Style in the city raunches it up

Phil Mellows looks at the pulling power of new bar Sex in the City.

Anyone who visited the old City of London Whitbread brewery site in Chiswell Street in the 1980s might well have been treated to lunch in the Vaults.

They would have been led down the stairs into a dimly-lit catacomb which used to be the brewery cellars for a civilised meal among the the City suits. The place had a rough-edged yet up-market Victorian wine bar kind of feel. Very fashionable at the time.

Like all fashions, however, the Vaults went into decline. When Laurel Pub Company split off from Whitbread a couple of years back, the new company inherited a run-down business and a quandary - what should it do with it?

The answer came from Laurel's joint venture partner Style in the City. The style bar operator had already worked with Laurel on such concepts as Babushka and Bed, and it saw the potential of the Vaults. It was as if the name of the place had been sitting there waiting for the right site to come along - Sex in the City was born. Within a few weeks of the celebrity opening bash at the end of September, it was clear the partnership had scored again. Sex in the City was taking more in one night than the Vaults had been taking in a week.

The key has been to completely transform the atmosphere while seizing the full potential of a 3,300sq ft labyrinth of brick-built arches. Walking down the stairs into Sex in the City is like being slowly immersed in red velvet. It is enticing, exciting - but also a little scary. A bit like entering a brothel. Or so I am told.

That anxiety is instantly dispelled at the bottom of the stairs, though. Sex in the City has a reception desk, not to check you in but to welcome arrivals and, at this early stage in the venue's life, give new customers some assurance that they have come somewhere that isn't quite as intimidating - and puzzling - as it might first appear.

About the first thing you see after the reception desk, for instance, is, in one of the alcoves, a vast aquamarine velour upholstered bed to sleep six or eight (depending on width of customer), stretched under a mirrored ceiling.

Beyond that is another "bedroom", in crimson, and opposite a restaurant area, conventionally furnished with tables and chairs. The brick vaulted ceilings are softened throughout with white tenting. So are you supposed to eat? Sleep? Or what? People like some sort of a clue how to use the place, and that's what the staff are there for.

In fact, the answer is you use it like a bar. A long counter runs down one side but is hidden behind the arches - so you need some initial directions.

In practice it hasn't taken the customers long to find their own favourite corners, their choice of ambience from among a dozen different, sharply defined, zones.

The whole effect is to give people the sense that here is somewhere to explore, and somewhere to relax and do your own thing. And more of them are discovering it every week.

Cleverly, Sex in the City has quickly established itself as the place for an office party locally. The capacity is 450 but you can have sections roped off and choose the size of venue you want. Some 150 Laurel HQ staff, for instance, will be coming down from Luton to celebrate Christmas at Sex.

Style in the City director John O'Donnell, who designed the place with the help of his partner, the charmingly-named Willow Charity, continues to work on the concept.

There have been small details to attend to, such as providing ashtrays for those who like to smoke in bed, and there is more to come.

The promised red-lipped urinals for the gents will be installed in December and more toilets are planned to enable the venue to get a public entertainment licence.

"It's the kind of place that will continue to evolve," said John. "It is like scenes in a theatre."

The £100,000-plus project took just four weeks from design to opening night. "It was a tough challenge," he said. "I didn't realise before how many hours there were in a day."