By Paola Bassanese
Random nights are always the best. You know where to start and you don’t know how the night will evolve, hopping from bar to bar, having a dance and a drink.
London may not be Barcelona or Madrid but I firmly believe that movida, that all-Spanish phenomenon of bar-hopping, is an essential ingredient for a good night out.
Confession time: I don’t normally like Shoreditch. There, I said it. It’s just not my thing. But when Marie at Buffed Lifestyle told me about some glamorous venues in the area, I wanted to try them out.
First I went with a friend to Beach Blanket Babylon just off Shoreditch High Street station. We went via Boxpark, the pop up shopping centre outside the station. DJs were playing, people were dancing and the atmosphere was fun and summery.
When we got to Beach Blanket Babylon we were very impressed with the décor which is fabulously decadent. We went on a Thursday which means that the club downstairs was closed (it’s open on Fridays and Saturdays). So we stayed for a drink and moved on to McQueen’s near Old Street.
Again, McQueen’s has an amazing décor with black mannequins hanging from the ceiling and Steven McQueen’s memorabilia all around. The music was fantastic, with an eclectic mix of soul, disco and club classics.
From there we moved to Floripa, formerly Favela Chic, near Old Street. We were greeted by some banging tunes by Mr Elusive and we hit the dance floor straight away and stayed until we got chucked out at closing time. The décor has stayed the same as Favela, with jungle frescoes and bare wooden tables. Great atmosphere and a great line up of events featuring world famous djs and new bands.
Having said all of that, I then went for a “quick drink” in Soho and the night continued for a few more hours… Shoreditch scored quite well in the equation, but in the end Soho closed the deal. Still, well done Shoreditch, you put on a good show.