22-23 Denmark Street,
London,
WC2H 8NL
0871 971 3787
The ViewLondon Review
Denmark Street at night looks seedier than it is.
There’s an abundance of dodgy neon things, which look eyebrow raising, even if the most exotic thing they advertise is a drum cellar and a second hand guitar shop. Personally, I find these things deeply intriguing, but I make no assumptions about you, dear reader.
The 12 Bar club certainly doesn’t fight with the scruffiness of the rest of the street. A battered sandwich board points into an alley that reeks of piss, to the small doorway.
Once my nose had accustomed itself to the loo aroma, I was more able to appreciate the congeniality emanating from the group of musos by the door. Though their straggly locks would have stood no chance in an audition for the Timotei ad, their good cheer was palpable and a fair indication of what lay within.
Inside, a smoky bar with a welcoming air of slight dilapidation gives onto a retro diner on one side and a room with chairs and live music on the other.
There is a fantastic little gallery above the music room which has three small tables and some bar stools. You can sit, eat and chat (in respectfully modulated tones) with a great view of the performers and the atmosphere is really, really relaxed and great.
The music was cool. A bloke and a guitar, which is hard to do well, but he did. Some super friendly bar staff nimbly navigated the narrow staircase to bring our burger, fries, seared tuna salad and nachos up, in spite of the official diner bit being elsewhere.
My companion described the burger as solid, my nachos were crispy, and the tuna salad was very delicious, which I wasn’t expecting. Beers and large meals for two came to £21. This is clearly cheap, although there’s a cover charge of £5-£8 pounds for the music.
A delightful place to relax, if you like the faded boho thing. Entirely the diametrical opposite of chi-chi, and very nice. I shall be returning.
To see what the range of eclectic live music is like, check out 12barclub.com