The Magic Roundabout in the center of Old Street roundabout, for me, was exactly that – Magic!
With friends in tow, LDN Life headed to the opening night. It’s easy to assume that nothing eventful could happen in a big roundabout, let alone the fun-filled evening we were about to experience.
“How do we get to it?” Tim asked.
“No idea, but I’m guessing we don’t have to run across 3 lanes of angry London traffic” I answered. It was easy enough to find, with the entrance right by the underground entrance.
“Magic!” he cried with joy.
Walking into the entrance and up the staircase, it was easy to see why they called it Magic. Gone was the noise of the busy streets, the somber London hum. Aided by the music from DJs playing everything from house to disco and the hustle and bustle of people acted like its own noise cancelling devices. With it closed off and mainly sheltered from the elements, the dynamic had changed from the pictures I’ve seen of their summer version to something more akin to a festive cave. No surprise that it didn’t take long for people to start dancing!
With two main bars, and a smaller one in the smoking area, it never took long to get a cocktail, pint (or shots!). Food was sold by Smokin Lotus – I had the pork box, but also tried the beef and chicken wings. WOW…. I wasn’t expecting food that good, so good I might just go back for that! There was some serious food envy going around our group. JJ opted for the vegan burger from Burger Bear. He’s generally critical of pretty much everything, so when he said it was very tasty (but it could have held together better), I took that as a compliment to the chef. The group universally agreed that the fries were perfect.
Magic Roundabout is not somewhere you’d go for just an hour, even if that is the plan. With no windows, this place constantly felt like 2am, especially with the theme taking you through Time and Space as you come up the stairs, through to a homage to the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. You’ll lose track of time, so it is probably best to set an alarm before your last tube, or you might end up on the night bus.
The only time we paid attention to the time was when Dani arrived two hours late with her new Pixel 2 in tow. She was keen to try out her new camera in the low coloured lights, so I have the joy of looking like a ‘slightly drunk’ space captain in her first two photos.
Throughout autumn and winter the venue will play host to a huge range of events, including a Liquid D&B party from Sine with Commix on 4th November and Wasted Chic Christmas Market on 5th December.
Plus you can hire the venue for a very different Christmas party venue for groups of up to 500. You can check out the full line up of events and the Christmas Brochure via their website: www.magicroundabout.