Call Me Mr Lucky

Cool bar tucked away from the regular after work crowds. Eclectic cocktail menu with some interesting combinations and skilled bar men (however avoid the Thai Green Lemongrass Margarita unless your into curry tasting cocktails). Reasonable prices. Good music, quite varied, not cheesy. You get in through the café upstairs and have to say «I want to get lucky» to one of the wait staff in order to be led through the kitchen and down the stairs into the bar. Really cool experience.

Oh god, I love a password. That’s an extra star right there.
It’s not *quite* the dramatic secret entrance that one craves at a speakeasy — can we go down a slide in the back a wardrobe? or take the stairs behind the rotating shower cubicle? — but nevertheless, you still can’t get into the bar without knowing it’s there, and being taken by a patient member of staff.
And downstairs is pretty cool. Dark, but cool. Subterranean chic — bit cavey. I really like the booth at the back in particular.
The cocktails have improved MASSIVELY (I’ve been twice) — the first time almost all of them were tequila based, which is a problem if you don’t like tequila. They had a lot more range this time, plus I went off menu for a couple, which was fine, even if the guy at the bar obviously wanted me to stick to the suggestions. However, they said they were changing the menu the next day, so who knows what it’s like now!
It doesn’t seem very organised. They missed the spinning wheel a couple of times while I was there (I’m sure we could have gone and asked but it feels like they should instigate it). Plus I tried to book the booth 2.5 days before I was turning up, and after some intermittent email responses only actually got anything like confirmation… the day after I’d booked for.
It can also be quite quiet in the earlier evening (or even a bit later) — feels like it might need to be a bit less of a secret!
But it is a bit exciting and charming and a good spot to show off how cool you are for a bit. I should know, I’m pretty cool.

Since my last visit the cocktail menu has changed and it’s sooooo much better now. They were all quirky unusual flavours before which didn’t work in my opinion (and those of my colleagues and friends). Who wants to drink a cocktail tasting of horseradish or rocket? The only cocktail we did like before is still on the menu — quince dreams. The others have more usual cocktail flavours although none are standard so it’s a little different but nice to try. I had a ‘rhubarb no custard’, which was refreshing and delicious but not as rhubarby as I hoped, and I had ‘the pink one’. It was late at this point and we’d been out for a few hours so I’m afraid I can’t remember what was in it but it was fruity and delicious, just not very alcoholic.
There was a more fun atmosphere this time with a great mix of music. We also got to spin the wheel! My friend spun it, got spin again and then got the best one… free shots for everyone in the bar so the staff came round with tequila for all!
Such a fun night. I’d just like to see slightly cheaper drinks.

Errr… Maybe I went on the wrong day but the drinks weren’t strong when I went– despite the previous reviews. I’m so short that 2 drinks will keel me over, but nope, i had 3 drinks here and no water in between and I was still only just buzzing.
The drinks weren’t great. The bourban pear and the day of the dead (with mezcal one?!) but the bloody criminal was bloody awful. Grant T would have slated it to high heavens. It was tomato juice with spice and nothing else. Also Maybe it’s me, but it was so secret that there was no one in the bar. But then again, it was mid week and maybe people are sensible…
Pass this one and head to the Mayor for HELLUVA better drinks and atmosphere. (The bartenders are way friendlier at the Mayor)

Another fun breakfast club speakeasy. I love the diner décor upstairs in the Breakfast Club area, and the speakeasy has a real fun laidback, tropical feel. The seating areas in the speakeasy are quite intimate. The two of us got their early and sat by ourselves in a circular booth in a little nook. Later in the evening when the place got busier we were joined be other drinkers — the booths mean if you’re a couple you’ll probably make some friends. We had a great time. I can’t say I was a huge fan of the unusual cocktails (mushy peas and wasabi… really??) but they were what I would call ‘an experience’. Ultimately I prefer Scaredy Cat but this place is a great option too.

