Basement Sate

Basement State does decent desserts and quirky cocktails that you can match to make the most of this fun experience.
Basement State in Soho occupies the place that formerly was The Player where Lucky Chip had their Slider Bar a few years ago. Today, this is a dessert and cocktail bar — an interesting and delicious concept.
I was arriving quite early that evening and was one of just few customers. The place is kind of dark, which perhaps makes it a little bit mysterious. Reading the menu is kind of like reading through a list of odd headlines.
I quickly decided to get one dessert and one cocktail — after all, Basement State specialises in both. The Nuclear Lemon dessert sounded like a nice option. And indeed, it was good choice. Beautifully refreshing lemon macaroons in combination with chocolate and other small bits and pieces came together to a playful, fun and delicious dish.
Following a quick chat with my waiter, I got the Purple Avenue cocktail with it. A tasty drink blending gin with apple, vanilla and blueberry flavours. It worked like a treat and I did really like the combination of this dessert with this particular cocktail.
I will definitely keep Basement State in mind as a nice location for a date!

Went to a pre-​arranged group drinks at this place tonight. A friend booked it based on a timeout write up & we were pleasantly surprised. The wine was reasonably priced (£6−7.50 a glass), the volume t was good (we could actually hear each other talk!) and the décor was very pretty. Lots of wood & leather and even though it has been open over a year it is very well kept.
The staff were quite polite with allowing us to pay for drinks as we ordered, but started to get a little pushy when we went over our original booking numbers. We booked for 15 (I think) and at one point looked like we had about 17 people there. The waitress was quick to point this out & told us that any additional people that arrived would have to sit at the bar. Understandable given that we went over our numbers, but frustrating given that the bar was quite empty and there was plenty of space.
4 stars because of this little bit of customer service frustration, but all in all I’d go back for a drink with one or two friends in the future. Good for a glass of wine & a catch up.

On the hunt for dessert, we stumbled on this place after getting the ‘hour and a half wait’ treatment from the stuffy bouncer at Yauatcha.
The entrance is very well hidden but once inside we were pleasantly surprised. The wooden decour is very cosy but classy, and we were able to get a seat at the bar straight away.
I chose the ‘break and egg’ dessert while the others all had ‘kinder surprise’, both were excellently presented and very tasty. A little pricey but you get what you pay for.

This place is really hidden away. On a street in between two retail shops is a red door, no signs, no bouncer, no nuffink! But boy do you miss out if you walk by!
It’s all about dessert and cocktails — fancy, tasty dessert and cocktails and they pull it off very well.
Down the stairs into a fairly dark bar with bar stools, comfy sofas with low tables and some private booths you are greeted by staff who seat you. I’ve never been on a weekend so it has always been fairly quiet and we have never had a problem with picking our own seats.
The menu is a combination of about 10 cocktails and 10 desserts (beer, wine and fizzy also available) which change every few months. I went about a year ago and had the most amazing puddings and drinks but when I went last week everything on the menu was completely different. They also said they were prepping for another change of a few puds and cocktails in the weeks to come so I’ll probably have to go again!
Both my bf and I had had a pretty big meal so were in no rush for dessert so I took the time to decide (I was toying between 3). I had decided on my cocktail and bf was going to go for wine as doesn’t like cocktails however waiter made a few recommendations of cocktails that went better with the puddings I was thinking about getting which was nice, also taking the time to explain why (sweetness, bitterness, sour combos). So in the end I just went with the waiters recommendations and my bf, who is a choco fiend, went for the only choco option.
Cocktails range from £8-£12 and all desserts are £6-£8 so it isn’t cheap but only a little more expensive than a chain restaurants desserts. The service, presentation and quality make it well worth it!
To give you a taster my bf had The Kinder Surprise; brownie, milk chocolate & tonka whipped cream,
caramelised hazelnuts, praline foam, caramelia pearls, which was amazing. We had to wait 20 minutes as the chocolate shells that are made in house were still setting but again this was fine. I had Break an Egg; lime & passion fruit curd, coconut mousse & crumble, passion fruit jelly, coconut shave, which was so fresh and went well with my cocktail ‘still workinonit;
vodka, moscato s’asti syrup, cucumber, yellow chartreuse’ which was also very refreshing.
Highly recommend going especially for a special occasion or with someone who loves desserts and cocktails!

