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Belle Livingstone’s 58th-Street Country Club serves 1930s luxury
Experience the heady thrills of a 1930s New York speakeasy, right in the heart of Peckham
The latest offering from masters of immersion The Lost Estate, Belle Livingstone’s 58th-Street Country Club blends fine dining, swinging jazz and vivid performances to send patrons back to Prohibition-era New York.
Like The Lost Estate’s other experiences, 58th-Street draws from real history, in this case the story of Belle Livingstone, a stage performer from Kansas who cavorted her way through Europe in the early 20th century before setting up a string of speakeasies in Manhattan mansions. Belle is brought to life in sultry form by Katie McGarry, whose innuendo-a-minute tales of ill-advised escapades and ill-fated love affairs serve as palate cleansers between courses of sparkling jazz served up by the immensely talented house band. Vocal duties are, with a few exceptions, handled by the jazz singer Ayesha Pike, or – as she’s known while within the walls of 58th-Street – Ayesha Saint-Claire.
Speaking of courses, the food unfolds over six of them, and head chef Ash Clarke has carefully researched the menu to ensure each dish feels like something you might have been served at a swanky New York eatery. Highlights include Maine crab rillet, salmon bouillabaisse and sirloin of beef accompanied by mashed potatoes dripping with enough garlic butter to drown a prohibition agent. The same care has been extended to the drinks menu, which includes classics like martinis, clover clubs and swizzles, all served with a clandestine flourish (one cocktail comes concealed in a popcorn box).
While all of the performers deserve plaudits for the unwavering commitment they bring to their roles (as do the members of staff, who maintain thick New York twangs with commendable earnestness), the venue itself is just as the much star of the show. The attention to detail is meticulous, with everything from the opulent Art Deco interior design to the hazy atmosphere – achieved via the use of smoke machines cleverly concealed in various fixtures throughout the space – ensuring that it’s impossible not to get swept up in the illusion. The final touch is provided by the guests themselves: The Lost Estate insists that patrons come dressed the part, and everyone inside the venue looks like they’re on their way to the Gatsby mansion.
It’s not all glitz and hedonism though, and as the night’s narrative languidly unfolds a few detours are taken to acknowledge the grimmer aspects of the historical period in which it’s set. Ayesha Saint-Claire’s recounting of how her father was taken away by a nameless “they” cuts particularly deep in light of recent events, as does her haunting rendition of Billie Holliday’s ‘Strange Fruit’. The melancholy lasts just long enough to effectively counterbalance the evening’s heady indulgence, but proceedings soon return to raunchy quips, toe-tapping jazz and pulse-quickening burlesque.
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