One Aldwych - Martini Movies

Going on a date in London can be tricky, keeping yourself occupied stylishly in the evening when on a romantic trip to London can be equally trying. You can go for the tried and tested ‘see a show’ approach. But for the amorously inclined the large part of the evening will be spent not talking, and when you do get a chance it will be for fifteen minutes in a crammed theatre bar. That is if your date has not had to queue for a quarter of an hour to use the loo. Drinks and/or dinner will be crammed in before the play, or shoved down at an anti-social hour afterwards.  Leaving the theatre aside the simpler option of a nice meal can be equally challenging. That is hours of conversation, and finding a good restaurant, and booking it (many fashionable eateries have this infuriating ‘no-booking’ policy at the mo). Of course you can always wander through a glamorous city by night, if it isn’t raining.  More vulgarly there is the issue of cost; two theatre tickets, meals and drinks will not leave much change from £200. It’s enough to make you grasp singledom with enthusiasm.

Bar at OneAldwych

One good alternative is provided by OneAldwych, a modern sassy boutique hotel in Aldwych. Their Martini Movies package offers a cocktail, a film in their small private cinema and a three course meal, all for £42.00 a head. There are a number of advantages to this option; you are a guest, not just part of the cattle train of hen nights, confused tourists and predatory suits thronging London. One of the hotel’s strong points is its level of service and especially if dating or going out after a day at work a bit of care and attention makes a difference. 

Comfy seats and cocktail to accompany your viewing.

A wide range of films are shown and the small cinema has large comfy leather chairs. On popping yourself into one you are presented with a cocktail. Even if it were fully booked the cinema is bijou: there wouldn’t be hordes of you and certainly no yallering teenagers or crisp bag rattling morons. In addition a film is not too long, but it does provide good conversation fodder. Amongst the films coming up are ‘The Artist’ and ‘Midnight in Paris’, which if you haven’t seen them already are superb romantic fare.

One of the retaurants that provide dinner.

The evening also includes a three course meal; I ate at OneAldwych some time ago and enjoyed it. Just being able to wander out from the auditorium and into a nice restaurant with a table waiting for you is a treat. No fighting your way through crowded London streets weighed down with coats and umbrellas to squeeze your way into some noisy restaurant that is already jammed. The screenings are also timed so you sit down for dinner at a civilised hour and don’t have to rush your food so you can grab the last train home. Being a hotel of course it has a bar and it would be quite possible to just finish your meal and move in there for a digestif.

Vintage lovelies

Last week along with some of London’s vintage finest I was treated to a truncated form of the evening and if the excellent canapes were anything to go by the food remains good.  The cocktails and champagne certainly hit the spot as you can see from the pictures above and below.

Myself on the left (picture courtesy of Katie Chutzpah).

I think this would be an equally good option for those based in London, who have a busy enough life and want a stylish evening with minimal hassle. I also think it would be good for those who are here on holiday and want an evening away from frenetic tourism. Indeed who needs a date? Not me, a girls night out would be great fun, we certainly enjoyed ourselves (we watched My Week with Marilyn, and I still don't understand the enthusiasm for Mr Redmayne!). Finally for London’s West End it is very reasonably priced.

Details of the film club can be found here