Five things I tried this spooky season, and why you don’t have to wait until next October.
I spent Halloween week testing the best of what London had to offer, from a squid ink supper to a cocktail masterclass and a field full of dachshunds in fancy dress. Some of it was properly spooky, some was just good fun, and all of it was worth the trip.
The thing I noticed most is that none of these places are really Halloween places. The costumes and the pumpkins were the seasonal extras. The venues themselves, and the people running them, have plenty going on the rest of the year, and most of it is happening in the coming weeks and months. So if you missed out, here’s what I did and where you can go next.
Credits: Clayton Hartley
1. Noodle & Beer, Spitalfields
From the queue I often see at the Chinatown branch, I had high expectations. The Spitalfields branch of Noodle & Beer was luxurious, and the staff were warm and welcoming from the start. I’d come for the Black Ink menu, their Halloween specials.
The Black Coco Sour looks very cool, made with Toki whisky, Kami roasted barley shochu, coconut and lemon. For my main I had a glass of orange wine, which felt autumnal and suited the food.
The Black Tide fried rice was the main event: squid ink fried rice with king prawns, dried scallops, egg and chilli. The prawns were fresh and the portion was huge, and every mouthful was packed with flavour. It looked good, too. We also shared the chicken bites to start and a sticky rice cake for dessert, which was big enough for two.
You don’t need the Halloween menu to have a great meal here, as the regular menu has plenty of choices. A third London branch is on its way to Catherine Street in Covent Garden, with a private dining room, a wine list curated by critic Douglas Blyde and signature cocktails from mixologist Francesco Braun.
Credits: Noodle and Beer
2. Halloween cocktail masterclass, The Lucky Pig
The Lucky Pig is a cocktail bar in Fitzrovia, on Clipstone Street, and it ran its Halloween masterclasses all week. Mine started with Marco, a fun and helpful mixologist, handing us a welcome drink, which is a good way to start any lesson.
After that, we made three Halloween-style cocktails. What I liked is that it wasn’t one fixed lesson. We got choices along the way, such as whether we liked gin and what we wanted to learn, so we ended up making drinks we actually wanted to drink. It’s a relaxed, very fun way to learn, and you leave knowing how to make something you can repeat at home.
The Lucky Pig is a place that puts on events all year, and the next one sounds brilliant. On Friday 20th November, it’s staging A Very Bonkshire Christmas, a murder mystery that’s Rivals meets Dynasty. It’s Christmas Eve in a glamorous country village, Lady Hannaford’s family jewels have vanished, and so has her beloved cook, Bunty Butterworth. Expect big hair, enormous shoulder pads and more festive drama than a Wham! Christmas special.
Tickets are £30 and include a glass of fizz, wine or beer, canapés, live music, the mystery and a DJ until 2am. Newsletter subscribers can get tickets for £15 (limited availability). It starts at 7pm at 5 Clipstone Street, W1W 6BB.
Credits: The Lucky Pig
3. Avora, Shoreditch
A gateway has opened beneath Shoreditch, and you’re one of Roscorp’s chosen few, recruited for the first expedition to a bioluminescent planet.
You begin in Roscorp Laboratories, where you lock away your belongings and pull on a jumpsuit. Dr Shelly briefs you, and Mason, the head of security, searches you. You’re given a sealed flask of Luminol, your first cocktail, to drink on the other side.
Then you step through the portal into a glowing forest, meet the Avorians, and find out how much Roscorp has told you. You get two more cocktails along the way, and the Avorians are deciding whether humanity can be trusted.
What I loved was the balance. It’s immersive without being too active, so you still have time to wander, take photos, hang out with your friends and chat to the aliens. At 1 hour 45 minutes, it’s the right length too.
It’s perfect for Halloween, but it runs all year. In fact, Avora has just frozen over for Christmas. From 3 November to 10 January, Avora: Frozen Realm sends you back through the gateway to a planet under glowing teal and violet ice, with a new storyline, a new set and three new winter cocktails, the last one lit from inside the glass.
It runs Tuesday to Sunday, including New Year’s Eve. Tickets start at £44.50 and include three handcrafted cocktails or mocktails. There’s no dress code, as you’re given a jumpsuit. It’s at Unit 5C, 127 Hackney Road, E2 8GY.
Avora is made by Inventive Productions, who also run Hexmoor, a wizarding prison cocktail experience, and Moonshine Saloon, so there’s plenty to try next.
Credits: Avora Experience
4. The Candlelight Club’s Halloween Ball
The Candlelight Club is a pop-up 1920s speakeasy lit by candles, and its Halloween Ball took place on Saturday 31st October. It began in 2010 when the founder met a partner who wanted to bring New York’s Prohibition-style bars to London.
You get live jazz bands and DJs playing music from the 1920s and 30s, and guests dress for the era. The current venue has an industrial-chic feel, with a dance floor in front of the stage, cabaret seating and a balcony.
The location is a secret, revealed to ticket-holders a couple of days beforehand, and tickets are sold in advance only. You can go just for drinks and dancing, or pre-order a three-course dinner or sharing platters.
This year’s ball featured jazz from Elise Roth and her High Spirits, burlesque from Suri Sumatra, a host called Champagne Charlie, and the Bee’s Knees on DJ duty.
Jack-o’-lanterns decorated the room, but the organiser describes it as a more refined Halloween than the gore-spattered options, with elegant party wear and a Halloween twist.
The crowd spans generations, from twenty-somethings to couples in their seventies, and it often ends in a conga line.
The club holds events through the year. There’s also a New Year’s Eve Ball, with entry tickets from around £59. Check thecandlelightclub.com for dates.
Credits: Clayton Hartley
5. The Hyde Park dachshund parade
The most wholesome event of my Halloween week took place on 1st November, and it was perfect for anyone who’d been out partying the night before. Dachshunds in costume gathered in Hyde Park, and watching them run around making friends was the best display of cuteness I’ve seen all year.
The owners were just as much fun. Their pride was obvious as children and other adults stopped to admire the fur babies in costume. It’s a completely safe environment for dogs and a lovely meet-up, whether or not you own a sausage dog.
The Hyde Park Sausage Walk is annual, and its Christmas edition brings hundreds of dachshunds in festive outfits, with best-dressed competitions.
It’s also not the only Halloween walk in London. All Dogs Matter holds an annual Howloween Dog Walk on Hampstead Heath, meeting at the Spaniards Inn, in aid of its dog rehoming charity.
