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Picture of The Social
Image posted by paulof horsham
Submitted on Friday, 16th February 2024
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The Social, Fitzrovia, W1

5 Little Portland Street
W1
W1W 7JB
Phone: 02076364992
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Reviews of The Social (Average Rating: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Social

This is the ground floor, public bar of the venue previously known as the Heavenly Social – a live music venue/nightclub formerly owned by Heavenly Records and famous for putting on lots of bands from their early roster and promoting new acts since the label moved on in 1999. The bar is a fairly basic affair, with a single rectangular room which has the servery down the right hand side and seating along the opposite wall. The room is bare boarded and has tongue and groove panelled walls, strip lighting and a very basic servery with five recesses in the bar back to hold their simple range of spirits. Seating comes almost exclusively from U-shaped padded banquettes that create booth-like spaces down the left hand wall. The room, as you might expect, has been decorated with lots of super-cool gig posters for acts that played here or were once on the Heavenly label. It goes without saying that a cool indie soundtrack will likely accompany any visit here. The venue can be found down a staircase from the entrance corridor. As you descend, you can appreciate the building’s rather unique design from a set of windows that allow you to look through to the bar below – features incorporated by architects David Adjaye and Will Russell when the venue re-opened in 1999. The gig space is very narrow, with a low stage at one end which has a dancefloor in front of it and a raised seating space with high stools and padded bench booths to the right. The room extends down through a long narrow passage with small tables served by a few chairs, opening out a little to the rear where another bar can be found. There’s a nice mural on the wall near the stage but otherwise the decor is a little dull – just some bits of backlit wall trying to do their best to distract the eye, but otherwise a plain affair. It’s not the ideal space for live music, thanks to the narrow layout and in-the-way seating, but they put on plenty of shows here, with the Chemical Brothers, Adele, Florence and the Machine, Fatboy Slim, Jarvis Cocker and Arctic Monkeys being some of the bigger names to have played post-Heavenly’s involvement. Sadly, the venue has been under threat of closure in recent months, as a cocktail bar chain have made a lucrative offer to the freeholder, but a very successful crowdfunding campaign plus a series of benefit gigs has helped stop the sale going through and they have now almost raised the £150,000 needed to buy a stake in the leasehold, so the future looks a lot more secure now.
Beer-wise, the four draught keg options of Heineken, Camden Hells, Camden Pale and Lagunitas IPA, all clocking in at over £5 a pint, with the latter costing more than £6 a pint. It goes without saying, there is no ale available and the bottled selection was no more inspiring than in your usual gig venue. The staff were all really nice and friendly though, so that was something.
This place is really only worth checking out if you’re going to a gig here. The bar is small and expensive and doesn’t have enough memorabilia to warrant a pilgrimage in its own right. They quite often put on free shows here where you can catch some good bands on the cusp of breaking through to the mainstream, so I will normally keep an eye on their listings but make sure I do my drinking elsewhere before I arrive.

On 24th June 2019 - rating: 4
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


custodian 42 left this review about The Social

No real ale, just draught craft on tap. Bit cramped for room in this one.

On 19th January 2017 - rating: 5
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]

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Pub location see interactive map of local area
Map location corrected by Tris C
London Euston, 1.16 miles, 22 min walk (show)
London Charing Cross, 1.17 miles, 22 min walk (show)
London Marylebone, 1.35 miles, 26 min walk (show)
Latest updates View all updates for The Social, W1
16th Feb 2024, 18:40
Picture submitted by paulof horsham approved
 
16th Feb 2024, 18:39
Picture submitted by paulof horsham

Pub Details

Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.

  • Accommodation : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Bar Billiards : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Beer Festivals : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Beer Garden : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • CAMRA Discount : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Car Park : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Darts : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Hot Food : Yes last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Jukebox : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Karaoke : Yes last updated 04 June 2015 by Dave McNally
  • Live Music : Yes last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Micropub : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Pinball : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Pool Table : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • Real Ale : No last updated 09 May 2014 by Dave McNally
  • Real Cider : No last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
  • WiFi : Yes last updated 24 June 2019 by Pub SignMan
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