh» when checking our passports.
As Guests in the city, avoid this place at all costs. The tab amounts depend among the bar tenders, as the same drinks are charged different amounts among each bar tender. Two single jack and coke can range from € 11.50 to € 22 depending on the bar tender.
The layout it tiny… Dallas and Houston have better clubs, larger dance floors and much better sound systems. This hole in the wall had no bass what so ever.

Well shimmy up to those velvet ropes and pray you can schmooze the door staff because this is definitely Soho’s best late night venue.
Vodka boats and copious cocktails are the Lounges claim to fame. You don’t even have to check your attitude at the door as there is more than plenty of that flying around the newly renovated décor.
Hip and happening could best describe this night spot. Wall to wall beautiful people and enough mirrors to keep them entertained. The private booths are a must, and need to be booked in advance if you want to rest those Happy Feet. Definitely try the vodka boat as it is the best value for money and tons of fun. A full bottle of vodka and all the mixes are supplied all you need is a strong pouring arm and an insatiable thirst. Extremely busy on the weekends but hey Oh BTW don’t forget your change for the bathrooms.

It’s not an exclusive club at all. When I’ve been I’ve seen all kinds of riffraff inside. It’s dingy and the layout is weird. It’s never busy either. Rubbish.

We went to Shadow Lounge our first night in London which happened to be a Thursday and it was a total blast. When we first got there it was fairly busy but within an hour or so the place was totally packed. I liked the layout of the place, it was much bigger than I expected and the bartenders, although forced by law to practically give me NO alcohol in my drink lol (we learned really quick to just order straight shots and beer), were all very nice and hot. It was definitely a good start to my London escapades.

It’s a touch of class on the otherwise fairly tacky London gay scene, but it knows this, and so do the clientèle. It get’s ridiculously overcrowded too.

Recently renovated, the Shadow Lounge is wonderfully put together. With a small (under floor 70’s disco lights) dance floor in the centre of the room, surrounded by a raised standing area, reserved tables as well as one lone pole for those who dare to dance you are bound to have fun. Bathrooms are the cleanest around (with very nice soaps/​lotions).
Drinks: Cheaper than surrounding clubs but still pricey, it shows as those in my party could barely (if even) taste any alcohol at all. Obviously you get what you pay for, and you do not get much in regards to drinks. bottle service has nice seating.
WARNING: I found GLASS IN MY DRINK, which luckily I did not
swallow. The bartender was not surprised, shocked, nor offer anything
in return of my glass infested (watered down) drink.
Clientele: Attractive men whose ages seem to range 20’s to 40’s
You need to put yourself on a list to get in, although if you get there around 10 you can get in free and then just get a hand stamp and come back later.
I will point out normally I would give a higher rating, but broken glass in drinks is absolutely unacceptable. I hope it is a rare thing, and I would give them a 1 STAR but did enjoy the club.

Soho at it’s best? Maybe. The exclusiveness is probably something quite attractive about this place, then again it seems that at least style-​wise they let everyone in (is it about the wallet?). Even though I can only refer to movies I’ve seen about this era, I felt a bit like dancing back in the eighties. Loved the retro, blinky, light-​dancefloor. The show stage, literally, due to the fence around it. Great to people watch, not so great if you want to have a round night also music wise. It wasn’t trashy enough to be cool and not cool enough to be enjoyable. Find a direction!

Great venue a little over crowded and a bit pricey.

Fantastic mid-​week, also fantastic on a Saturday. Gets a little overcrowded at times though. Good crowd.

I’ve always been told this was a hard bar to get into, though in the past two weeks, I’ve encountered several emails and events that offered free guestlist for this place, so it doesn’t realllly seem so exclusive. I popped in after an event that I went to because they made a list for us, and I was a bit surprised to see how small it was. We claimed a little alcove, which, yeah I guess was cozy and they roped it off, but only after some workers started telling us that we shouldn’t sit there because «it might be reserved»
«um, well, can you check, there’s nobody here, the bar is empty, there’s no sign saying it’s reserved, so if it is, tell us now and we’ll move to one of the other 10 or so alcoves»
They didn’t respond, but they did let us stay in there… which I’m not sure if the whole production was supposed to make me feel like I’ve triumphed over the odds or if I’ve been needlessly picked at by the staff. I didn’t stay terribly late because, well, I wasn’t blown away and it was a weekday. I think if you were going to have a party or something where you wanted your own private area, this could be a nice stop, but for the odd night out, I didn’t see what the hype was about. I didn’t catch any of the entertainment though so maybe I should give it another go.