What can be better than cocktails with dessert?
It looks like Basement State have all figured out. The atmosphere is nice very inviting you it make you feel very comfortable, another perfect place for a date.
They have one dessert with pistachio with is so good!
they drink I often go for still working on it and kevin spicy. ;)

Literally, a hidden basement in Soho with great desserts and interesting mixed drinks. I started with the vodka-​based Kevin Spicy that was wonderfully refreshing but pretty weak. I followed up with the tequila-​based Thundercloud, which was tart and slightly more intoxicating. Our server was super attentive and knowledgable about the menu.
Since Basement Sate is known for its dessert, we ordered the Kinder Surprise, their most popular dessert. It’s a large milk chocolate shell topped with gold leaves and filled with brownie pieces, praline, mini balls of caramel, and chocolate/​hazelnut whipped creams. Absolutely wonderful and cavity-​inducing, and highly recommended if you’re looking for something sweet. We saw three other tables order desserts, and they all ordered the Kinder Surprise.
Tl;dr — Unique drinks (not strong), come for the Kinder Surprise.

Hidden away in, dun-​dun-​durr, a basement. The friendly bouncer directed me down the stairs and then into a really chill bar where I met up with several friends. Service was a little slow due to the Friday night business but we didn’t mind and staff were very friendly and helpful. There is a small and select menu to choose from: desserts and cocktails. Both combine an interesting variety of flavours but they all worked incredibly well and proves they know what they’re doing. I tried the Makar The Leaf, Jessica Rabbit, Thunder Cloud and The Brave and The Bold cocktails with a Green Forest dessert. Whilst I found the Brave & the Bold to not be as flavoursome, the others were gorgeous and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their drinks and desserts.
The drinks were fairly pricey for the amount that you got but that could be expected for a Soho speakeasy-​style cocktail bar. There was also a service charge added on that we had not been aware of but we were content to pay it.
Would definitely recommend: the flavours are delicious, staff friendly, and the ambience wonderful. Due to the pricing, it may be more of a fun one-​off experience.

Honestly, this place only gets two stars because the ambiance and environment of the place is genuine and nice. But when it comes to the pricey cocktails and desserts, spending more than an average 20 pounds for this stuff is not worth it. For two desserts and two cocktails, it turned out to be about 40 pounds ! That’s a decent steak meal. Sure the place is in a hidden basement with dim lights, nice music and a romantic atmosphere, open your eyes to overpriced items there with fancy names. Literally paid 10 pounds for like 4 mediocre macarons. After this place, we ended up getting dessert again elsewhere that was delicious and only 8 pounds for two of us well!

You can’t judge a place solely by when it’s quiet. You have to see how they perform when they are stretched and at their max. Alas, Basement Sate is a victim of its own success. Everyone reads about it, they come, and in the desire to accommodate more customers, they let those new customers down with bad service.
I have almost 1500 Unilocal reviews to my name at the time of this review. 1300 of them are 4 star and above. Part of that is because I use Unilocal very actively to figure out where I want to go and I avoid places that have bad reviews. I take no joy in writing bad reviews, but you know one is coming when I’ve taken the time to write down the name of the terrible server down on the back of my receipt.
So, let’s start with the good news — cool location — unmarked and you’ll walk right past it. Look for a small placard indicating «this is not a brothel.»
When you get down there — cool vibe and good music, and a simply beautiful bar arranged by liquor type.
Bartender — super cool — speaks Spanish and Italian. Handmixed our drinks with love.
Bad news — my server — I’m told her name is Emilia (I could be wrong) was a too-​cool waitress who simply couldn’t be bothered. I waited with my date for 10 minutes and kept looking at Emilia after she gave us those drink menus. After deciding that a friendly smile wasn’t going to get me service I went up to the bar. Emilia stood on the end and was waiting for drinks to be delivered to her. «Can I place a dessert order with you?» «You can do that with the bartender.» She turned away, not wanting to engage me any further.
Now, I get procedures in restaurants and I don’t want to mess with things but she was right by a screen — how long would it have taken to log into the screen, tap in my single dessert request, and then leave it? Not long at all. But certainly too much work for the staff at Basement Sate.
I wish I could chalk that up to a single accident/​failure of service, but that wasn’t it. The bartender took 20 minutes to make both cocktails — and again, I get that it’s handmade and it takes longer, but maybe staff up or set up a queue outside? The dessert order I placed with him turned out to be pointless, as 20 minutes later (this is not client time, this is actual time, watch time) he said, «I’m sorry, we are out of that dessert.» I had just grabbed my drinks from him and come back to inquire as to the status. «Well why didn’t you tell me 20 minutes ago?» He looked embarrassed and simply apologized. So, my date had waited 20 minutes for her drink, we had been there for 30, and the point of going there, and a hook that many take to come to Basement Sate, the dessert, was nowhere to be found.
I had had enough — I finished my (delicious) drink, and resolved not to go there again, and to share the experience with all my friends and you all. Cheers.
It’s all well and good to have success. The tough part is maintaining that, and my short experience was one that indicated a total loss of the plot. In case there is anyone at Basement Sate who cares, I have the exact time and date of my visit if you want to pinpoint a failure and try to fix it. You can shoot me a message on here.

