If you’re a fan of musty basements, random Iberian trinkets and bars that verge on the edge of being an institution, then Bradley’s should be your favourite place.

The Venue
Located on a little side street in Bloomsbury, just off Oxford Street, Bradley’s Spanish Bar has been quietly seducing all who stumble on its unique complexities for years. The tiny Spanish bar is a venue of two halves: a ground floor bar and a basement bar. The basement is a dimly-lit cave filled with various chairs, tables and random bits and pieces along with its own bar, but if you’re down here, it’s probably because you couldn’t find any space upstairs. Back up on the ground floor, the heavily decorated walls, red velvet benches and vintage jukebox manage to charm people into ignoring the cramped interior, and people spill out onto the street outside, where they take their safety into their own hands as it remains a nifty little thoroughfare for traffic.

The Atmosphere
Bradley’s has so many good points but it seems only right to spell out the negatives first - and there’s nowhere better to start than the toilet. Be prepared for its slightly ruinous state, one that has become a sort of trademark of the bar. You’ve been warned. The staff are a mixed bunch whose attitudes can at times stink as much as the aforementioned lavatory but a good ninety percent of the time all is bright and breezy as they mix well with tourists, after-workers and anybody with a nose for a great jukebox - alongside clusters of Spaniards, of course. It is lively at all hours, thanks in no small part to its size but also to the selection of vintage vinyl that spins the likes of The Shadows and Bill Withers.

The Drink
Drinks are expensive and there isn’t a great deal of choice here but at least there’s Cruzcampo on draught along with Budvar, as well as a selection of wine and spirits.

The Last Word
With a fair amount of central London bars having been ripped away to make space for the Crossrail development, a bar like Bradley’s Spanish Bar, a bar with so many charming foibles, has become even more precious to the area.

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