after DARK
How to be CO |
Bed is for squares and sunshine is for losers, man. Johnny Regan sets out to find Glasgow’s late night hip crowd.
lasgow is a nocturnal city. When the sun
goes down. the freaks come out. and
take it from us: you do not want to be stranded on l'nion Street at two in the morning. waiting on a bits that will never come. For those of you for whom this simply isn't (HI option. there are a great many alternatives to running the gauntlet ol‘ the city's streets.
Start the night at the ultra-fashionable The Cook’s Room (l2 Woodside (‘rescentl in Park (‘ircus. Hidden from the sight of most pedestrians by a paroxysm ol’ l'oliage. this is an almost clandestine eating Imitr'. but we think you‘ll lind it worth seeking out.
The cocktail is an integral part of any groovestcr‘s night out. and you‘ll lind the best mixed drinks at Groucho St Jude’s ( l‘)() Bath Street) and Salty Dog (2nd Floor. Princes Square. Buchanan Street). The former is an epicentre of cool. attracting not only the people who frequent the trendiest clubs. but those who own them too. It has a painl'ully fashionable young professional crowd. and the place is busy all the time in spite ol’ what might be called ‘reassuringly expensive‘ drinks prices. Salty Dog does the best cocktails of the two. but it closes at the reasonable time ol~ around l2.3(). whereas the parties in St Jude‘s have been known to stretch well into the morning. owing to the fact that it‘s a hotel as well as restaurant and drink spot.
So where do the fashionable ones go when they
want to dance'.’ The Sub Club (22 Jamaica Street) has long led from the front in terms of cutting edge music. but it also has a strong reputation as a venue that welcomes revellers from a variety of age groups. 'l‘herel‘ore. on any given night. you‘ll see those famous booths colonised by ultra-trendy thirtysomethings. mingling with young upstatts well versed in the way of the 4/4 heat. while middle—aged men lurk in the shadows and nod knowingly to ‘Altered States' by Ron Trent. Put plainly. the Sub is the cultural hub of the city. and when the trendy masses converge on the place at around I 1.30 on a Sunday night for the infamous ()ptimo (lispacio) party. you get the sense that you are attending something very special indeed.
'l‘rendiness is a many-faceted thing. however. so it‘s worth mentioning the more subdued late night parties that go on in the night in the city. If. you‘re more lilton John than lirol Alkan. for example. the Corinthian's (1‘)] Ingram Street) piano bar has played host to many a post-fashion show drinking session. It‘s open until 3am. although things occasionally run on until 5am. Then there‘s the infamous Brunswick hotel (lllX Brunswick Street). which warrants mentioning here because it has been the last port of call for innumerable nights of Dionysian (but ultra-trendy) bacchanalia. By the time you hit the chi-chi Brunswick. the sun is usually well on its way up.
The Cook’s Room
THE HIPSTERS
TRENDY EDINBURGH
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Q“ ’ ' "lo:-
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Too cool for cooked food? Helen Pidd has the answers.
1! True trendsetters wouldn't be seen dead reading tips on where to go out. Cutting edge cats rely instead on an in-built radar to guide them effortlessly in the coolest direction. Wannabes beware: this is actually a little tricky in Edinburgh. 8 city lacking obvrous honeypots of hipness. Unlike Glasgow. there is no central venue where all the forward thinkers hang out.
Luckily Edinburgh trendies are, perversely, a predictable lot. bar-wise. Not for them the new drinkeries. but rather long established bars retaining a vague sheen of cool. These sassy stick-in-the-muds drink Staropramen in tiny Black Bo’s (57—81 Blacktriars Street) or in booths at the City Cafe (19 Blair Street) or the Human Be:ln (2—8 West Crosscauseway).
But even trendsters need to eat. If you're pretty enough to pass muster with the bar folk at Villager (49—50 George IV Bridge), grab a window seat and enjoy the good. modern scran. Too cool for cooked food? Head over to the wonderful Bonsai (46 West Richmond Street) for some superlative sushi. If it's already late. make like a Iuvvie and have some tapas in the Traverse Bar (1 0 Cambridge Street).
Later still and club nights with violent sounding or awkwardly spelt names are all the rage — try Disko Bloodbath at Ego (Picardy Place). For occasionally impenetrany hip noise. attend a laptop jamboree like Trouble at the Cellar Bar (weekly Fridays). If you don‘t ‘do' dancing, make yourself hostage to fortune at the midnight secret cinema at the Fllmhouse (fortnightly Fridays. 88 Lothian Road. 0131 228 2689).
Someone as cool as you is bound to have a party to go to, but you could try your luck with the doormen at the Hallion on Picardy Place — if you don't find the concept of a private members club about as hip as a Young Tory convention. that is.
FlVE PLA’GES TO FREE-.55
Harvey Nichols St Andrew Square. l (linliiirgli October Princes; Square. Glasgow
Pivo Calton Road. Edinburgh
Soba Mitchell Lane, Glasgow
Vodka Wodka Ashton lane. Glasgow
78 Nor—2 Dec 2004 THE LIST 23