The Mesmerist

Dedicated to the outlandish & burlesque, this Mesmerist is a boho blend of absinthe bar & old curiosity shop with weird & wonderful live acts. It’s a veritable palace, spread over two levels with the ground-floor drinking parlour sporting red velvet curtains, green chesterfields & quirky curios, from a suit of armour to a human skull – the perfect backdrop for cabaret dancers, conjurers, circus entertainers & various raggle-taggle buskers playing gypsy swing. Friendly staff keep the motley crew well watered, while merrymakers in search of sustenance should head up the sweeping staircase to the dining room: here, scallops with cauliflower purée & black pudding vie with 28-day aged steaks, although it's hard not to be distracted by the huge painting of human eyeballs that sits above one of the tables. Mesmerising.