I’ve been an on and off regular to Shadow Lounge for going on five years now. When I first started going it was definitely a member’s bar and you almost nearly needed a member or regular to get you in. Now it’s just as easy to get into as any other gay club in London (not that it’s a bad thing).
The nice thing about Shadow Lounge is that it fills a much needed gap in the market, i. e well heeled gays who don’t want to a) embarrass themselves by going into G.A.Y bar or b) get completely off their faces at Fire in Vauxhall. That’s not to say that the place doesn’t get going, it certainly does, and there’s always a handsome crowd for plenty of flirting.
Shadow Lounge does have quite a strict door policy, but does allow in straight girls (as long as they’re pretty fabulous) who are with gay guys. I’ve taken whole groups of straight people here and they all got in fine (granted it was a Wednesday night — might be more difficult on a Saturday). But in the past I’ve gone ahead of my group had a quick chat with the bouncer and they’re normally fine.
Walking down the stairs and into the heart of Shadow Lounge is always an uplifting experience. The music is great and there are enough quirky nights during the week to attract a half decent crowd. The pole often becomes the centre of attention and has a magnetic attraction for many punters. The drink prices have slowly escalated over the years, and now they’re really pushing the upper limit of affordability, especially as the décor hasn’t really changed much in the last couple of years, and it is really just a slightly pimped up basement club. The bar tenders, on the whole, are pretty friendly and efficient. They offer waiter service with or without a table which can be handy when the club is so full it takes twenty minutes to navigate around the tiny dance floor.
If you’re looking for a fab Saturday night out then get down early (about 10.30pm) bag one of the tables that hasn’t been reserved. Get friendly with a waiter (not too friendly!!!) and settle in for a decadent night of drinking and dancing!

The best thing Soho has to offer its gays.
As far as gay places go, and I’ve seen an lot of gay places, this one’s pretty damn classy. The clientele is generally mid 20s-​late 30s, professional, well-​dressed (mostly suits/jeans+button-down), sceney and attractive — about the best you’ll find in London on most nights. The member’s only thing is usually only employed in the case of mis-​fits or overcrowding. The drinks are a tad pricey (8 quid for a standard cocktail) but they’re all made with a double shot. Definitely one of those places where when you awaken hungover the next day and look at your receipts from this place the night before, it will not put you in a better mood. Pretty much the only place you’d go in gay Soho where you’ll see bankers buying bottles of champagne and pretending they’re at Boujis or Amika. There’s also a smaller VIP area for any D list celeb that walks in (there aren’t usually that many…).

Shadow Lounge is London’s first and premier Gay members club. If you can get inside (means being signed in by a member) you can revel in the usually busy, sleek surroundings.
As any good gay bar should be it is unashamedly stylish and chic. The club itself is not afraid to have a laugh with some fantastically entertaining live acts and music throughout the week. If you feel like jumping on the stage yourself, anyone is welcome to twirl themselves around the pole that is a permanent fixture.
Unlike Heaven it has stayed true to its gay following and not been diluted by the club allowing in obvious straights.
The clientele range from pretty boys, twinks and suits of all ages. For a fun night out with perhaps a bit of an eye opener, Shadow Lounge could be the place for you.

This members club does actually allow nonmembers entry upon payment and is an extremely classy late night drinking den, regularly attracting the rich and famous â” recently I was there when Kylie appeared to the delight of the crowd who usually have to put up with Cilla Black dancing on the pole!
The club has a large dance-​floor right in the centre with standing and seated areas circling it. This, obviously, offers a great vantage point to those on the prowl to spy who’s on the dance-​floor before going in for the kill.
The music is lively, popular club-​classics mixed by scene DJ’s. The bar itself is staffed with beautiful, toned guys who are speedy. Their cocktails are great but bit pricey but you are paying for quality not only of the drinks and service but the place itself.
A quality late-​night club right in the heart of Soho.

Whatever your take on the Shadow Lounge you have to give it points for longevity. The life expectancy of a gay soho night club can often be measured in months but this club has been a hugely popular permanent fixture for 10 years, sat in Brewer street, where highly groomed hopefuls can be seen queing on most nights.
Its is glam, intimidatingly glam to the unprepared. Some of the more pretentious punters often disappear up their own backsides around midnight or can be caught dancing with someone equally pretentious until they work out that it is in fact their own reflection in a mirror.
But take with you a bucket of salt and you cant help but enjoy the vivacious atmosphere charged by rivers of Laurent Perrier and intense people watching. It gets insanely busy on the week end so not for the claustraphobic, so try a mid week visit for a more conversational antomsphere.
The music has improved recently and is less loungy and more dancy. There has also been a flush out of staff and a sense that things have been cleaned up a bit.
This is as classy as gay London gets, as reflected in the drinks prices. When flush the siren voices are hard to resist and a quick visit never ends up that way. Smile and the Shadow Lounge will smile back at you.