Charlie Freeth
After years running high-class wine venues in
France, this recruitment consultant now graces the other
side of the bar at London ping-pong venue Bounce
“
i’m not a
ping-pong player. Not seriously, anyway.
Some people come here and they really play –
they're here to win. Me, I play for fun. I give it a go
and then remember I’m not very good, so change
my tactics to trying to get the ball in someone’s
drink or hitting one of the guys on the other table.
"
That’s what’s clever about
BOUNCE
[
121
Holborn; bouncelondon.com
].
It's a ping-pong
focused bar, but you’re able to take it or leave it.
I’ve had a few different nights here: I’ve dressed
up, sat at the bar and had cocktails all evening;
I’ve come in my Converse and jeans, and enjoyed
a relaxed catch-up with friends over wine – and
I’ve played a competitive ping-pong tournament
with work colleagues that ended with
some memorable karaoke in the
private lounge.
"
It's an impressive space.
You go through this door,
sitting on its own at the
edge of the city, and
unexpectedly enter this
huge underground zone.
What’s really nice is that,
once inside, everyone is
equal: the city boys and girls,
bankers, trendy Shoreditch
crowd, ping-pong geeks – once they
have that bat and ball in their hand, it’s game
on – all thoughts of work and outside life forgotten.
Then there’s the restaurant – it’s fun to sit up there,
enjoy a nice meal and just be a spectator.
“
I’ve loved Bounce since I heard about it. It’s the
kind of place you want to show off to everybody,
because you know they won’t be disappointed.
At the same time, you almost want to keep it to
yourself so it stays that special, secret place."
AS TOLD TO
VICKY LANE
PHOTO
TIM E WHITE
Once
you’ve got
that bat and
ball in hand,
it's game on –
all thoughts
of work
and life
forgotten
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R E G U L A R S
