Review - By John Kaponi The Arts Theatre Club 50 Frith Street London W1D 4SQ Tel: 0207 289 9236
Opening a bar in the middle of Soho is no mean feat; opening a bar in Soho during one of the worse economic slowdowns London has faced, needs real guts, and Maria Constantinou and her brother Costas have oodles of the stuff. The Arts Theatre Club was the brainchild of the sister and brother team who have always been based in Soho with Maria Constantinou claiming "Soho is in my blood my family have always been in the area and I always wanted a bar here."
Within a short time of finding a run-down basement on Frith Street, Maria Constantinou snapped up the opportunity in 2007 and embarked on an opportunity to renovate the basement into a chic, well lit, stylish bar on one of London's "uber-cool" roads.
The Arts Theatre Club has been established as an "accessible members-club" unlike others, like Soho House, joining is quite straight forward with a £100 joining fee, members tend to be "middle-tier" creative’s in the West End who just want to chill in a stylish environment but still benefit from being part of a club. "We will do as much as possible to cater for the needs of members, we can bring food in from Bar Italia, make special cocktails, play music to request" Maria Constantinou on the benefits of the club.
Entry from Thursday onwards and into the weekend is pretty tough going, given the popularity of the venue and it is advised, if you are not a member to phone for guess list entry.
The interior designed by Lee Broom can only be described as eclectic and chic with the trademark "prohibition tea-pots" ideal for groups for four to share at £10.50.
If you have been looking for a place to take friends or colleagues to unwind, this is the place you have been looking for. "The Arts" is the brainchild of seasoned Soho people who know the business inside out, well worth the cost to join and I am sure we will be seeing many of "The Arts" springing up across London and beyond.
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