29th November 2006
Slice of Big Chill paradise in London Central
Based next to the Thames Link station it is a nice slice of Big Chill paradise in central London. The Big Chill House opened in August 06, and it's pushing Kings Cross towards its new life as a hot cosmopolitan area.
The Chiller's describes their phenomenon as:
"a multimedia festival, bar, club event, record label and lifestyle dedicated to transforming the spirit of our times.
The Big Chill offers a highly evolved, all-round experience that is completely unique, with a wide variety of music and performance, art, dance and film; technology and its relationship with nature; identifying artists and nurturing their creativity; It is about synergy, energy, community and fun."
Sounds exciting and busy and definitely different!
The club like it's sister bar in Bricklane offers a bar food like pizza and chips and a solid Sunday roast from 1-6pm. The addition of Francisco from The Social in Islington has the roasts sporting one of the best Yorkshire puddings this side of York. Large and crunchy on the outside they have a slight dusting of cumin on top that delights the tongue when mixed in with the red wine gravy. The portions are huge and the choice includes chicken, pork, beef and the vegan nut roast (almond, hazelnut and walnut) my personal favourite even though I'm not a vegetarian!
The venue is beautiful, decorated by The Big Chill to embody the spirit of the festival. Technology embraced by nature is the main theme with a good dose of brightly coloured fun. There are many different areas making the size of the club seem far more intimate.
My favourite areas are the Finlandia Cabin, found under the dance floor it has been created to resemble a mountain log cabin from the future. And the Enchanted Bar, which has a large lily pond table (a mirror with rushes rowing out of it) and pink clouds on the roof.
The whole place is decked out with an amazing sound system and there are projectors and screens everywhere creating a truly mulitsensual experience. It's also worth mentioning the outside terrace, a blessing for the hot summer months, or even for moongazing at night.
The music played reflects the festivals eclectic tastes with many of the artist off the record label preforming and guest appearances of Ninga Tune Djs common. Live music is often played on Thursday with the latest being Bugs in The Attic, broken beat specialists. Check http://www.bigchill.net for details.
The experience of it evolves through the day with it being a bar restaurant from 11-3 to a bar/caf.. then an after work pub and then to a club/venue from about 8! It's free entry till 11pm on Friday and Saturday. Also keep and eye out for it's secret Sunday 6am opens.