Spiritland: where the sound system is just as good as the starters

Nestled in the heart of Royal Festival Hall, Spiritland’s buzzy restaurant and bar is the perfect location for late-night lounging

Words by Olivia Gayoyannis

Just a stone’s throw away from the hustle and bustle of South Bank, the sumptuous interior of Spiritland Royal Festival Hall provides a retro haven for music-lovers. Styled in the image of a 1970s recording studio, the restaurant boasts rounded leather booths, bespoke velvet curtains and a world-class sound system – currently pumping out ambient jazz in amongst the chattering diners.

A truly cosmopolitan destination, the open kitchen offers a bold, international menu of sharing plates, as well as unapologetic twists on classic favourites. Tonight’s menu includes: Korean chicken with gochujang, Sea bass with salsa verde and – my personal favourite – an indulgent Orecchiette with broccoli, parmesan and chilli. After much deliberation over the extensive dessert menu, we settle for the buttermilk raspberry panna cotta and the orange almond polenta cake - a fruity end to a mouth-wateringly good meal.

Over by Spiritland’s bar (which offers a whopping 110-strong wine list) the drinks are flowing. Drawn in by the jewel-coloured cocktails and their striking garnishes, I opt for a Spagliato – a deliciously bitter take on the Negroni, made with strawberry, orange and Prosecco. Also on offer is a selection of British beers (including a tempting Redchurch Blood Orange Sour), non-alcoholic drinks and an impressive coffee menu.

The crowning glory of Spiritland’s London-based spaces, the Royal Festival Hall venue embodies the brand’s greater ethos: a reverence of music and culture, paired with a love of good food and drink. If this sounds like your jam, you can find the Spiritland café, bar and radio studio in King’s Cross, which serves as a café and workspace by day, and a stylish bar by night. And in Mayfair you can find Spiritland’s boutique headphone bar, where you can pick up a selection of world-class headphones, amplifiers and digital players.

All this, combined with a 2 am license and guest DJs playing from Thursday through to Saturday nights, makes Spiritland the perfect venue for a pre-concert meal… or maybe even a post-concert cocktail.