Not bad but not brilliant. Drinks are nice but come in different sized classes (so you can pay the same amount for two of the same cocktails, but one will be twice as large as the other...) and deals advertised on the website do not necessarily apply. Nice upstairs area though, and very convenient to get to from Warren Street.

I recently hired the Basement Bar at Potion for my 30th birthday party, after reading good reviews about the bar online. I have to say that from the moment I contacted them, they were extremely helpful (which is more than I can say for the other bars I approached whilst looking for a suitable venue). They let me decide how I wanted to do things when it came to things like the music, in that they offered to provide a dj, but were happy for me to hook my laptop up to the sound-system and use my own playlist. They let me have the room until 1am and all they really asked of me was a rough number of guests, a relatively low minimum-spend guarantee and a small deposit which was returned to me at the end of the night. As for the Basement Bar itself, it comprises of a main bar area and three cool little adjoining caves (which provide a slightly quieter seating area in which the music isn’t quite as loud). There are tv screens in all four rooms and you can put your own dvds on them if you want to, which is a nice touch. We had our own dedicated barman and exclusive use of the bottom floor of the venue. There were bouncers on duty, but they were very discreet and allowed the smokers to get in and out of the main doors whenever they wanted to. There was no dress code imposed and they even said that I could have a themed night if people wanted to come in fancy dress. Drinks are very reasonably priced – especially for central London – and they do a mean cocktail. We were more or less left to our own devices, but if we needed anything then help was always at hand. Not one person had anything bad to say about the place and plenty of people told me how impressed they were my choice of venue. I can thoroughly recommend Potion to anybody looking to hire a venue for around about 100 people (we had about 75-80 turn up over the course of the night, but there was room for more), and I will definitely look to book the Basement Bar for any future parties I may have.

I booked the downstairs bar for a private 30th birthday party, having read the reviews on this site and after visiting the venue.

The venue was totally perfect, a great location, really close to Warren street and Google street, but also parking on a Saturday night for those non drinkers. It's also a really good size for a private party. The management were extremely helpful and totally open to our fancy dress, decoration and music needs. The organisation on the night was brilliant with wonderful bar staff and bouncers who were really helpful and very cheerful. Drinks were reasonably priced and the food platters perfect for the party.

Would definitely recommend and use again!

This cocktail bar is a little bit off the high street so its easy to miss, but its well worth the detour. My friend was having her party in the private basement area which can be rented out and is like a mini club, the venue has a really nice atmosphere and is very friendly which is why she booked it, but what we didnt realise till we got there was how cheap the cocktails are for london! In happy hour theyr £4, and if your a student theyr happy hour prices all night, and thet cocktails you get are brilliant value for money and look and taste delicious, definitely one to go to before dnacing the night away in one of the clubs nearby.

When we went, the whole of the downstairs area was booked for a 'private party' and we were asked to leave for upstairs. Whilst the downstairs area is nice and comfortable, the upstairs area is pretty much like any other corner pub. The cocktails are really nice, but at £6 a pop I wouldn't expect anything else. When we were there the was some pretty good electronic music audible from the party downstairs.

I've been staying in halls at UCL for the summer on a study placement from New York University.

I find the bar culture in London a bit different to the NYC scene, with the emphasis more on cheap booze and getting wasted.

Some of the cocktails I've tried in London have been amazing though - but very expensive too - my wallet doesn't stretch to The Sanderson and the Mandarin Oriental every weekend!

So when my friend told me about this place I had to check it out. I was looking forward to the student discount on the cocktails, but I wasn't really expecting all that much to be honest.

Boy was I happy to be wrong! The house cocktails were just £4 each, but they were as good as anything I've had in NYC or London. Plus the bartender who was serving me was able to make all kinds of other stuff that wasn't on the menu too.

The atmosphere is nice and relaxed and it's really close to my halls too. Basically a really friendly place to hang out and try some amazing cocktails for next to nothing.

I'll be letting everyone at NYU know this is an essential place to frequent when in London.

Charlottecityboy.

I've been here quite a lot with my friends and we've gradually worked our way through the extensive cocktail menu, have to say we're still to find one we don't like!

The bar staff are really friendly and professional with the drinks being an excellent quality for a very reasonable price.

Being just minutes away from the buzz of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road it's ideally placed for after work drinks or as somewhere sophisticated to kick-start your night (unless, like us, the champagne cocktails keep you very close to the bar!).

I hired out the downstairs venue a few weeks ago for my girlfriends surprise party, the staff were very helpful with the planning and made sure everything ran smoothly.

the best thing was it was all for free, so i'm arranging another party for my work do next month aswell.