Last Updated on February 3, 2023
Tucked away halfway down Regent Street is the Ice bar London! Best way to describe it, is a walk in freezer full of ice sculptures, carved by the same artists that do the IceHotel in Sweden. The bar is made of ice, the walls are ice, the tables and chairs are ice…even the glasses are ice (the floor isn’t ice so you don’t have to worry about slipping over)! The 2016 theme was ‘Ice Bar Rocks’ a Rock n Roll, which was perfect for mine and my sister’s visit because we both love music. The current 2019 theme is ‘Valhalla Calling‘ with ice sculptures based around magic and myths!
The Ice Bar London
**The Ice Bar London has now permanently closed. The only alternative option is the pop up ‘Bar Ice’ which is at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland each year over the christmas season**
Not going to lie, it is expensive for what is it. I visited on a Friday afternoon, classed as peak time, so it cost £16.50 per person, when I visited the Ice Bar in Queenstown, New Zealand, I had managed to find a 2-for-1 voucher which made it a bit more worthwhile. Customers are only allowed to stay in the bar for 40 minutes but the entrance fee does include one cocktail and the use of a big warm cape and gloves.
Ice Bar London Dress Code
There isn’t really a set dress code for Ice Bar London, at the end of the day it doesn’t matter too much what you wear as the big ole cloak covers up everything anyway! I’d recommend close toed shoes, just because of the temperature and the floor is chequer plate metal, so it’s not completely flat (if you were planning on wearing high heeled shoes). If you plan on hanging out in the bar or restaurant, you might want to dress a little nicer. For example Ballie Ballerson ball pit bar say no athletic/gym wear, however trainers are fine.
I didn’t see any specific dress code rules for Ice Bar while visiting and there’s nothing mentioned on their website about a dress code. So I don’t think you have to worry too much, casual or smart casual would be fine.
For once we had a warm day in London, I was wearing shorts, everyone in the line was like ‘you’re going to freeze!!!’. It really wasn’t that bad, it’s roughly -5c (23f)…Iowan winters seem to not really get above that for close to 6 months of the year! The capes are quite long too, I’m 5ft 4 and it came down below my knees. Although my legs were fine for that short time, I probably wouldn’t recommend wearing sandals/flip flops. I kept taking my gloves off to use my camera and by the end of my session, my fingers were a little numb.
The way I thought of it, was that I was going to dress for the weather outside. It’d be no different if you were wearing a skirt or a dress. The Ice Bar experience is only a maximum of 40 minutes but I knew I was going to be wandering around outside for a lot longer.
Please be aware that different chains of Ice Bar may have different clothes. For example ‘Below Zero’ in Queenstown, NZ just provide just regular winter jackets and gloves rather than a poncho style cloak.
The Ice Bar London Cocktails
The most fun part of the Ice Bar experience, is that the glasses are made of ice! They are quite slippery so it’s worth using both gloved hands to hold them! The glasses don’t melt despite being constantly held onto, only the rim starts melting away but it then makes it easier to drink from!
*TIP*: There are plenty of cocktail flavours to choose from, either Vodka, Rum, Tequila or Whiskey based. 2nd drinks are quite expensive, so me and my sister each chose a different flavour each and then shared them.
These are the 2 we tried:
MONKEY WRENCH
Absolut Vodka, Blueberry Liqueur,
Tropical Fruit Juice, Lemon Juice,
Strawberry Syrup
CHOP SUEY
Absolut Vanilla Vodka, Blueberry Liqueur,
Apple Juice, Cinnamon Syrup
(Rock fans will notice that these are Foo Fighter’s and System of a Down songs!). I recommend the Monkey Wrench one 🙂 The cocktails roughly stay the same with each theme, just their name changes!
By the time we had finished our drinks, a lot of the people in our session had started to clear out (I guess there were around 20 of us altogether and it did feel quite cramped). There was plenty of time to hang around and take a few photos. As mentioned above, this was my second visit to an Icebar, I’ve found that both of them have had ice props to play around with.
For example, London had an ice guitar where you could stand behind it and look like you are playing it and a big skull you could climb inside. In New Zealand, there was an ‘air’ hockey table (minus the air…the ice was slippery enough!) and bear shaped chairs!
It’s definitely fun for a quick experience, I had bought this as a birthday present for my sister and she really enjoyed it. There was a ‘warm’ bar and restaurant at the same location if you wanted to hang around for a bit longer. We arrived early and were told to wait at the main bar but weren’t felt pressured to buy anything if we didn’t want to.
Find out more at: www.icebarlondon.com
Here are some other ideas for unique things to do in London that you may find useful!
5 Unusual Things To Do In London
Arcelormittal Orbit London: Riding the Longest Tube Slide in the World
Have you ever visited an Icebar? Are there any ‘cool’ bars around the world that you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments below!
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