Club Velas

Free entry? Free drink vouchers? More free drink vouchers? Yes, please. It is Friday night and this is Velas. Off Huai Hai Middle Road this club on the second floor is said to be “very Chinese.” The impression implies more of the same thing. What is so Chinese about it…This has to be learned. In any case, there is a healthy number of expats intermingling with local Chinese.

After taking the lift up to the second level, one of the club promoters will promptly hand you three drink vouchers or wait in the foyer while hunting for more drink vouchers. Then the club promoter tells you, “If you want more drinks, look for me and I’ll get you more drink vouchers.” Sweet! Bring on the mixed drinks and beer.

Inside the club is dark and lit with disco lights giving the vibe of glitz, but lacking the glam. Tables surrounding the dance floor reveal dice games and guys sitting around waiting for…something.

Never too full and sometimes on the verge of mass exodus, the bar tempts you to sit there and steadily drink until the thundering commercial electronic dance music or your friends drag you out on the dance floor or are convincing enough to get you on one of the two dancing podiums. As the volume of the music and drink take over, your toes can’t help tapping to the music, granted the choice selection is more main stream and at times the DJ gets a bit carried away with himself before remembering why he was hired to spin in the first place. The next thing you know, everyone is dancing around you and all the cheesiness of club begins to melt away.

Velas is a good time, but it is better served as a spot to begin the night and intake alcohol before moving on elsewhere to hit your Friday night stride.

Club Velas. 2F, 1045 Huaihai Lu, near Fenyang Lu (entrance on Fenyang Lu).

The Double Club - Bar

“Half art, half not.” - Carsten Höller


You are in two places at the same time. Think Congo meets the west. The Double Club, new art-installation-slash-club opened this month in Islington for 6 months in a space where you can linger between Congolese and western cultures. Art, food, and music exist in this single space encompassing dual worlds. The space is sub-divided by the restaurant, the bar, and the club. It is a refreshing place compared to the well-trodden West End stomping grounds.

The club entrance is off a narrow street, easy to miss if it is not being explicitly sought out. Security at the door was kind and the reception by staff was helpful, quickly taking burdensome coats to expedite the experience. The Double Club Bar is an open space with the candle-lit restaurant and throbbing club in view on either side from windows. Elements of Kinshasa are seamlessly juxtaposed with Western roots through the art covering the high walls as well as the furniture and the texture of the floor. On the particular Saturday night, the music – different from the club room – oscillated between African beats and Western grooves, depending on the mood of the DJ. The platform the DJ booth rests on rotates so smoothly that the dancer hardly notices while moving into the Congo and back to the West that is London.

Cocktails at this bar are noteworthy and memorable. The sensation of a hot climate seeps through the Jamaican Mule, which was heightened by Afro-Caribbean music playing at the time. One of the bartenders, Abu, is energetic and even offers to enthrall the drinker with inventive cocktails and shots not listed on the menu. One standout shot was the Bellini shot. So tasty. Specialty cocktails ranged from £7.50 while champagne cocktails were at £8.50.

The vibe of the club is not pretentious as the fashionable clientele ranged from those basking in the atmosphere, migrating over from the restaurant hosted and operated by Mourad Mazouz, appreciating the art, and enjoying the music. The Double Club is a chill venue to cross time and space while dancing to a global grove and indulging in its cocktail delights.

THE DOUBLE CLUB. 7 Torrens Street, London EC1V 1NQ. Telephone: +44.207.837.2222