Starting out at 4pm on Sunday afternoon with the aim of heading to the bar hasn’t been the best idea I’ve had, but it hasn’t been the worst either. Meeting up at London Bridge, we walked through the doors of the Breakfast Club and waited for the hostess. When she arrived, I slightly uncertainly said the password. She blinked, then said she had to check whether it was open yet (turns out we were an hour early! I could have sworn it was 4pm), walked down the line and promptly disappeared through a doorway. And that was it, she was gone for quite a while, people behind us in line, asked what we had said to her, but we just said we wanted a table! After a while she was back, and led us through the restaurant, while picking up a swipe card from a fellow member of staff. Taking us to the back of the restaurant, she swiped through a door before leading us down a flight of stairs, through the kitchen pass and then into a dark basement where the bar was to be found. We were the only patrons there to begin with, although various groups of people came through. It’s quite dark in there, we used the candle to read the menus, the music is a good dose of the nineties, songs I hadn’t heard in years. We sat at the bar under Christmas lights strung across the ceiling with little Chinese lanterns adorning each fairy bulb. A nice touch.
The drinks were good, and it’s worth explaining how they are made. Quite a few are premixed in little cough syrup bottles, that then have the required alcohol added to them before being served to you alongside a glass of ice. The bar is meant to be designed as a quick serve place and most of the cocktails are designed on this principle. We sampled 4 in all, Quince Dreams (a take on a gin and tonic, with peppercorn, cardamom and coriander), Shrub me Tender (Tequila with kumquat, pineapple, ginger, lemon and a wheat beer), Ruby Murray (Tandoori (!) infused bourbon with Cointreau, lemon and egg white) and a Warner Brothers (popcorn infused Monkey Shoulder, with maple syrup and some other bits). Surprisingly the last two were the best, with the Ruby Murray being the unlikely favourite, who knew Tandoori spice would go so well in a cocktail! I really recommend you try it.
Between the two rounds, we had some food, surprisingly they serve a different menu downstairs to the main restaurant, and on the menu are burgers, wings, fries and mac n cheese. I went for a buttermilk chicken burger, while Kate had the Lucky burger — bacon and blue cheese and we split an order of fries. They guy told us that the chicken could take 15 mins but that was fine with us, as we still had drinks. The food was really good, the chicken still juicy and tender, the lucky burger had a good ‘blue’ flavour, not too overpowering and the blue ‘crust’ adding a different edge to it.
Personally, I really liked it! It’s going to be a new ‘secret’ bar for me. Although we ended up going to The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town as well that day, this one is definitely my favourite of the two!

There are a few things I really, truly, love in this world. And speakeasy bars are one of them.
Yes, I know they’re cheesy and kind of out played at this point, but I love walking through a secret door and coming out the other side somewhere completely unexpected. And the Breakfast Club understand this feeling.
With all their newest openings, they’ve been sneaking in special cocktails bars along side their fare of American eats. The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town near Liverpool Street is one of my favourite bars in London and The King of Ladies Man in Battersea Rise is so much fun (when they actually have it as a speakeasy hidden bar and don’t open the giant doors to the street.)
So when I heard there was a new one, well, I had to be there.
Call Me Mr Lucky doesn’t have as much flash as the other two. You walk up to the hostess and let her know that, «you’re here to get lucky.» She smiles and takes you through a locked door, through the kitchen and into a basement bar filled that’s dark, and filled with glowing Christmas lights. Unlike the weirdness of The Mayor and the pop-​cheese of King, this one kind of just feels like someone’s bar they built in their basement for fun. That doesn’t take away from the enjoyment, it’s just a little less than the others.
However, the drinks? Still a good. This is a tequilla bar and they do not mess around. The Rocket-​Man, with a double shot and a ton of other ingredients, had me near the floor. The Rosie’s Bush (heh) tasted like a alcoholic Turkish Delight. And the Quince Dreams was an amazing take on a gin and tonic. And at £8 a pop, they’re strong and reasonable.
To go along with the theme, the bar even has a makeshift wheel-​of-​fortune one lucky patron gets to spin on the hour every hour. Most of the prizes are fantastically ridiculous, like «everyone in the bar hugs» or «make an animal noise.» But of course, I had to know what I was spinning for.
«So what’s the top prize?» I asked.
«Well, a free shot for everyone in the bar isn’t bad,» I was told.
The wheel has to go around at least five times, so I grabbed the duct-​tape arrow by it’s tail and gave it a hard spin. Round and round and round and round and slowing down and round and round and then…
ROUND OF SHOT FOR THE ENTIRE BAR! Boom, just like that.
You can call me Mr Lucky indeed.