Music at core of ECC Chinatown relaunch
The Experimental Cocktail Club (ECC) in London’s Chinatown will reopen this autumn with a new identity shaped by immersive design.
On Friday 3 October, ECC Chinatown will make its return following a full reimagining of its interior, 15 years after it first opened its doors.
“This is a pivotal moment for us,” said Xavier Padovani, partner at Experimental Group. “We’ve never reimagined Experimental Cocktail Club in this way before, and every detail has been carefully considered.
“We intended to create an inclusive space where guests can truly lose themselves – whether through the night’s music, the cocktail in hand, or the food on the table. It’s about a full sensory experience.
“London’s hospitality landscape is constantly evolving, and we’ve listened: people want great music, cocktails that are both accessible and uncompromising in quality, and service that feels effortless yet precise. With this reinvention, we’ve worked hard to ensure ECC delivers all of that and more.”
While the bar’s secret, unmarked jade door on Gerrard Street remains unchanged, inside the interior has been reimagined by designer Dorothée Meilichzon. The founder of Paris-based Studio CHZON is known globally for her ability to create hospitality spaces that feel ‘both cinematic and intimate’.
Throughout, the space nods to the bar’s location within Chinatown with allusions to the dragon. Scale-like patterns are woven into carpeting, fabrics and a 1960s screen panel, alongside bamboo, braided wood, mirrors and hues of purple, brown, and deep violet.
The furniture is upholstered in shimmering scale-like fabrics with stainless steel accents, resulting in an atmosphere described as ‘decadent and refined’.
At the core of ECC’s relaunch is its focus on its music programme, with the venue conceived as a listening room as much as a cocktail bar.
A weekly programme draws from an ‘eclectic sonic palette’, from ‘sundown disco’ and ‘ambient grooves’, to live acoustic sets midweek, electro house, French touch, and rock-inflected nights that roll into the early hours.
Weekends offer afro house, amapiano, and warm house music, while Sundays close with an analogue-inspired ritual featuring curated playlists in the spirit of vintage vinyl, celebrating hip-hop, soul, and R&B classics.
In an era of constant documentation, ECC will also be introducing select no-phone nights where guests can ‘get lost’ in the music and conversation.
Four-chapter menu
General manager Timothy Falzon and the team have designed the cocktail programme to echo ECC’s dual spirit of heritage and reinvention.
Divided into four chapters, it opens with ECC Classics, which revives house signatures such as the Saint Germain des Prés and the sparkling Old Cuban – a ritual serve anchored by custom Chinatown Bitters.
The second section, Design & Place, draws inspiration from the bar’s location and interiors. Highlights include Turmeric is the New Black – a blend of turmeric vodka, chamomile, and Champagne – and the Hay Jude, crafted with hay-infused Cognac, beurre noisette distillate, and bitters.
A seasonal rotation follows, debuting with the Sundowner Society, which sees Ocho Tequila mixed with plum, Aperol, lime, and bitters, and the ‘audacious’ You Make Miso Happy, crafted with Bourbon, pineapple, miso, garlic eau de vie, and lemon.
Finally, the Vintage Collection nods to ECC’s reputation for sourcing aged and rare spirits, and features the De La Louisiane and a richly layered Vintage Negroni, each offering a glimpse into cocktail history refracted through the present.
The cocktail menu will also feature an extensive list of rare French spirits and liqueurs.
Alongside cocktails and music, ECC will introduce a refined late-night food offering.
Two signature sandwiches created by Jackson Boxer will headline the menu, including the French onion soup croque and a mortadella and stracciatella sandwich. These will be complemented by a charcuterie selection from Tufnell Park’s Authentique Épicerie and cheeses sourced from Neal’s Yard Dairy.
Experimental currently operates seven ECC bars, with venues in Paris, London, New York, the Cotswolds, Venice, Val d’Isère and Verbier.
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