fabric London — Restaurant in London

I went with a group of friends for the first time for Club Shy.

On the positives: amazing sound system, all staff was very nice. Great to experience multiple rooms. The drinks were not as expensive as I’d thought for central London.

On the negatives: SEVERE LOGISTICS and STAFFING issues. For a venue that claimed to focus on welfare it missed the mark on very basic steps. Toilets are poorly indicated, the claimed red-band wearing welfare staff were no where to be found throughout the night, a bar had only one water jug for tens of people. I witnessed two girls being harassed and while the member of staff whom I alerted was quick to get onto action and seek further help, the two security staff they found took too much time to arrive to the scene. It was not my role to follow the harasser around and it seems that while the member of staff was well intentioned, the security was stationed too far. This was quite shocking to me as the harasser was right next to a bar where I woudl expect security staff to be hovering. Talking about staff, THEY ARE RIDICULOUSLY HARD TO SPOT. I though it was common practise for security and logistics staff to wear high visibility jackets, but most of them were in all black or low contrast clothing.

The cloakroom was shockingly understaffed and overwhelmed with the number of attendees. It was an unpleasant experience for us as customers trying to get home at 6am after 7h of dancing but I can’t imagine how stressful it must have been for the staff.

The main room was in my opinion overcrowded and unsafe. There was at some point a large wave of movement and I was lucky to have taller bigger friends to protect me or else I’d have fallen. Throughout the night, floor staff were patrolling to collect glasses and this volume of crowd could not have been safe for someone to crouch in the dark.

When exiting, be prepared to be hounded by drug dealers stationed RIGHT OUTSIDE that security is not doing anything about. As you’re not allowed to stand even one meter away from the door, you’re pushed out to wait for your Uber or what not quite far from the door and, if you’re a woman, at the mercy of street harassers.

As someone who has worked in nightlife and who regularly attends alternative parties where safeguarding and welfare are highly valued, this night was a culture shock and I was appalled at the lack of organisation for a night that they KNEW would be packed MONTHS in advance.

I won’t blame the staff who clearly were doing their best. Management ought to make better planning for the sake of patrons’ comfort and especially safety. If you care about making your patrons and especially WOMEN to have a good time please consider these. I personally won’t come back even if the artists curation is...

⚠️ This place is for the Pros⚠️

My friend took me to this legendary establishment for my birthday. As a visitor to London from North America and a veteran of the underground I was both excited and skeptical.

Fabric is essentially a metaphor for a police state. You can have fun, but within the confines of the rules mandated by the authorities. The four star rating is highly influenced by the quality of the music and the novelty of the experience. Do NOT go there unless you are seriously committed.

All in all this experience was a mixed bag of positives and negatives, here are my takeaways:

Reviews that warn you about queuing are NOT exaggerating! If you plan to enter Fabric you will queue, unless you are on the very limited guest list

Senior management are top notch: the managers that run the show, both outside and inside the venue are absolute pros. They are friendly, accommodating, and hospitable. They run a tight ship without a hitch.

Everything that you heard about security is legit: I have traveled the world, partied and clubbed in all sorts of counties, including autocratic ones. Let me just say, never have I ever been searched, frisked, and essentially shaken down like I was entering Fabric. If you are a connoisseur of illicit/designer drugs, you have to be a die hard pro to get in with them. Now, even if you do, security inside the venue makes it practically impossible to engage in such activities.

Phones cameras and vaping are banned, but in reality they are frowned upon. The staff vapes, so does everyone else. Taking pictures and videos is frowned upon, and the strictness varies from one room to the other.

The music is top notch. Nothing to say here except that I would give it ten stars.

The bar tenders are generally terrible, with the exception of one or two staffers.

Conclusion: it is absolutely worth the visit, even...

i was grabbed by a bouncer and thrown into a crowd of people for “not staying in the line” (the line being everyone shoved against the wall and no barriers) when at that point, my friends and i had been IN line for almost an hour. the bouncer did not even ASK me to move first, if he did i would have complied without question but he just immediately resorted to grabbing and throwing me against everyone else while yelling at everyone. I am physically small and he was much bigger and stronger than me and it was traumatizing. i immediately felt unsafe and was looking for my friends when i saw the bouncer telling them to go forward in line while i was alone, and so i reached out to grab my friends hand who was trying to help me and he slapped my hand. and didn’t allow me to even join my friends after physically assaulting me. a grown man treating a young woman like this is traumatizing and unacceptable and i felt so unsafe and scared. he did not apologize and ignored me while i cried in a crowd of strangers after purposefully separating me from my friends and assaulting me for no reason. i was not intoxicated or non-complaint. after this, another bouncer was also trying to keep the line in order and slapped my face and hit me directly in the eye, however this was a mistake and he apologized (only after a few minutes). i was shaking and traumatized and i hadn’t even entered the club yet so i left immediately after i made sure my friends got in safely and were not assaulted by any more bouncers. i will never return to this venue and likely will never go to anything similar because i am scarred and never want to experience anything like this. it was completely unacceptable and a scarring experience, and whoever manages the employees needs to do something about their bouncers because this is physically and mentally traumatizing...