39-45 Shaftesbury Avenue,
Piccadilly,
London,
W1D 6LA
(020) 7287 8064
The ViewLondon Review
A West End bar that’s doing its best to capture a nightclub vibe, Avenue provides a more casual setting for a night on the town compared to some of its flashier neighbours.
The Venue
This glass-fronted bar sits on Shaftesbury Avenue (presumably the inspiration for the name), the epicentre of London’s bustling West End and home to plenty of similar mainstream bars. Avenue’s simple exterior makes it easy to miss despite its considerable size, particularly if you are expecting the typical club queues complete with glossy front door. A two-floored venue with plenty of seating surrounding a central dancefloor, Avenue is simple and unpretentious. The two levels are effectively the same room, with a large staircase taking clubbers up to a gallery-like area with more seating and a place to look out over the crowded floor below. Furnished booths and sofas border each level, making Avenue a viable choice for drinks after a long day of exploring London by foot.
The Atmosphere
The informal nature of Avenue, along with its lack of sparkling lighting or plush décor, brings with it an innocent party atmosphere that feels a little tame but genuine. With no posers and a surprisingly high ratio of men to women, the mostly young and touristic crowd are pretty happy to dance like no one’s watching (despite the onlookers upstairs) and wind down from daytime until the early hours. Unlike nearby venues, girls won’t look out of place in a decent pair of jeans and though it does get busy, it’s not as crammed as other bars can be come midnight. Staff are very friendly and quick to serve, impressively keeping the bar queue to a minimum – a real plus in such a large venue.
The Music
As more of a bar than a club (think Yates’s with a smaller bar and larger dancefloor), the music is a cocktail of crowd-pleasing chart toppers, old school R’n’B and club classics to keep everyone on their feet all night, which works well despite the plentiful seating areas. Open seven days a week, the bar has different DJs playing house, electro, R’n’B and classic anthems most nights whether it’s their Full Phat event or weekly Famous for Fridays parties – exactly as you’d expect for the West End, only with a little less glitz.
The Drink
Avenue is by no means a cocktail bar; the menu is short and sweet, with a basic list of classics (£7.50 a glass) and house favourites (£7 a glass) that lack an inventive touch. Alongside bottled beers, wine starting from £17 a bottle and a surprising list of champagnes, the cocktails and cocktail shooters make up the bulk of the menu, with pitchers available as well as bottled spirit selections from £120. The safest bet: stick to the mojito or woo woo to avoid disappointment; the cosmopolitan is smaller, lighter and weaker than a seasoned drinker would expect and the long drinks seem to be closer to the mark. The sex on the beach and Lynchburg lemonade are almost sickly-sweet but tasty, while the Bollinger champagne is great to add some fizz to the night if you fancy forking out £95.
The Last Word
A little predictable yet spacious and reasonably friendly, Avenue isn’t the hottest ticket in town but it more than accommodates those looking for an unpretentious place to party in the West End.
Avenue has been reviewed by 9 users