Underground Cocktails at Glo Glo’s

Located below Shoreditch’s Great Eastern Dining Room, basement-bound cocktail haven Glo Glo’s (GGs) may not be the easiest to spot from the road, but this Tokyo-inspired hotspot is definitely worth finding.

Apart from a large rectangular central bar, the first thing you’ll notice as you walk into GGs is that it is very, very red. This encompasses the leather seats, pillars and bar, and – taking the UK ban on 100W light bulbs all too seriously – dim reddish lighting throughout. While cynics would argue this makes it look a bit like an Amsterdam brothel contained within a photographic dark room, I won’t say that, as it actually works, and makes for quite a feeling of sauciness when you sip from your chosen beverage.

Speaking of which, GGs is very much all about the cocktails, and features a range of classics with an eastern twist, such as the Asian Bellini (prosecco, fresh peach, lemongrass), Bangkok Margarita (sauza hornitos tequila, lime, kaffir-infused agave) and Yokohama Collins (grey goose pear, raspberries, ginger, pear puree, lemon, sugar). All the cocktails I tried were very tasty, but my personal favourite was the Bramble with its delicious and fruity mix of blackberry liquor, gin, sugar syrup and lemon juice.

Prices range from around £7-9 for a single cocktail, and larger fish bowls can also be ordered for £15 or £30 (2-4 or 6-8 servings respectively). Part of the reason why the GGs cocktails deliver such accomplished flavours is of course down to the clearly talented and knowledgeable bar staff. Proof of their skills was evident when my guest and I were invited to try making a cocktail ourselves. Cue embarrassing spilling of expensive liquors, use of the completely wrong ingredients and ice flinging dangerously in all directions. However, despite this poor display, head mixologist Jon Riera still guided our final products to being damn tasty glasses o’ cocktail.

Should the cocktails not be enough to tempt you, the usual beers, wines and spirits are available, and although I didn’t try the food, there are also BBQ treats, sushi, curries, Phad Thai and nibbles available to fill your bellies. As further temptation, GGs hosts occasional live music or more quirky themed evenings such as the pumpkin-carving masterclass they hosted for Halloween.

One thing that may irk some patrons (besides the feeling of emergency lighting) is the limited amount of seating for the size of the room, but there is plenty of standing room for groups to huddle and sample each other’s drinks. Even better would be to arrive early enough to grab one of the comfy booths where you can be very comfortable for an evening.

With ‘Shoreditch cool’ being thrown around to describe just about everywhere in the vicinity, I’ll let GGs do the talking for itself and, although it could do with a little more advertising to draw punters in from outside, hopefully there will be enough word of mouth to make people wander downstairs for this very recommendable dose of cocktail chique.

GGs
54-56 Great Eastern Street
Shoreditch
EC2A 3QR

Tel: 020 7033 3777