If you live in Greenwich, love funky house and resent paying for the journey to and from Central London, you’ve now got somewhere right on your doorstep.

The Venue
Known for being a bit like a town in a city, Greenwich is an area that many people are attracted to because of its large selection of quieter bars and restaurants. The downside of that is if you’re a Greenwich resident who likes dancing in a Central London style hotspot, then you have to either settle for the quieter life near home, or spend a fortune travelling into town. Bouncing off this concept and attempting to do something new, the owners of W Lounge took on Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen to design this ex-gay bar and mix it with funky house and cocktails.

The venue has three floors, each with their own modern decorative twist: the first floor is a small area with a DJ, the middle floor is a rectangular shaped room that’s simply a dancefloor, and on top you’ve got VIP-style cocktail lounge. It could be criticised for being a bit characterless – but you have to give it to Bowen for trying. He’s mixed up hand-drawn wallpaper downstairs and costume-themed furniture in the cocktail lounge with the rectangular and modern feel of the place.

The Atmosphere
The crowd who filter into W Lounge are pretty young with a strong student contingent; because of this it doesn’t have an air of pretension, which is a pleasant break from the norm. The cocktail menu suits novices with its simple descriptions and the door staff are generally cheery and willing to be generous with the 'dress to impress' dress code. Unlike neighbouring venues in the area, this place is open until 1am during the week and 2am at the weekend – and they’re licensed to extend this if there is a good crowd.

The Music
W Lounge has regular DJs, live music and Karaoke from Wednesday to Sunday. Karaoke is on Wednesdays, Student nights are on Thursdays, and Friday is a more sophisticated over 21s night with old skool garage and tracks that you’d forgotten even existed. Sunday nights are a more chilled out affair, taken over by Greenwich Uni’s live jazz band.

The Drink
W Lounge boasts over 65 different cocktails, which is pretty impressive even outside of Greenwich. Each are priced between £5 and £6 and are mixed up individually for the customer, and upstairs you have a decent table service. House specials include W Lounge Sex on the Beach (Absolute raspberry, melon and raspberry liqueur, pineapple and cranberry juice) and tastes a heap fruitier than the classic drink that’s commonly watered down in a lot of bars.

The manager runs a two-hour cocktail training Back to Bar course for £45 where participants can learn how to mix exquisite cocktails, like the bar boasts it does. For other drinks, the menu is pretty varied – the small range of bottled and draught beers cost around £3, wine starts at £3.50 for a glass or a cheap £13 a bottle. Spirits and mixers are about £3-£5.

The Last Word
Only time will tell whether specialist cocktails, old skool tracks and a Central London-style dancing venue will fit into the Greenwich. If this sounds like your thing, you’ll probably find W Lounge a great place to wind down in, cocktail in hand.

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