If you’re planning a visit to London and want to stay somewhere a bit more edgy than the regular tourist traps, I’d recommend taking a look at hotels near Shoreditch. Colourful street art adorns the walls, trendy eateries like The Breakfast Club, Bike Shed Motorcycle Club and CookDaily all lie within easy walking distance of Old Street tube station and if you like shopping there’s plenty of independent goods on offer at Old Spitalfields Market, Brick Lane and the BoxPark popups.
Then, of course, for something a bit more boozy and a LOT more silly, there’s Bottomless Brunch at Ballie Ballerson* which is where Oliver and I ended up on Saturday!
In case you haven’t heard of it, here’s what is involved:
So how did we find it?
Well, first off, going in the ball pit was hilarious! I’m five foot tall and so I was just about able to stand up and see, but actually moving about was another matter. One minute I’d be fine and the next sinking uncontrollably into a sea of rolling balls, laughing my socks off at how ridiculous I must look as I struggled to right myself!
Although we were there at peak time on a Saturday afternoon at no point did we feel overcrowded in the ball pit and we were free to lark about as much as we wanted. However the one thing I’d mention is that there is only one ball pit, so in all honestly 20 minutes in there was plenty and after that the novelty wore off.
…after that, it was all about the bottomless brunch!
Periodically during our time there the staff would come out with fresh pizza on boards and leave them around the venue. That meant that near the beginning of the event it was a bit of a mission to get a slice of pizza as the trays were mostly laid out in front of large groups (there were several hen parties there) and these were snapped up very quickly. As the time went on though more and more pizza arrived until Oliver ended up with a whole board to himself.
Being vegan meant that I couldn’t just grab any slice of what was being freely laid out. However I’d notified Ballie Ballerson of my dietary requirements ahead of time and they were happy to cater for me too. When I arrived I was given a numbered paddle to hold so that they could spot me in the crowd and deliver my pizza directly to me.
The prosecco was free flowing and plentiful the whole time. Bottles were left out across the venue so that we could help oursevles to refills whenever we wanted. I have a feeling that this was why the ball pit was never all that busy – everyone was too full and tipsy!
Saturday afternoon is peak time and a 2hr afternoon slot costs £40 for an unseated ticket or £45 for one of the VIP tables upstairs if you book well enough in advance. This is a fair price if you’re a fan of bubbly and a fast drinker, but it’s worth mentioning that if you want a soft drink or anything other than prosecco then you have to pay extra. If you are willing to risk the Monday morning hangover, Sundays are cheaper!
Location: 97 – 113 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, London, EC2A 3BS
Nearest tube: Old Street
Tickets: From £20 to £45, available here
*Disclaimer: This post is made in collaboration with Hotels.com who kindly gifted us our tickets to Ballie Ballerson so that we could try out something new during our visit to Shoreditch.
