Trash Palace

If you blink you might miss the narrow entrance to this bar, sandwiched between Chinese restaurants at the lower end of Wardour Street. Steps lead up to the first floor where there’s minimal seating and an alcove tucked away to one side, a perfect area for privacy. A DJ booth is at the bottom of more steps leading to the upstairs bar, which has slightly more seats.

Primarily a gay bar, Trash Palace now attracts a very eclectic and at times highly self obsessed crowd, the mirrored walls leading to much showing off and dancing on the makeshift dancefloor. The music policy runs through everything from indie, to electro, to 80’s synth pop, to house.

Drinks here are extremely cheap during happy hour, from 5 till 8pm every day, with spirits and beers priced at £1.80. In my student days when money was tight, my friends and I would dash here most evenings, head to the alcove, and proceed to get, erm, trashed. Areas of the bar can be booked for free for parties, a birthday here was made all the more memorable by the provision of balloons, plastic knuckle dusters, bubble blowers, and last but not least, free champagne.

Run by the same people as Ghetto, the staff and most of the crowd are a friendly bunch; even the bouncers will give you a smile. Overall a cheap and cheerful night out.