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UJ Best New Bars of 2009
Welcome ladies and gentle-junkies to the first instalment of our annual UJ Awards. Celebrating and high-fiving our favourite new London venues and ventures of the last 12 months, first up this year (perhaps for obvious reasons) are our pick of the best new bars of 2009…
As far as drink trends go, this year was a bit of a rollercoaster: countless pubs closed, launches got delayed (more than usual), and there were those worrying few months in the middle where nothing of any notable quality seemed to be opening… and yet, somehow, more than a few gleaming alco-gems managed to emerge.
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A notable spike on the scene was the expansion of eat/drink mini–chains: the Old Queen’s Head crew opened their Blues Kitchen in Camden, The Diner expanded their reach into Islington, and The Breakfast Club similarly into Hoxton Square. Whilst none of these made it into our hallowed top 5, they all deserve notable mention. As do London's grandest empires, the Soho House and Match Groups, for not resting on their laurels and pushing on to give us both Pizza East (also great for a queue-free beer and a snack) and the Chalet-style Clubhouse atop the East Rooms, complete with faux snow, a real apres-ski vibe and, well a helicopter. A well-deserved nod must also go to the recent Proud Cabaret in the City, Mahiki's new sister tiki–joint Kanaloa halfway towards Holborn, and the Sloane-ish speakeasy Barts (if only because we're overjoyed to finally be able to get a proper drink in these neighbourhoods…).
The other major trend was for booze-led events, many of which took a huge step up in both scale and quality. So that events like the mind-boggling Alcoholic Architecture and the various White Blackbird shindigs more than outweighed all the tiresome flashmobs – thank the gods.
So without further ado or analysis, from easy–going to experimental, cocktails to cold beers, high–brow to booty–shaking, here is the Urban Junkies Top 5 Best New Bars of 2009:
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COMMENT ON THIS FEATURE by
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WHAT’S FOR SUPPER: COAT CHECK
The wind is blowing and the clocks have gone back. Christmas lights are being strung and St John’s Wort is on sale at Boots. The winter blues have started but the battle can be won. Here are three recipes to bring a little winter coziness to your kitchen.
Click here for more information… |
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| TODAY’S EVENT PICKS |
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SHOP – 80% off designers including Martin Margiela and Vivienne Westwood for
the boys. 10am-8pm, 5/6 Islington Studios, Thane Works, Thane Villas, N7 7NU. £2.
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EAT – Get stuck into cakes, cookies, bars and buckets of the best chocolate around. 11am-8pm, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX. Free. |
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PARTY – Underground Rebel Bingo with nuts prizes, DJs and drawing on each other. 10:30pm, Secret location in Angel, £10 on the door. |
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GROLSCH – The Grolsch Swingtop is a unique and iconic beer bottle. Not only does it look stunning, but it bursts open with a dramatic POP! Visit grolsch.co.uk for a richer experience. |
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(c)
2009 Urban Junkies. All rights reserved.
Reproductions of any portion of this website only with our express
permission. Urban Junkies is a free daily mailer. All listings
and features are editorial: We do not receive any payment from
venues, artists or promoters. Every effort has been made to ensure
accuracy of information listed but we cannot accept responsibility
for errors or omissions.
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