As the Moorgate venue prepares for another exciting Christmas season, we look back at the spectacular Dream Circus parties it hosted last year
Photos: Tom Green
If there’s one thing we’ve come to expect from
The Brewery, it’s a creative eye for cool and unusual details. The venue’s entry for
last year’s Canapé Cup at Venues & Events Live was a nostalgic twist on a club sandwich, served in a retro lunchbox with a side of crisps. The team has even designed business cards as beer mats.
So as soon as we arrived at one of its ‘Dream Circus’ Christmas parties last December, we weren’t surprised to see these eccentricities on full show. We entered the building through a door that doubled as a clown’s mouth. A life-size inflatable elephant hovered above, suspended from a hot-air balloon. Circus acts contorted around guests making for their respective parties. The Brewery is a big place and can host three big events at once. That’s no mean feat.
ROLL UP, ROLL UP
Our joiner party was being held in the venue’s largest space, the 700-capacity Porter Tun, decked out as a monochrome big top. The evening started with cocktails beneath fluffy clouds and butterflies, before the curtain was drawn back and the full extent of the team’s efforts revealed. At our table – beautifully kitted out and with a merry-go-round as its centrepiece – we kicked off with the wine that awaited us.
Catering is another of the venue’s strengths. The three-course meal began with a plate of quail with pesto, herbs, goat’s cheese and a trio of beetroot. The dish was delicate and well-balanced, and left room for melt-in-the-mouth sticky beef shin with horseradish mash and a donkey carrot. To finish, a white-chocolate panna cotta and macaron was served – the touch of candy floss another clever nod to the fairground theming around us.
After-dinner entertainment came from Soul Symphony, a big band that blended two vocalists, pianos and DJ beats. They certainly had everyone up on their feet. As we took our leave (after a Jägerbomb for the road) we were waved off by a clown, an acrobat and a sinister-looking accordion player. That was certainly a Christmas party with a difference.
PARTY LIKE IT'S 2015
Christmas parties at The Brewery are never dull. The Chiswell Street venue’s talented team has outdone itself this year – not just dreaming up some seriously wacky party packages, but also a secret society that runs them. The Apostles of Anonymity parties will be about decadence shot through with a strong element of mystery. Packages start at £99pp for a three-course dinner, entertainment, a drinks reception, five hours of house wine and beer, a DJ and venue hire. Mask wearing is encouraged and guests are expected to get ‘very merry’.
The Brewery, 52 Chiswell Street, EC1Y 4SD, tel: 020 7638 8811
This article was first published in Square Meal Christmas 2015