The Social, Fitzrovia  

Running since 1999, the Social is owned by the Heavenly record company, and as a result music has a big part to play in the place. Located between the glitzier end of London's rag trade and the consulting rooms of Harley Street, the Social offers drinks, music and food to a self-consciously fash-tastic crowd sporting ridiculous haircuts, obscure trainers and, god love them, studded belts. There are 2 levels to the place, a larger basement area, where there are a range of music events on the programme, and the smaller ground-floor area. There are a limited number of brews on tap, but this is balanced by a wide range of bottled beers from around the globe and an extensive range of spirits. There are a number of things going for this place. Its central London location makes it a handy place to meet up, the food, including tasty fare from the Square Pie company, is reasonably priced, but why you'd want to eat spaghetti hoops on toast in a bar is beyond me. The jukebox is amazing, and doesn't bleed you dry, and offers an excellent mix of classics and new music (so new in fact, two of the albums weren't even out in the shops on our last visit), and it's not played at earsplitting levels, so you can actually carry on a conversation. The place is relatively quiet and sociable (excuse the pun) during the week, but it does get absolutely ram-jammed towards the end of the week (it's closed on Sundays), and it can feel very impersonal, especially given the preponderance of loathsome asymmetric hairdos trying to outdo each other in the style stakes. However, if you like beats to complement your beer, this could be the place for you. A word of warning, careful you don't get spaghetti hoops all down your Stussy sweatshirt. Unless you're trying to make a statement, of course.

reviewed:
13/5/2006

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