Venue Review

Character: Theatrical and romantic baroque cocktail bar and restaurant.

Funky Features: Kitchen as theatrical ‘stage’, framed by eye-catching light bulbs, intimate leather furnished alcoves, contemporary chandeliers, fresh flowers, and baroque furniture.

Location and history

Set in hip Clerkenwell and equidistant from Farringdon, Kings Cross and Angel Tube stations, Dollar is easy to spot. A glitzy dollar sign splashed across the front of the venue signals its presence on the dark painted exterior. Located on Exmouth market, Dollar is renowned for its grills and dry martinis, drawing an after-office crowd in cocktail hour and couples and parties who come for meal or a party.

Interior

The kitchen is the immediate eye catching focal point of the dark interior. Surrounded with bright light bulbs and framed by large red casino-style artworks, the restaurant conjures up one of those kitsch and flashy Las Vegas interiors. Gold and rich reds are the favoured colours throughout the room with heavy red velvet drapes sectioning off a private bar area at the back of the room.

There’s a surf ‘n turf quality to the menu here:  diners can sample diner style burgers and lobster and steak platters. Cocktail lovers are catered for by a knowledgeable and skilled bar team.

Downstairs, the intimate cocktail bar is decorated in romantic style, featuring one-off baroque furniture and leather banquettes in alcoves designed for intimate drinks. Lounge style is the defining music choice except at weekends when anything from soul, disco, funk, new jazz or mild electronic house is played by the resident DJs.

Spaces for hire

The private room at the back of the restaurant can cater for 15 people.

The restaurant in its entirety can hold up to 72 people and any number in between.

The alcoves can be reserved at no charge for groups of up to 10 people.

The cocktail bar can be booked for anything from 2 to 120 people.

David Redhead