For the louche gentleman about town in 19th Century London, Gerrard Street and the surrounding area of Chinatown was the place to go to get your smoke on and while away idle hours at one of the many opium dens operating there.
These days guests at 15-16 Gerrard Street will have to stick to a stiff cocktail and some dim sum, but they can still enjoy a fantastically atmospheric experience at the three-storey townhouse. Keeping a bit of the seedy vice traditions alive, if the light outside is on you are invited to step through the jade door into Sian & Kai Design’s quite splendidly kitsch world of flowered wallpaper, easy chairs and Oriental murals.
The barman mixes up the hits at an apothecary table rather than a bar on the second floor, and this sense of theatre permeates Opium Cocktail & Dim Sum Parlour‘s arrangement of parlours and dens like an exotic perfume. We’re not sure what that concoction at the bottom is, but it’s safe to say that if you hear a policeman’s whistle, no need to have it away on your toes. Relax and enjoy.
