Colourful and fun, Clerkenwell House embraces bar, club and even café elements, cooking them up to create a venue with delicious food, delectable drinks and a zingy atmosphere.

The Venue
Spread over three floors and exuding a distinctly 80s neon vibe, Clerkenwell House mixes playful contemporary elements with state of the art lights to create an exuberant, colourful box. The split-level ground floor is dominated by a glass frontage, a pool table, artistic glass panels and even industrial elements, but it is most striking for the flood of pinks and greens from the light installation. The same is true for the basement, where large armchairs mix with on-trend wallpaper, and the first floor, part of which is spaceship-like - like something stolen from the Milan Design Fair (this is also where the intimate VIP room is located).

The Atmosphere
The electric 80s feel is reflected in the music, too, and Friday nights see an enjoyable mix of tunes from that period. It attracts a younger, more up for it crowd than neighbouring venues, which are mostly pubs frequented by local bike couriers and beer fans (especially Craft Beer Co).

The Food
During the day, Clerkenwell House embraces a relaxed clientele for lunch. The menu looks too concise to be a work of love, but the open-plan kitchen upstairs is evidence to the contrary: a lot of attention is paid to quality and preparation, far more than you would ever expect from a bar. Hence, dig into the fresh Mediterranean salad (£5.20) complete with beans, olives, capers and oregano, or the more substantial homemade spinach and ricotta cheese ravioli, Parma chicken supreme (skinless chicken stuffed with ricotta and wrapped in Parma ham), pan-fried salmon fillet (£8.40-£12.50) and more. Dinner-time is also enticing: smaller portions of king prawn tempura, deep fried calamari, vegetarian spring roll and others (£2.80-£4.70) provide a starter or nibble option, while larger plates including chicken burger, fish and chips, penne amatriciana (£5.20-£8.50) are more filling. The Italian chef may not pour his creative juices into the spring rolls, but he definitely does a marvelous job with many of the other dishes.

The Drink
Clerkenwell House relies on a good list of cocktails (£7.50-£8.50), many of which are interesting house concoctions. Try the Paloma (tequila, grapefruit juice, lime, agave syrup, soda water) for something exotic or Fragoli (liqueur with whole wild strawberries, lemon vodka, prosecco) for a taste of continental Europe. If the cocktails are definitely one of the highlights, Clerkenwell House distinguish itself for being comprehensive in every department: there are shooter and shots (£3.50-£4.50), a great list of beers (£3-£4.50), a selection of wines (£14-£35 or £3.70-£4.85 per glass) and a profusion of spirits and liqueurs (£6.40-£8.50).

The Last Word
Colourful, cheerful and unpretentious but also slick and polished, Clerkenwell House is a good all-rounder.

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