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Zomato Hosted a Meetup at The Looking Glass.
Anyone who has seen my Mad Hatter Tea Party post will know that I am a fan of Alice in Wonderland and all things Lewis Carroll. Top that off with my love for food, you knew I would be ecstatic for a chance to attend my first Zomato Meetup where I could eat free food and drink free cocktails and meet foodies like myself.
How NOT To Get To The Looking Glass Cocktail Club
So humming along to Frank Wildhorn’s Wonderland album, I grabbed the Overground to Hoxton and made my way to 49 Hackney Road in East London. OR rather, I followed CityMapper‘s directions to 49 Hackney Road where I met fellow foodie, Sunny In London, equally searching for our destination.
The mystery was confounding and a tad bit frustrating especially because our hostess from Zomato, Alexandra, had no cell service at the club. Sunny in London left and I thankfully reached Kritika (the Zomato marketing employee who first introduced me to the brand) who helped me find my way to the correct address. O, boy, do I have a bone to pick with CityMapper sending me to an address across town (near Columbia Road).
That said, if you are likewise game to check out Looking Glass Cocktail Club do NOT grab directions based on the address but rather use the club’s name in your search and that should lead you to the right place.
Through the Looking Glass
Moving on… I arrived (thanks again to Kritika and Alexandra) at Looking Glass Cocktail Club half an hour late but was very much delighted to discover the club was literally through a looking glass! The lights were dim and made photography of the food and drink a bit difficult so please pardon the quality of photos.
But there were a half dozen or so seating areas with tables where a combination of chairs and couches played court to the tables with dripping candles. The room was spacious even for our good-sized crowd and boasted a good-sized bar where cocktails could be mixed and poured.
Cocktail Sampling at The Looking Glass Cocktail Club
The Looking Glass Cocktail Club serves drinks only (no food) and provided two courtesy cocktails for the enjoyment of the Zomato Meetup.
They were:
 |
Jabberwocky |
- Ted’s Bellini (with extra kicks from both a dash of fin & Kummel liqueur (flavoured with celery and peach cordial)
- Jabberwocky (Chivas Regal is lengthened with Dubonnet, Creme de Bergamot, Lapsang amaro, orange juice & shaken into a coupette & garnished with sour cherry)
I particularly found the Jabberwocky to be delicious… Fruity but not too sweet, strong but not too overpowering.
Rice Paper Rolls (courtesy of MissChu)
The drinks were complimented for the occasion by five trays of rice paper rolls from MissChu:
- Tiger prawn and green mango
- Egg omelette, caramelised onion and balsamic caramelised onion
- Sashimi tuna, avocado & wakame
- Vegan organic tofu, shimeji and enoki mushroom (Not GF)
- Roast duck & banana flour
My favourite was the tuna… Sashimi tuna, avocado and wakame. Delicious! All five were refreshing and tasty with mint leaves. Would be especially good on a hot day, I think. While they were all refreshing and edible, I would have to say that the flavours all were bland in comparison to the tuna roll so if you are hankering for Vietnamese rice paper rolls, go for the tuna rolls. Delicious. They come in a serving of 2 for £5 and can be ordered for online delivery, pickup or catering.
Meet My Fellow Bloggers
And the best part of the evening had to be the chance to meet the fellow foodies: Ali, Kate, and Snita.
If you similarly enjoy blogging about food, check out Zomato and maybe I will see you at a meetup.
My Zomato profile is: https://www.zomato.com/thejoyousliving.
And if you find yourself in East London looking for a quirky and entertaining place to grab a drink with your friends, might I suggest Looking Glass Cocktail Club?
More London Restaurant Reviews
- Zomato: Catch Champagne Bar Lounge Is Great for a Girls Night Out
- Hotel Xenia’s Evoluzione Serves Fork Licking Seafood
- Masters Super Fish is a #1 Place for Fish and Chips in London!
- Dinner at Bill’s
Disclaimer: While the food and drink were all complimentary thanks to Zomato’s meet up, the reviews are all my own. Thanks again Zomato, Looking Glass Cocktail Club and MissChu.
Sharing is Caring
These places look so cool! Especially the place that was a club that was literally through a looking glass! I hope to visit here one day!
I can’t wait to travel again! I will definitely check out the Looking Glass Cocktail Club the next time I am visiting London. Looks like so much fun!
Wow I loved the ambience and the food. Best is the way you have enjoyed with your fellow bloggers is precious.
Glad you had a wonderful experience at this bar, and with Zomato event 🙂 Oh I miss the actual meetups!
What a fun and amazing theme to use to do a meetup like this! I love every part of it and wish I was going to East London so I could join in.
It’s fun to have Zomato meetups! You get to learn more about other foodies. So yummy experience too!
sounds like everyone had a great time. looks like a great idea for a bar.
This is fun-fun, meeting fellow bloggers is just like meeting fellow co-workers and friends. Thanks for sharing this, I have added to my to-do-list
Oh this is so much fun! Meeting your fellow bloggers and learning from each other.
Ooohhhhh….this is nice to hear. I will keep Zomato on my to-do list.
Omg I remember this night! That was such a cool and quirky bar! I loved that it was hidden away!
Such fun times! Thanks for sharing the experience! xx
This is so fun! Meeting bloggers! I hope this pandemic ends soon so we can go back to having drinks lol
Looks like a really fun place to enjoy a good time with friends!
Wow, this Soo interesting. My 1st time hearing about Zomato. Pretty cool. Thanks for sharing
That’s a pretty cool idea for a club! And those seats look very posh yet comfy. How was the other drink? Was intrigued by the mention of celery.