The Thin White Duke

The industrial brick and low light of the ground floor feel lifted directly from 1970s Berlin, a deliberate nod to the era that defined David Bowie’s most severe persona. In a building that once housed Soho Radio, the split between public leisure and private creativity is built right into the floorplan. While the street level operates as a cocktail bar open to all, the basement houses fully equipped recording suites for members. You might not see the musicians working downstairs, but the knowledge that tracks are being cut just beneath your feet adds a certain charge to the room. The design leans heavily into the visual language of that Berlin period. You are surrounded by dark urban brick slips and retro textures, creating a setting that feels intimate enough for dates but serious enough for the creative crowd the founders – Sasha and Giovanni Almonte – intended to attract. A staircase dominated by a massive Irezumi-style tiger mural by Claudia de Sabe connects the two worlds. Down there, the studios are lined with stained glass and Christian Lacroix fabrics, but the upstairs bar is where the social energy concentrates. The menu takes a distinct turn from the German aesthetic, pairing Dav Eames’s technical cocktails with baskets of dim sum. The drinks list often pays tribute to Bowie’s collaborators – like the fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto – while the food arrives in bamboo steamers, offering a necessary solid anchor if you are working your way through the stronger pours. It creates a curious but effective mix: 1970s visuals, Chinese small plates, and the hum of a working studio running silently in the background.