42-44 Great Windmill Street,
Soho,
London,
W1D 7NB
(020) 7851 0800
The ViewLondon Review
There isn’t much grace to Great Windmill Street, straddling the bright lights of Piccadilly and the seedier end of Soho. Plonked among takeaways, strip bars and spit 'n' sawdust pubs, Grace certainly sticks out, but is there more to it than just a pretty face?
The Venue
Tucked into a part of the West End usually reserved for binge-drinking suburbanites and lost foreigners, Grace is something of a misnomer for its locale. Prettily bedecked in a haze of pinks and purples, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd stepped straight onto the King's Road.
There's a whole other world hidden conveniently below deck: what you see from the outside is merely the chilled-out bar and its gourmet neighbour Terrace. Both look good, although they rarely venture outside of the mainstream with a succession of seen-it tables and forgettable shades. Not that this is an awful thing, there's nothing worse than a badly-sprung bunch of 'wacky' bric-a-brac and kitschy pop art. And for the most part there's little with which to fault it.
The Atmosphere
The staff are friendly and attentive, going so far as to making friendly chit-chat whilst making list arrangements. It's difficult to gauge the same in the bar staff, seeing as the floor space quickly resembles Wall Street on a Monday morning. This can be a problem: it takes a good few minutes to make your way from one side of the bar to the next, and the way that the chairs and tables are bunched tightly together means you'll invariably spill your drink on at least one unhappy punter. Lights are dimmed for disco effect early on in the evening, and a predictable mix of chart, cheese and barely-palatable soft dance is pumped via the admittedly brilliant sound system.
That aside though, there's little to tell this place apart from your local bar, and many of the assembled drinkers are the sort you can bet will be falling over just a couple of hours later. To door staff's credit, any trouble is swiftly and harmlessly dealt with. There are folk here trying to uphold its ambitious moniker, and most are just out to have a good time.
The Drink
For most, wine is the pre-theatre tipple of choice, and Grace has it in abundance. Almost 40 brands of red, white and rose are arranged handily by taste, and are priced between £11 and £43 per bottle. Very reasonable. If it's a particularly big night, you may want to splash out on a bottle of Champers, which will set you back anything between £20 and £200. Champagne cocktails, including an exquisite Bellini (Archers and Champagne; perfectly cooled and presented), will set you back just £6, whilst a stronger beast can be had in the bar's long and short cocktail list (£5-£6). The Cosmopolitan is mixed with dexterity rare for the region.
Shooters include a B52 (Kahlua, Baileys and Cointreau; £4.40) that’s far too heavy on the Baileys, and a super-sweet but delicious Toblerone (Teichenne vanilla and Bols Cacao; £4.40). Beers on tap include Grolsch, Staropramen and Heineken, which are cold and bubbly.
The Last Word
Decent lighting, a nice-ish decor, plenty to drink and a lively atmosphere make Grace a decent choice for the area, although it's only good if you like the commercial side of the West End.
Grace has been reviewed by 43 users