April 16, 2024 |
Bistrotheque, the fashion pack’s fav East London’s eatery, and a cultural beacon for patrons across art, music, fashion and design, is turning 20 this year. And what better way to celebrate the trend-setting hangout than with a six-week programme chock-full of ‘supper clubs’, specially curated cocktails and high-voltage live performances commemorating the exceptional artistry and queer joy the venue is adored for. Kicking off this Friday, ‘Bistrotheque 20 The Season’, the restaurant has collaborated with a colourful array of partners and hosts to fuse culinary and cultural experiences in true, dramatic Bistrotheque fashion. Running until June 1, it’s set to be a truly extraordinary affair – and not one to sleep on, either.
In partnership with Tanqueray No. Ten, and as part of the distillery’s year-long roll-out of residencies celebrating “exceptional artistry, showcasing cocktail creativity behind the bar”, the good times will kick off with the relaunch of Cockatoo, Bistrotheque’s renowned queer cabaret/lounge-style bar and performance space located below the restaurant. Re-opening with a new design and updated decor inspired the craft gin’s ethos of “exceptional artistry”, fresh features include green mohair velvet banquettes encased in shimmering translucent green grating, mirrored tiled columns across the dancefloor and a white fringe ceiling. “The Cockatoo came about a bit by accident; born of a need to spread out diners during Covid,” Bistrotheque co-founders Pablo Flack and David Waddington say. “We took over the downstairs space for dining, painting it a soft pink, then programmed some after-dinner entertainment and finally chucked in some banquettes. This glow up is really about amping up the space in a more intentional way. It’s still all the things people have really loved about The Cockatoo – a heady mix of dining, cocktails and performance but with an added fringed ceiling, new lighting rig and green mohair velvet banquettes as a nod to our Tanqueray No. Ten partnership, mirror tile columns and some other fun touches. Like everything at Bistrotheque, it’s always about evolving and refining.”
Another pillar of the multi-month celebrations is an all-new, specially crafted cocktail list co-concocted by Fashion East’s founder and Bistrotheque super-patron, Lulu Kennedy MBE. Inspired by Kennedy’s perspective on some of the most intriguing trends that she’s noticed within the fashion sphere, featured drinks include the Lulu de Lulu, Glitter Sour, Angelica’s Fancy and the No.Ten classic Tiny Ten. Speaking on the menu, Kennedy says: “I spent an afternoon brainstorming ideas with David and Pablo while their bar team whipped them up into delicious drinks to try. We then gave them ridiculous names (we can’t resist a hoot when we get together), before deciding on their final chic names.” Her favourite boozy beverage is the Glitter Sour, a decedent cocktail drizzled with edible glitter. “It’s based on [a drink Bistrotheque] served 10 years ago that reminds me of aftershave,” she says. “Dreamy!”
Pablo Flack and David Waddington
As for the ‘supper clubs’, these are to be hosted by legendary drag entertainer and venue cornerstone Jonny Woo. Aptly titled ‘Jonny Woo: The Celebration’, this will be followed by a series of performances by award-winning British theatre dance company, Thick and Tight. “We HAD to have Jonny Woo. He is the history of performance at Bistrotheque,” Flack and Waddington say. “Thick and Tight have joined us more recently but really reflect how far drag has come as an art form; they mix it with the most on point contemporary dance.”
On May 1, Waddington and Flack will toast the venue’s exceptional journey with a dinner for patrons teaming with indulgent eats and later in the season, founder of cult music magazine Beat, Hanna Hanra, will roll out two soirees (with three events total) on May 23 and 24, featuring DJ sets curated by and including Hanra. “Hanna Hanra is like family to us, and having Beat on board shows that The Cockatoo is also as much about music as it is drag queens,” the founders say. “We’re also having someone new joining us as part of the season, yet to be announced.”
A hub for fun fashion moments like Fashion East’s magical dinners and the annual Bistrotheque Drag Ball, the experiential gem was born from “a confluence of David and I having run the Bricklayers Arms in Shoreditch in the mid 1990s, which was like a social club for fashion folk, and at the time of opening Bistrotheque I was one half of a fashion label called House of Jazz,” says Flack. One of its greatest fashion moments from the last two decades? “We can’t tell the one about Naomi Campbell and the non-existent back door…” Tell us more!
This isn’t one to miss. ‘Bistrotheque 20 The Season’ is on from April 19 to June 1 at 23–27 Wadeson St, London E2 9DR. To book tickets and for more information click here.
Photography courtesy of Bistrotheque.
