Working Lunch review: Swingers Crazy Golf is one work party you won’t want to miss out on
Swingers, 8 Brown’s Buildings, EC3A
WHAT?
Swingers combines two of the City’s favourite past-times – lunch and golf – into one saucily-titled venue. Punters can putt for £13 per head on one of two nine-hole courses, The Lighthouse and The Windmill. Or pay twice and do a full course, with a break for food in the middle.
WHERE?
At the foot of The Gherkin in the heart of the City. Based on a 1920s golf club set in the English countryside, it doesn’t look like much from the outside, but this underground venue packs in 16,000sqft of rolling hills, grassy knolls and fuzzy foliage.
WHO?
A mysterious-sounding collective called The Institute of Competitive Socialising, which set up this permanent venue off the back of a sell-out pop-up run in Shoreditch in 2014.
A Patty & Bun burger dripping with golden wonder sauce
ORDER THIS…
The Clubhouse, a two-storey dining section in the centre of the venue, serves up gourmet fast food from three London street food vendors, Pizza Pilgrims, Patty & Bun and Le Bab. The latter’s fries are floundering in fromage and come highly recommended. Wash those down with an arm-aching tankard of draught beer from the bar, or work your way through the Americana-themed cocktail list until you’re drunk enough to order one of five brands of champagne on offer, including vintage varieties.
BUSINESS OR PLEASURE?
Friends, colleagues, hell, even a German hen party lined up to tackle the courses on our visit. There’s more than one way to secure a deal, after all – and letting your client win at crazy golf might be one of them.
NEED TO BOOK?
It gets busier towards the end of the week, so visit swingersldn.com, email [email protected] or call 020 3846 3222. Book a table on the Gin Terrace, in the Clubhouse or the private President’s Committee Room. Bigger parties can book the entire venue.
A golf buggy and a bar. A dangerous combination
THE VERDICT…
A welcome change from the local, wood-panelled boozer, this is a novel way to spend time with colleagues and clients alike, in a well thought-out space that manages to be both impressive and pleasingly kitsch.
ONE MORE THING…
Who needs tiny pencils and flimsy scorecards when you can download the Swingers Crazy Golf app? Available on GooglePlay and the iTunes store, you can upload your score to the leaderboard and order food, while nightly DJs soundtrack your gradual transformation into Team GB’s Justin Rose.