The East Room

The East Room has installed a super cool alpine chalet on its rooftop deck. The atmosphere is terrific, stylish, yet super casual and comfortable. There is an open fireplace, they serve vin chaud, deliciously indulgent tartiflette, fondue and a variety of other dishes, and there are comfy chairs and sofas. The alpine chalet is operational until some time in March and I would recommend heading up there if you can.

Generally and for a members' club, the East Room is a welcoming place with no pretenses. I've had lunch here on a few occasions and it has always been very good and well prepared with fresh and seasonal ingredients. The wine list is unusual, interesting and doesn't break the bank. Nice cocktails too.

It's a good place for parties as well.

Oh no, not another private members bar in Shoreditch I hear you chime over your pomegranate martini. Don’t despair just yet, it’s not all Shoreditch House you know, as this cute backstreet bar brings a non superficial air back to the area.

The Front Room is a small,retro-styled lounge located on the first floor, a great space for intimate drinks and receptions or smaller private lunches, dinners and business meetings. It has its own PA system, iPod dock, 60” plasma (which connects straight to a laptop for presentations), a DVD player, aWii Playstation and Singstar for something a little more fun.

The Roof Garden is a strange cross between a Shoreditch roof terrace, a beer/wine garden and an urban allotment. You can even book out the whole or part of The Roof Garden for drinks and a BBQ for 20-50 people. The Roof Den (the little lounge-y bit at the end with eucalyptus trees and jasmine vines) can be hired for 10-15 people. The china bunny makes it all worhwhile!

A friendly, laid-back members only club, which is the latest member of the Milk and Honey group. The food is great, light and healthy, with pasta and fresh fish available, and they do DIY dining every lunch time and evenings between 7 and 10pm, where you pay for a plate and can help yourself to a selection of salads and meats, which is great if you are in a hurry. The cocktail menu is lovely, and if the cocktail you want isn’t on the menu they will make it for you. The extensive wine list is mostly new world, and available by the bottle or glass, and they also have a DIY wine selection available from machines in three different tasting sizes, so you just charge up a card and help yourself (this is not a cheap option, but it does give you the opportunity to try a range of new wines). There are also special evenings arranged, such as the Presidential Election party last November, which was an amazing night, complete with a Sarah Palin drag queen.

The first thing to note about The East Room, is that although it is a private members club you actually don’t have to be a member to get in. Run by the Milk and Honey people it operates in the same way, even without membership you can book in for meals and get in for a drink as long as you don’t try to come too late at night.

You enter through an unmarked doorway and the decor is very cool, very New York loft style. Staff were friendly and the food was very good. We had some tapas style entrees and a main of “Big Fish” which was actually snapper, baked in a sauce with roasted vegetables and served in the middle of the table for two or three to share.

This is a fantastic new branch of the member’s bar Milk and Honey. It is more of a wine bar than a cocktail bar and has a selection by the glass in Enomatic vending machines, which keep the wine fresh for longer.

The food is superb although prices have recently gone up. Try the healthy buffet which is still good value and delicious.

Went here last week Saturday night to see what it was like and was quite impressed!
It is a members bar, so as usual, the entrance is difficult to find but as soon as you’re inside, the atmosphere is laid back, comfortable, bit like a livingroom in the 70’s (complete with orange/brown colours and an old plastic telephone on a coffeetable in reception. There are comfy leather sofa’s facing eachother with a coffee table in between, so great for a couple of friends catching up.
I would probably also go here on a date, but maybe not the first; since this is a members bar it might look a bit like you’re trying to show off ;-)
They have a great system of choosing wine by the price so you know in advance how much you’re spending. Their cheeseplate was amazing and what food I saw coming by looked great as well, I will definitely come back to have some dinner.
They also have a couple of ‘wine machines’ on the wall, where (as a member) you can taste wines when inserting your membership card, this will be quite an incentive to go back on a regular basis, as the wines will be different every time!
Apparently they are building a roof terrace which should be ready for the summer. If this is true this could be the new hangout in Shoreditch for a lot of people, all that’s missing then is an area where you could dance after having enjoyed your wine and/or food.

This is the latest addition to the Milk & Honey / The Player stable of venues ... it's only been open for about a couple of weeks now (date of writing - 12/02/08) and is open to anyone for the first couple of months, after which it will become a members club - the idea is you try it out now to see if you want to join. It's well worth a visit ... the cocktails are brilliant (though quite pricey) and the barmen can make pretty much any off-the-menu cocktail ... the food is also good and they have a great DIY Dining concept (posh term for a buffet!) that runs for lunch and dinner - the food is all really healthy, fresh and the only drawback is they don't have stodge like chips to help soak up the cocktails. The decor and atmosphere is relaxed and stylish ... a bit of a 1970s theme mixed with naughties urban (a la shoreditch house and the ilk) - they've got some great punch bowls with matching glasses. The main / seating area has a fabulous tin roof and relaxed seating, there are about 3 great booths (these, from memory, look like they only sit 4) in the area between the reception and the main bar, and there is a little private area that can actually get a bit noisy if there is more than one group in. The floor above is also part of the venue/club and at the moment is an art gallery, though there are plans afoot to develop the venue to that floor and beyond (outside terrace, etc). Cool venue, great cocktails and good food (i can recommend the tuna) ... worth a visit to check it out before it closes its doors to members only