I recently visited The Bletchley – a spy-themed cocktail bar inspired by Alan Turing and Sherlock Holmes.

I would say this bar is somewhat secret, being hidden underneath The World’s End Market at The World’s End Distillery in Chelsea, London.

 

With myself being an escape room fan, my brother enjoying a good challenging puzzle and my dad being fascinated by The Imitation Game (plus all of us enjoying the odd cocktail or two), we thought this would be a perfect afternoon out for us.

We arrived at The Bletchley for our reservation at 5:30pm. Once downstairs, we were greeted by the friendly bartenders who gave us our codebreaking uniforms and showed us to our table.

Throughout the evening we were faced with a series of tasks to create unique cocktail combinations that would be totally suited to each of us individually. We were solving clues, cracking codes, working out combinations, and using the enigma code machine to solve puzzles.

Once we had worked out an answer, we would use the telephone intercom system to radio our drinks orders to the bar. The whole experience was very fun and a totally unique way to spend an evening.

We paid £35 each for this experience, which includes 2 hours in the “bunker” and 3 cocktails each. Considering that you’ll struggle to find a nice cocktail for less than the £10 mark in London, I think this is a great deal, along with all of the thinking and effort that has gone into this bar.

 

None of us knew what went into our cocktails, but we all enjoyed all of the ones we had. My cocktails didn’t taste particularly strong, but I’m not a fan of strong tasting alcoholic cocktails, I prefer the ones that taste delicious and go down easily! This might be something to bear in mind if you’re thinking of going but are fond of a stronger tipple.

 

Even though I am a seasoned escape room player, this drinking experience was nothing like I had ever seen before. Something a lot more fun and interesting than sitting in your local pub!