Charterhouse

Charmingly inserted into a beautiful cornerstone building (almost) reminiscent of Paris/NY, it's always a tight squeeze to get in and the music's a tad too noisy for a friendly chat of a weekend night, so do as we did and head upstairs for some excellent cheesy tunes. Either we managed to gatecrash a musical bad-taste birthday party or it was a themed evening. Either way we had a great night dancing like fools and the atmosphere was wonderful.
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Helen Clark
Friday, April 01, 2005

A friend and I strolled down to Charterhouse this afternoon for a pint and something to munch with it. Cue two pints of Guinness and a pint of prawns. As an afterthought, we asked for some bread on the side. So far so good, and we spent an easygoing hour reading the Sunday Papers and comparing hangovers.

However, our good mood was dampened somewhat when we received the bill. The prawns were a pretty reasonable £3 and went down very well with the Guinness, even if they did come with a dodgy marie rose sauce rather than the promised aioli. The bread, though, we found caught in our throats when we saw we'd been charged £3 for that too, which we felt was a bit much for three slices of toasted sourdough. It's a shame, because the Charterhouse is a fun place to hang out at any time, with friendly staff and a good-humoured crowd. For the sake of cheekily squeezing a pound or two out of us the place has, for me, lost some of its charm.
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David K
Monday, November 08, 2004

First time I went to Charterhouse was to hook up with a friend in the Farringdon/West Smithfield area for a mid-week drink and a catch-up, and I was immediately struck by the unique style and architecture of the building itself. Compared to a lot of the style bars and gastro-pubs in the area (two definitions between which Charterhouse bar snugly fits), it has 10 times more character, and a fresh and modern, yet slightly beaten around the edges feel to it, with its chunky dark wood furniture but fresh cream walls and funky lounge style lighting - not to metion the incredible liqueur selection used in their on and off-menu cocktails (which we tested most of throughout the evening!).

Charterhouse is open an incredible 7 days and nights a week, and during the day serves up a Modern British bar menu and (less interesting) 'Restaurant' menu with the usual - but very well executed bangers and mash, steak and home-made burgers (well, the place is opposite Smityhfields meat market!). But the menu I prefer is the Small Plates selection which has more variety and perfect accompaniment to a few hours drinking with friends - including marinated chicken skewers, Nachos with home-made tomato chutney & fresh guacamole, and the salt & peppered fried squid is delicious. There are also some fresh salads (chicken & mango poached in white wine) on the menu alongside the obligitory 'phat chips' and potato wedges. The mixed platters are also a fantastic choice if your in a small group - and when I had a work's do there a few weeks ago - the perfect alternative to (rather formal) canapes.

However one of the best things about Charterhouse bar is that towards the end of the week and at the weekend, the place stays open until the early hours with some of the funkiest (and pleasantly diverse) DJ nights in the area. You can hear old funk and soul, classic hip hop, funky house, trashy 80's, classic acid house, soulful drum & bass, beats & breaks etc etc, but its ALWAYS something funky. The top floor (where the DJ & projection screen reside) can get pretty packed at the weekend, but its hardly surprising considering the music, cocktails, funky 20-30s crowd and free entry all night (til 2am friday and saturday).

And the best bit - as I discovered one Sunday when I had to re-visit Charterhouse to retrieve a credit card I had forgotten to sign off the night before... - is that they do the best Sunday Brunch (and Roast!) you could hope for!

Overall, Charterhouse is a multifunctional bar with character, great music taste, a funky and individual style - Not with out its small faults of course, but hey, that's what makes the perfect friend!
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Ms Batten
Friday, July 02, 2004

gotta love it! Great location, beautiful staff....
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G.T
Friday, September 19, 2003