Website: http://www.belowzerolondon.com/icebarLast night TF and I visited the Absolut Ice Bar on Heddon Street. We both tried to go there a few years ago but were turned away because we hadn't booked in advance. This time we were successful.
Our reserved timeslot was from 9.30pm to 10.10pm. We arrived at the chaotic queue just before 9.30pm and bought two tickets for £12.50 each. We joined a queue/holding area with our fellow drinkers and then - at 9.30 - the bouncers started letting people in.
Before entering you stand in front of a bouncer, they take a fur-lined insulating cape off a hook, raise it above your head and shove it down over you like you're a foot going into a sock. You're then ushered into the Ice Bar...
The "air-lock" is lined with fur and when you emerge into the bar it's like stepping into another world. The air is cold, the light is funky blue, the music throbs and everywhere you look the ice gleams.
Giddy with the novelty of the bar we didn't know what to do. We had a closer look at the ice. All the walls were made from ice, there were "tables" and "seats" made from huge blocks of clear ice (the seats had fur on top) and even the bar was made of ice. Apparently the ice is all transported from the Torne River in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden. It certainly was nice to look at - with natural fissures and air-pockets:
Slowly we realised the bar was getting busy. Our tickets entitled us to one drink so we shoved our way to the front and chose some cocktails from the menu:
I had a Absolute Red Garnet which was quite nice. The drinks were served in an ice "glass" which became very cold to hold as the 40 minutes went on.
Luckily our capes came with a pair of gloves attached on elastic.
As we drank our cocktails we walked around the room and I was a little disappointed that it wasn't as big as I'd imagined. I got the (accurate) impression that the room was just like a big freezer - like a meat locker turned drinking venue.We took lots of photos of each other posing with the ice and watched everyone else taking lots of photos too. The other 20 or so people were all young and looked like they were out for a big night even though it was a Wednesday.
After a while of trying to look through the walls or chip the drinks glasses into pieces we got a bit bored and cold. We built the finished glasses up into a pyramid:
Extra drinks cost £6 each so we gave them a miss. It turned out that 40 minutes in the ice bar was about the right amount of time - any longer would have been a chore. At 10.10pm we were told to leave and, after having our capes quickly stripped off, we stepped out into the normal world again.Summary: A magical but expensive experience.
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