Hoxton royalty - The Queen of Hoxton, Shoreditch

A friend of mine is fond of saying, "who says Rick Astley is coming back, as far as I'm concerned he's never left!." And the same might be said for seventies and eighties soft rock - one of the more maligned genres of my not so short lifetime, seems not only to be back, but fully embraced by the hip and the beautiful of London town. And few bars are as hip or beautiful at the moment as The Queen of Hoxton located in the heart of Shoreditch. This place used to be Industry up to about 8 months ago - a place that never quite got the balance right between aspirational cool and City boy drinks venue. A case of one plus one not equaling two.

The Queen of Hoxton has gone down the 'too cool for school' path and is all the better for that.

The Northerner and I have been there several times and have been struck by how they have the balance just right in terms of urban self regard, and very friendly service, backed up by an eclectic mix of rock, hip hop, disco and dance. Something to cater for all ages - even mine.

The clientele are check shirted boys with skinny jeans and converse trainers, and girls in party dresses vintage of course - well those who aren't mirroring what they boys are wearing. Drinks are your classic cocktails, fashionable lagers (Mexican, Californian, Argentinean) and new world wines, which combined with the hip young things and edgy / retro music make for a fun and frivolous little bar. Apparently the place is celebrity central for those who are into that Hoxton / Shoreditch cool thing, however there has been noone of note in my recent, and frequent visits. Then again, who exactly am I right?

QOH is a great London bar, and one I plan to return to a lot. A friend of mine has commented recently that the bars I tend to big up on this blog tend to be the antithesis of what I personally am about. By which he meant, hip, fashionable, designer hangouts with an emphasis on youth. If you accept that (slightly insulting) synopsis then its true that QOH is all of the aforementioned. However because its relatively undiscovered as such, and I have enjoyed it every single time that I've been - something which not many of its competitors can claim I'm gone to give it my own little gong for Best Bar of 2009. As my man would say in hushed reverence to the mighty Rick Astley - good things come and go, but when greatness strikes, it should be recognised.

Happy New Year troopers.

Exchanging roof gardens for a square - Exchange Square

The plan was to head to a roof terrace for a St George's day Pimms. The Queen of Hoxton's to be precise. It was after all a gloriously sunny Thursday, the QOH ,formerly known as Industry, is both very close to where I work and a very funky and hip bar - after all Pixie(not Peaches) Geldof drinks there. Better still the QOH comes equipped with a large 'English country garden' style terrace, a feature that contrasts nicely to the urban uber-hip persona of the bar itself. Heavy D, as ever, was available so we both wobbled on down. One small problem. The terrace, albeit fully functional wasn't open. 'Private parties only senor' said the barman who I suspect wasn't local. The logic wasn't obvious to us or the bored looking hipsters draped over the furniture, so we bade our farewells and strolled 50 metres down the road for a bit of sunshine and Kirin's at Exchange Square.

You have to hand it to the English. In Europe if you get a clear bit of space behind a public amenity they'll turn it into a park with water features and the like. The English turn it into a glorified garden bar. Albeit with a water feature. Situated just behind Liverpool St station, Exchange Square is the effectively the border where the City meets Shoreditch. No pretty young things or hipsters at this place. The men are all dressed like they've stepped straight out of an Austin Reed catalogue, while the highly out-numbered women are appropriately corporate conservative. It's a bit like drinking in Canary Wharf - but without the river views. For bars you have a Davy's - a dull version of Jamies; and a Corney and Barrow - an interesting version of a Jamies. Spoilt for choice then.

However in spite of these 'features' the place actually works very well. It's a natural sun-trap that's buzzy and sets you up for the evening very nicely. The service was sharp, the beers worked a treat. It wasn't the QOH, but it was a lot of fun. I think its best to ignore me in future.