Candlelit cool: Below Stone Nest
(Picture: Haydon Perrior)Even the most sanguine of optimists would have to admit that if there is light at the end of the tunnel, it’s not likely to be plugged in. Cheery John Pettigrew, head of the National Grid, warned over the weekend that on “really, really cold” winter evenings, blackouts may be imposed. In other words, good news for anyone needing to defrost the freezer, bad news for everyone else.
The lights going out doesn’t mean Londoners need stay in, though. It’s more a question of choosing where and what. Indulge your romantic side with a trip down into a candlelit den. Sticking to a bar is the pro move, given the fridges going down matters to them less, and here the long-standing institutions come into their own, perhaps partly because they’ve had candles since the last time the mains were shut off.
Gordon’s Wine Bar (WC2, gordonswinebar.com) is an old favourite for a reason: ignore the outside terrace and dive into the caves, which have flickered since about the time Edison made his name (Gordon’s started pouring in 1890). No reservations are taken; the wine list is perfectly fine and the food is mostly cold cuts and breads, so will be unaffected. More up to speed are the pair of Noble Rot bars (W1, WC1, noblerot.co.uk); while serving the likes of roast pigeon may be a struggle in a power outage, the Noble Rot wine list is considered among London’s best. The candlelit vibe is probably more suited to the original on Lamb’s Conduit Street. Noble Rot’s spiritual forefather, Andrew Edmunds (W1, andrewedmunds.com) glows similarly, and is on better form than ever. The wine list is enough for any blackout-induced pause between courses.
Elsewhere is Below Stone Nest (136 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1, belowsoho.london), Frank and Jackson Boxer’s terrific late-night cocktail spot. It stays open till 2am each Wednesday to Saturday, has all its drinks below a tenner, and puts on live music most nights. If the cuts last past the projected 4pm-7pm window, expect the bands — which usually lean jazzwards — to go acoustic. The giant basement feels cheerfully homemade and slightly like John Hughes should be filming it all. The Boxers’ have a thing for this vibe: in the cellars below Brunswick House (30 Wandsworth Road, SW8, brunswickhouse.london) great fat wax candles sit on polished wooden tables and there’s live jazz every Tuesday night. And, while Sessions Arts Club (24 Clerkenwell Green, EC1, sessionsartsclub.com) is more of a restaurant, it’s also great for a drink at the bar — and even the main lamps are gas powered.
Pubs aren’t out of the question either, but pick a small one for warmth and choose a place with plenty of hand-pumps pouring ales. The pumps are manual, cask beer mostly isn’t chilled; no electricity called for. That said, keg beer (which includes the likes of Heineken et al) should stay cold even through a blackout — these beers go through a remote cooler, which hold their temperature for a fair while (“it’s basically a tank of antifreeze,” says landlord Oisin Rogers). Either way, wherever you end up, even if the power dries up, the drinks needn’t.