Way too expensive for what you get. The drinks and desserts were good, but you can get equally good drinks/​desserts for way less.

Quick glance:
+ hidden gem, quite literally
+ chill out on a weeknight + pumping atmosphere on weekends
+ great cocktails
+ large selection of whiskey
+ desserts!
Full review:
On a clear Thursday evening, a colleague pointed a group of us towards the stairs leading to Basement Sate as he walked off to the neraest Tube station. There is no sign to indicate the bar’s existence, and on the orange door is a small, plastic sign that reads «This is not a brothel. There are no prostitutes at this address.»
We were deliberating whether or not this is a genuine bar when thankfully one of the bar staff must have seen us looking dazed and confused (presumably from CCTV monitoring the ground level entrance, or he had telepathic power) and invited us down.
On this particular Thursday evening it was quiet, with only a couple of other parties relaxing cozily in leather armchairs and sofas. It was the perfect place for the group of us to chat and banter after dinner, over a great selection of cocktails, whiskey and beers and soft music in the background.
I came back a couple of weeks later with a friend on a Friday night and it was completely transformed. The bouncer at the door warned us is was packed, and as we entered the room, revellers were everywhere enjoying their drinks and conversations alongside booming beats.
What a contrast but absolutely fantastic if you know what you’re after on which night of the week. I have been told by my friend that Basement Sate also offers desserts if you feel peckish for something sweet and substantial. And even if you don’t have a sweet tooth, there’s plenty of choice when it comes to whiskey and other drinks.

If I lived In London, I would be a regular. Great atmosphere, wonderful lounge.
The Beet Me Up cocktail is delicious & tastes like fresh fruit juice. I want another and another.
We couldn’t resist the Eagle in the Tub because that is an amazing name. It was great too.
The complimentary dessert was flavourful & interesting. though I don’t prefer the taste, the thought was lovely.
Aesop products i the restrooms & dyson hand dryers.

This is one of those places that looks incredible on paper but unfortunately is a bit of a let down when you arrive. As a whole, the décor is quite boring and there was no atmosphere. The cocktails are amusingly named and quite nice, but nothing special. The desserts are overpriced for what they are and I wouldn’t recommend them to be entirely honest. They earned an extra star by having lovely staff, who were very helpful.

New cocktail bar, just under Agent Provocature. Like Experimental Cocktail Club, at street level it’s just a doorway leading to a basement. All the hallmarks of a secret bar. When you come down the stairs it’s into a wide space, not so typical of a secret bar anymore. But it does have dim lighting, muted décor in grey. brown tones. Some vintage touches with the furniture and an impressive bar.
There are little wooden booths at the back, a little akin to a cowboy saloon but perfect for an intimate rendezvous or catch-​up.
The place is busy with a good buzzy vibe. The service is pleasant and efficient. The cocktails are a good quality I started with some rum based ones, which were refreshing.
For those with a sweet tooth Basement Sate has a unique selling point. In addition to it’s cocktail list it has a dessert menu. Sadly, I did not sample it.
So, in terms of character, Basement Sate seems like it’s still working itself out. Not unusual for a new venue. But it’s cocktails are solid.

Heard about this newish cocktail joint snuggled almost underneath the Agent Provocateur shop and had to check it out. A menu consisting of cocktails and desserts… sounds good hm?
Well, I have to say overall it’s ok. Greeting upon arrival downstairs was pleasant and cheery, although I was surprised there was no greeter/​bouncer in the initial street level entrance. The familiar sound of a cocktail shaker rattling away upon entry was very soothing and promising.
Very low lighting: I’m in two minds about this:
1. Flattering on the skin and therefore good for dates
2. Can’t read the menu properly without using the torch on my phone
Does that mean I can smile and nod while someone else picks a drink for me?
Onto staff then: Super pleasant, quick, and knowledgeable about the drinks and liqueurs used.
Drinks: Very interesting and novel concoctions, executed well, but not always tasting brilliant. I had one of the bourbon based ones reminiscent of Corsodyl mouthwash. Generally, though, they were good.
Back to the atmosphere: The place seems to be sustaining a personality crisis: Does it want to be a hidden, low-​lit, cuddly speakeasy or a loud, shrill meat market (but still low-​lit)? Not sure. The music was fine but so loud the five of us were huddled around shouting at each other to be heard. Not sexy. The cozy enclosed booths in the back are a delicious little idea encouraging lots of naughtiness. The problem is that if you require a waiter, you need to get up and wave at the staff, as the enclosure hides the empty glasses on your table or other indicators of service required. Having to do this kinda breaks the mood and is a bit inconvenient. Perhaps some sort of service ‘on’ light at these booths would be useful.
In then end we each downed a load of cocktails and had a great time, but I think the place could benefit from some calibration to its character.

