VS Reviews: The Candlelight Club

The clandestine Candlelight Club returns for an evening of Prohibition-style jazz and cocktails.

By Rebecca McWattie on Wednesday 25th January, 2012

I was keen to review The Candlelight Club on Friday having heard good things from ‘people in the know’. A 20s-style speakeasy with live music, the venue is lit entirely by candlelight. How they manage to get around health and safety Lord knows, but the warning to guests is clearly stated on their website “naked flames can be dangerous if not respected, and candle wax can be a bugger to get out of clothes. Customers enter at their own risk.” Co-owned by Clayton Hartley, also known in vintage circles as the Secretary and Treasurer of The New Sheridan Club, this pop up event is amusingly described by the party organisers as ‘clandestine’ due to never revealing the secret venue until the last minute.

The popularity of Prohibition-style parties shows no sign of waning thanks to the revival of silent movies, Boardwalk Empire and the forthcoming The Great Gatsby film. The guests all seemed to be enjoying adopting 20s fashions for the evening, which went far in creating the authentic Prohibition atmosphere. Think ladies with feather boas, long pearl necklaces, cigarette holders, tasselled flapper dresses, cloche hats and many dashing men wearing evening attire, hats and braces. What better way to banish those January blues?

The room was not an intimate dimly lit cellar or basement as I had imagined, but rather large and whitewashed, filled with candles as billed, a long bar on one side with prompt and attentive bar staff, and dozens of white linen covered tables. It was almost like being at a rather fancy wedding reception.

With the party-goers toe-tapping to resident DJ MC Fruity and later shimmying to the live vintage jazz band ‘The Shirt Tail Stompers’, the time-warp vibe of The Candlelight Club not only makes for a romantic setting but also works as an alternative night out with friends. In my case I had a fun night out attending with girlfriends including The Polka Dot Dolls (a 40s-style musical trio) who were having a well-earned night off and looked stunning as flappers. What a shame none of us knew how to dance the Charleston!

The bespoke one-off cocktail menu, designed on this occasion to encourage us to bust our New Year’s Resolutions, consisted of:

NiQuitini
SW4 gin, Perique liqueur de tabac, maraschino, lemon juice, a cherry as a garnish
Alexander Diet
SW4 gin, crème de cacao blanc, cream

Bleeding Heart
Bourbon, fresh raspberries, crème de framboise, lemon juice, sugar syrup, cranberry juice

Iso-Tonic
SW4 gin, tonic water, fresh basil, passion fruit liqueur, lemongrass syrup, pineapple juice

Me Time
Bisongrass vodka, St Germain elderflower liqueur, apricot brandy, grapefruit juice

Visit www.thecandlelightclub.com to book tickets. Book well in advance - dates for The Valentine’s Massacre on 10 Friday and 11 Saturday February are already sold out, so don’t miss the New Orleans Mardi Gras on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 February.