A sprawling cultural campus nestled in London’s bankside next to Borough Market, the Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe theater. Founded in 2016, Southwark Quarter is best known for its multi-award winning music venue, Omeara which sits central to all of the offerings, as well as Flat Iron Square, an outdoor beer garden which really established itself during the summer of 2018 as one of the greatest atmosphere’s for major sporting events and small urban festivals.

Beyond those cornerstones there are many many more gems, including Lupins, a five-star reviewed small plate seasonal restaurant on Union Street, laying adjacent to Tap & Bottle, a specialist biodynamic and natural wine bar sitting across the top two floors of a listed building. Across the road from both of those is the latest offering at Southwark Quarter, Audrey’s, an all day into evening modern take on the classic London diner.

A sprawling cultural campus nestled in London’s bankside next to Borough Market, the Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe theater. Founded in 2016, Southwark Quarter is best known for its multi-award winning music venue, Omeara which sits central to all of the offerings, as well as Flat Iron Square, an outdoor beer garden which really established itself during the summer of 2018 as one of the greatest atmosphere’s for major sporting events and small urban festivals.

Turn each corner of Goods Way and explore a rabbit’s warren of corridors and secret rooms, with each part designed for a different sensory experience. Theatrical, not themed, it wears its influences on its sleeves whilst avoiding the trap of trying to convince the customer that it is something that it is not.

Beyond those cornerstones there are many many more gems, including Lupins, a five-star reviewed small plate seasonal restaurant on Union Street, laying adjacent to Tap & Bottle, a specialist biodynamic and natural wine bar sitting across the top two floors of a listed building. Across the road from both of those is the latest offering at Southwark Quarter, Audrey’s, an all day into evening modern take on the classic London diner.

Beyond those cornerstones there are many many more gems, including Lupins, a five-star reviewed small plate seasonal restaurant on Union Street, laying adjacent to Tap & Bottle, a specialist biodynamic and natural wine bar sitting across the top two floors of a listed building. Across the road from both of those is the latest offering at Southwark Quarter, Audrey’s, an all day into evening modern take on the classic London diner.

The Social took stock during the pandemic and completely redesigned and rebuilt the downstairs venue in order to suit what goes on in there. It now stands in a class of its own as one of the very best places to lose a night in the UK, whether at a frenetic whites-of-the-eyes live show, a brain feeding literary event or a packed out electronic club night. Over the years, The Social has played host to everyone from the Chemical Brothers to Caitlin Moran, Four Tet, Kae Tempest, Jack White, Flying Lotus, Fat White Family, Fatboy Slim, Beck, Erol Alkan, the Avalanches, Andrew Weatherall, Michael Kiwanuka, the Charlatans, Aphex Twin and Lily Allen (to name a few). Many have made the journey back to the basement several times on account of the genuinely familial atmosphere created by the spirited souls of the team that work there.

The Social remains a hole-in-the-wall, a best kept secret where you can turn up on your own, but never feel alone. An architectural oddity designed by Will Russell and David Adjaye, it’s a place where countless weekends still get lost, sometimes as early as Monday night. Long may that continue.