As London’s Bistrotheque hits the big 2-0, Fashion East’s Lulu Kennedy talks Britney Spears impersonators so convincing they made guests hyperventilate, and why tinsel curtains make great conceptual dresses
Just off an unassuming stretch of a busy, grey East London road lies Bistrotheque – a foodie heaven that, since opening in 2004, has become a go-to for London’s creative crowd. The home of countless debauched fashion dinners, megawatt drag balls, and evenings spent gossiping over espresso martinis and formerly pristine white tablecloths, ascend the space’s pink neon-lit staircase and you know you’re in for a good night.
Someone who knows this better than most is Lulu Kennedy. The Fashion East legend was there when the space was just a shell, and has been propping up the bar, hosting parties, and getting stuck into dinners there ever since. “I went the day [founders] David [Waddington] and Pablo [Flack] first had mates round for a drink,” she explains. “It was just an empty warehouse with only a handful of us, but felt so, so exciting.”
Since then, alongside berserk, sellout cabaret nights hosted by nightlife icons including Jonny Woo and ‘drag terrorist’ David Hoyle, Kennedy has called on Bistrotheque to host some of the notoriously wild Fashion East dinners that have taken place across the years.
Memorable nights – which have often spilled over into the early hours of the next morning – include the time a Britney Spears impersonator emerged from the wings and was so convincing everyone lost their minds thinking it was actually her, and the times Lulu ripped down the tinsel curtain decor to fashion herself a dress. She’s not a key Fashion tastemaker for nothing.
As Bistrotheque celebrates 20 years of legendary behaviour, Kennedy remembers some of the best moments from the last two decades and talks us through the special Tanqueray No. Ten cocktail menu she’s helped concoct.
Tell me about the first time you went to Bistrotheque?
Lulu Kennedy: I went the day [founders] David and Pablo first had mates round for a drink. It was just an empty warehouse with only a handful of us but felt so so exciting!
What makes it so special?
Lulu Kennedy: The people. David and Pablo are hilarious and genius and they employ a very fab cast of characters, many have been there for years and I always look forward to their sassy greeting when I walk in!
“And one year they hosted a Fashion East dinner and booked a Britney Spears impersonator to sing the hits. She was so believable, guests were hyperventilating” – Lulu Kennedy
Can you tell me a handful of unforgettable things that have happened there? And occasions you have celebrated?
Lulu Kennedy: Memorable Christmas Days, births, weddings, wakes, indoor fireworks and loads of Queer Cabaret over the years. Their drag balls were mythical. I was a judge with Kim Jones and Pat McGrath and lost my voice screaming. And one year they hosted a Fashion East dinner and booked a Britney Spears impersonator to sing the hits. She was so believable, guests were hyperventilating.
What‘s the best thing you’ve ever eaten there?
Lulu Kennedy: Grilled spring onions with romesco sauce were stunning. I’m campaigning to get them back on the menu.
What would you choose as your last meal on earth?
Lulu Kennedy: Tacos with an array of hot sauces and spicy Margs.
What would be on the stereo? Or live music?
Lulu Kennedy: My mates, who are brilliant DJs, plus a roaming mic for bants.
Who would be there?
Lulu Kennedy: All my angels.
What would you wear?
Lulu Kennedy: Historically I like ripping tinsel curtains down and wearing them.
“What would I wear to my last supper? Historically I like ripping tinsel curtains down and wearing them” – Lulu Kennedy
You’ve worked with Tanqueray on a series of special cocktails for 20 years of Bistrotheque. Tell me about those?
Lulu Kennedy: We had a lot of fun at the bar experimenting with flavours to go with Tanqueray No. Ten and then naming them. Lulu de Lulu is a classic Negroni but with blood orange and cardamom bitters. Blush Crush is fiery ginger and rhubarb on crushed ice, There’s an edible glitter sour which has rosemary and pineapple which tastes really naughty, and then there’s an almost dessert cocktail which is Anjelica’s Fancy – it’s very dramatic with pomegranate sorbet and edible gold leaf that’s an homage to my hero Angelica Houston.
Tell us about your dinner?
Lulu Kennedy: Bistrotheque served up everyone’s favourite Peruvian chicken feast and my Tanqueray No. Ten cocktails were fab. Jonny Woo did a dizzying showgirl extravaganza with multiple costume changes in the middle of dinner. Then Drybabe had us dancing, ending the night with a massive singalong to “Dangerously in Love”.