Really enjoyed the cocktails, really authentic with some quirky names like «Patrick the wombat», loved how they paired the drinks and the desserts and found the staff to be super nice. Will definitely be back.

This brand new dessert and cocktail bar is a great concept, and one that seems to be very popular in London at the moment. Upon descending into basement, you can still smell the novelty of the paint. Large space, which appeared even larger because it was so empty on Thursday night. Not much personality to the venue, stark walls, brown leather couches and poufs. There are private partitioned tables at the back as well.
We were presented with an amuse-​bouche: tuna and olive tapenade rolled with some kind of soft dough — there’s no other way to describe it except fishy cookie dough. It was not pleasant.
The cocktails were fresh and simply presented but all 3 were very unique:
Beet Me Up (vodka, beetroot, ginger, moscato) was excellent, very zingy and fresh. Eagle in the Tub (gin, white port, fernet branca, ginger ale) a twist on a classic ‘old man’s drink’ was easy drinking. Arboriculturalist (calvados, cinnamon & pear syrup, sherry) was deliciously like a dessert.
I wish I could get as excited about the desserts as the drinks. The Mille Feuille was more savoury than dessert and the truffled cheese with rosemary was almost sickly against the honeyed nuts. The Mini Vacherin was a perfect lime meringue with fresh raspberries on top but the basil cream was just a touch too strong with the fruity filling. The Raviole — cocoa ravioli, raspberry ginger cream in fresh pasta-​like flutes, cassis chocolate truffle with gin and citrus gel — were very interesting but the limp texture made it all a bit mushy. The highlight, and probably more mainstream dessert, was the chocolate and biscuit stack with layers of a chocolate mousse/​ganache in between. Beautiful presentation.
Great service, the waitress was lovely and patient with us going through the menu. Overall a great concept, but not a place I’d make a special detour for dessert.

Following a rather disappointing dinner at Barnyard, my dinner mate (and of course very good friend) and I were hoping for a dessert place. We were on our way to Yauatcha to dig into Asian (Oriental) flavoured French Patisseries. Now, of course, since Princi had made it’s mark on the London food scene, and L’eto Café near by had placed it’s colourful creations in their splendid glory in their windows, London seems to have a new fad, after a burger and ramen of course. It’s dessert/​cocktail bars. UGH.
We wander by this door that is opened to the basement, and we are greeted by a «bouncer» at the door. Asking if it’s open (bear in mind, this is day two and at 9:30pm, there’s barely a soul at the door), the «bouncer» says that they’re only opened for bookings. We didn’t have any of course. So we ask if we can be led indoors just to take a gander, and he lets us head downstairs. Décor wise, it’s great, spacious looking and smelling very much of new-​ness. The bar is dimly lit, and sightly confusingly laid out. It’s hard to see if there are tables or chairs empty, as the moderately sized crowd is milleu’ing in the centre. We are actually seated down as patrons, and strangely enough decide against all understanding to stay here for desserts instead of the tried and tested Yauatcha. I mean, trendsetters take risks… right?
We order the Vacherin, and it arrives relatively quickly, and it’s pretty good. But, somewhat clashing in flavours. Too much citrus I think, but overall a good dessert. It’s also way to dark to see anything, so it’s almost like having dessert in the dark and you’re left wondering what you’re actually eating. Additionally, where we were seated, (by the DJ station), the AC unit was just BLASTING cold air right into our faces, and it was absolutely freezing. We were not exactly in an adventurous mood, so we just stayed for the Vacherin. Dessert wise, certainly decent, but we were wondering why a dessert and cocktail bar would have only 6 desserts and about 12 cocktails. We leave and end up at Yauatcha anyway for the blueberry cheesecake. More choice and more drinks… and the desserts are cheaper… and the little details of service truly make the difference. I don’t know how long this fad will last in London, but I kinda want it to end already.