If ever there was a building in London’s glittering Shoreditch that was ripe for turning into a spectacular hotel, it’s that handsome, bronzed industrial pile on the corner of Curtain Road and Scrutton Street. You know the one, right opposite the American Carwash, just round the corner from that funny old car park that doubles up as a nightclub every now and then, five minutes to Spitalfields Market, same to Redchurch Street, add a few more and you’ll reach Brick Lane via Truman Brewery. Know where we mean? So Shoreditch, right?
Sure, there was another hotel incarnation a few years back – The Curtain – that probably rings bells but just didn’t quite nail it. So that went bye-byes before ye olde pandemic, at which point the clever people at the Mondrian group – off-of Mondrian Los Angeles/South Beach/Park Avenue/many, many more swooped and started laying their magic in great big sexy bucketfuls.
First port of sexy is the towering lobby, light and colour and conviviality everywhere, then it’s a seemingly endless array of hedonistic and hedonistic-lite options. Carry on through the lobby to Christina’s, for example, a cocktail bar whose schtick is ‘Italian aperitivo drinks culture with a British twist.’ And we’re all for twists, especially in a vodka martini which they manage to pull off with all the available aplomb. Also on the menu are ‘Sandos’, Japanese-inspired sandwiches using super-soft shokupan, Christina’s oft-spoken-of Oyster Shell Martini, plus diddy baked goods to soak up some of that booze. And the space itself is beautiful. Almost Deco, quite cruise ship, very glamour.
Or take the lift downstairs to BiBo, a party restaurant headed up by Michelin-showered Dani García, whose Andalusian food over in Spain has had all the right people talking since 1998. Expect a whole load of seafood (from cod fritters, whole deep-fried sea bass, fish & chips burger), a whole load of meat (fried chicken brioche, oxtail ravioli, chorizo, chorizo, chorizo) and a veggie/vegan menu that’s hugely improved since the first time we went (glazed aubergine, porcini croquetas, grilled avocado and coriander pesto, vegetable paella). The soundtrack, meanwhile, is 80s/90s heavy, which is not only all the rage and whole load of fun, but means you’ll be eating the crispy bits of your paella while mouthing the words to the greatest hits of George Michael, Lisa Stansfield and Sade. Other British soul singers are available.
Or take the lift up, up, up to the just-launched Laurel’s On The Roof, a ‘concept’ restaurant + bar + pool and a boon for any city hotel but particularly welcomed by Shoreditch’s party people. The food and drink bits are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner to everyone, but those lofty dips are for guests of the Mondrian (and adjacent Curtain Club members) only. For which we thank them.
Oh and the rooms. Blimey they’re good, erring on grown-up East End. If you’re into palettes, that means luxurious neutrals/naturals against exposed brick, maybe the odd diaphanous drape to dapple the Shoreditch light of a morning or the party hullabaloo come sundown. The suites are particularly impressive, coming with dinky terraces, lavish design touches, art by Studio Graphite and works by famous showbiz photographer Mick Rock. The Penthouse Suite, should you go down that route, is 1000+ sq ft of lush and floor-to-ceiling windows and curated mini-bars and steam showers and kudos.
This is Mondrian hotels’ European flagship, so the pressure was on. And it’s not so easy standing out among London’s hotels – so good, so many, so world-leading – but Mondrian Shoreditch has pulled it off. Naughty, glamorous, fun, which are three of our favourite things and exactly what this neck of London’s woods should be. So Mondrian, so Shoreditch, so right.