“Neverland isn’t a place, it is a state of mind!”
From May 4th until October there is a place in London for all you lost boys and other people of generation Peter Pan (i.e. eternal adolescents) – the Queen of Hoxton Rooftop has been transformed by Fables Creative into Neverland, a Neverland that comes with delicious food, excellent cocktails and plenty of entertainment to see you through the summer. The perfect place to run away to and spend some time with Peter Pan!
Way up high above the roofs of London – second star to the right and straight till morning – you can forget about all your adult responsibilities, like work or paying the mortgage, and immerse yourself in a land of imagination where you don’t have to grow up and just enjoy yourself in the Mermaid Lagoon and on Captain Hook’s pirate ship.
The food, as ever is superb and great value for money, this year the Neverland BBQ serves up the seriously tasty (and spicy) Black Skulls Burger with jerk chicken and tropical fruit salsa; and Never Never Land Ribs, the best baby back pork ribs I had in a long time – the meat falls off the bones and melts in your mouth and the marmalade BBQ glaze is perfection! For vegetarians there is the Bangarang Burger made with lentils and beans and topped with Fontina cheese or Smee’s Cannonballs, aka pumpkin, sage and parmesan arancini rice balls and if you do eat seafood try Peter’s Pil Pil Prawns served with chilli, garlic & lemon parsley butter & toasted sourdough. All mains come with garlic & rosemary squash& sweet potato wedges, creamy crunchy coleslaw and a mixed green leaf salad.
And if you have room for a sweet, there are pretty little Imagination Pies (cheese cakes) for dessert.
The Lost Boys’ Bar takes care of all your liquid needs, from specially brewed Bangarang Ale to a range of Neverland themed cocktails. The Green Eyed Fairy is a summery mix of absinthe, Midoru and elderflower liqueur and ours came with a little wooden Tinkerbell. Tootles Tipple made from Monkey Shoulder Whiskey with blood orange Solero and fruit juice just tasted like whiskey & oj, the Mermaid on the Beach cocktail is the perfect poolside drink, a multi-coloured concoction of fruit juice and liqueurs, perfect if you have a sweet tooth. We never got around trying the Blueberry Shadow Sour, as by the time we asked for it they had run out of one of the ingredients, but it sounds great (Hendricks Gin & blueberries) and I will try it next time. The Paloma Slushie is what it says on the slushie machine (El Jimador tequila & pink grapefruit juice with a touch of lime and sprinkle of salt) and the Pale-oma is a Paloma Slushie topped with pale ale. The Frosecco cocktails, all made with frozen prosecco, come in plain, with Aperol and as a Sailor’s Mojito Royal Slushie with Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Rum, lime & mint which is a great drink wor those (hopefully) hot summer nights.
And then there are Oyster Shots, small shots of spirit served with flavoured jelly on an oyster half shell: The Black Pearl Shot (grapefruit & charcoal with El Jimador Tequila), the Green Pearl Shot (matcha tea & lemon with Russian Standard Vodka) and the Pink Pearl Shot (rose and raspberry with Beefeater Gin).
It wouldn’t be the Queen of Hoxton Rooftop, if they wouldn’t lay on some special events and workshops for you to enjoy Bangaranga! even more. Here are a few dates for your diary, but do check their website for more throughout the summer:
Sea Shanty Choir
Have a few rums and sing your heart out with the Trad Academy who will explore authentic styles of singing with you as well as contemporary arrangements of shanties and other nautical songs.
May 15th, 12pm – 2pm
Neverland Terrarium Workshop
Create your own Neverland in a glass to take home. Learn how to layer and plant your own terrarium and how best to care for it. Finish it off with some mini laser cut Neverland characters.
Succulent, cacti, laser cut props and all other materials for inside the terrarium are supplied. Fairy dust optional.
May 20th, 2pm – 4pm
Mermaid Crown Workshop
Unleash your inner mermaid and get ready for festival season by making your very own crown with all the shells, glitter, jewels and expert guidance you may need.
June 3rd 1pm – 3pm
Wild Life Drawing
A drawing class with a difference. Here’s your chance to draw the spirit animals of Peter Pan’s Lost Boys: skunks, rabbits, foxes and more. There will be an experienced animal handler giving a detailed talk about the animals and a discussion on current conservation issues facing these creatures.
June 11th/July 9th/August 13th, 11am to 1pm
For more info and prices, check online.
Rooftop Film Club
Showing classics like The Lost Boys and Hook (of course), but also modern award winning movies like The Theory of Everything and La La Land
Every Sunday to Wednesday from May 7th until September, 8.30pm to 11pm
Tickets: £15
Or come along for one of the Sunday Terrace Parties with the likes of So Fresh So Clean, Supa Dupa Fly and Applebum.
The rooftop is usually open from 4pm to 10pm, but check with the venue.
The Queen of Hoxton
1-5 Curtain Road
London
EC2A 3JX
020 7422 0958
London-Olios 