Stereo Covent Garden's eclectic drama offers New York-meets-Paris vibes with strong design undertones, right in the heart of London. The venue, promising vibrant, late-night entertainment in the form of carefully curated live music, killer cocktails and scrumptious food, is the newest brainchild of international hospitality brand Experimental Group – the team behind the ever-popular Experimental Cocktail Club Chinatown and the Henrietta hotel. With Stereo Covent Garden, its creators come with a fresh proposition: a sophisticated venue for the urbane professional that brings several quality entertainment experiences together. Why leave, they seem to suggest, when you can find everything in one fun-filled home?
Stereo Covent Garden
The space is accessed through a fairly inconspicuous, black double door, and then down two flights of stairs into a fittingly mysterious basement. It has been designed by London-based studio Afroditi, led by its founder, architectural interiors and design specialist Afroditi Krassa. The award-winning practice, whose previous accolades include Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay and Dishoom, orchestrated an interior that brings together dancing, live music, bar and dining experiences into one flowing, open-plan layout.
The idea here is that this hard-working entertainment hub can cater to different needs and desires throughout the evening – once you're here, you can eat, drink, dance and listen to a range of artists all in one outing, moving through different parts of a single space as the night progresses.
Drawing on the timeless values of an old-school New York-style bar, blended with restrained Parisian cabaret tones, the result is a very 21st century, multitasking interior, allowing for 500-person capacity and a 40-cover restaurant. Soft, low tables and seating meet the welcoming round edges of bar counters and balustrades comfortably clad in a selection of fabrics, leather and reflective surfaces throughout.
The bar, mesmerisingly illuminated by 88 glowing globes and a high, reflective ceiling, sits on a central 'island', raised across the similarly raised stage (the dance floor is located between them). Metal detailing, a deep and warm, dark colour palette of red, brown and burgundy shades, artwork, and a balanced arrangement of upholstered and timber furniture complete the composition.
Areas are discreetly sectioned through floor-level changes and low partitions, which still allow vistas across the club, so that guests can feel part of the whole – in a pleasingly old-fashioned, 20th-century-speakeasy-inspired atmosphere, where diners, dancers and spectators contribute to and share an experience.
In sync with Stereo Covent Garden's overall themes, chef-restaurateur Andrew Clarke composed a series of dishes for the menu that sprinkle American classics with French influences – complemented by plenty of delicious vegetarian options. There are cheeseburgers, hot wings, nachos, steaks and lobster pie; alongside several lighter snacks and nibbles, including stuffed peppers, celery and gorgonzola, and eggs and kimchi. The dishes are filling but not heavy – simply fuelling guests for a post-diner dance.
The cocktails to accompany these are suitably well-thought-out, ranging from perfectly poised classics (Negronis) and twists on others, such as the Californication – a mix of tequila blanco, red pepper, agave, chipotle tincture, and Two Keys pink grapefruit soda.
Stereo Covent Garden's uniqueness however, is underlined by the fact that all this is accompanied by an array of house music genres – both live and from the DJ booth. Hand-picked musicians and vocalists provide a stream of uplifting tunes you can't help but tap your feet to, ensuring a night that's quite different to other bars in the area.
'Fun’ and ‘party’ sit at the core of London's latest late-night music venue, say its creators; and the team worked hard to create the right atmosphere, carving options and flexibility, as well as a range of high-quality offerings for their guests, all wrapped in an appetising envelope of fine, contemporary design.
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