The Anthologist

The Anthologist brings Drake & Morgan's polished bar-restaurant format to Gresham Street in the City — industrial-chic interiors, serious cocktail credentials, and a multi-zone layout that runs from 14-person chef's table dinners to 750-guest exclusive hires across interconnected lounges, a mezzanine private dining room, basement wine cellar, deli, and outdoor terrace.

What makes The Anthologist worth noting among the City's crowded bar-venue market is the range of event formats it supports from a single address. A Monday morning breakfast meeting in the private dining room, a Wednesday mixology masterclass in the cocktail lounges, a Thursday night standing reception for 700, and a Sunday Gospel Motown brunch can all happen here — the multi-space layout adapts rather than being reconfigured.

City Scale with Neighbourhood Feel

The interior mixes exposed brick, antique mirrors, industrial pendant lighting, and eclectic furnishings — warmer and more characterful than the glass-and-chrome aesthetic that dominates newer City bar openings. The interconnected zones mean a 750-person event flows through distinct atmospheres rather than filling a single cavernous space, while smaller bookings of 14–60 find spaces scaled to their numbers rather than rattling around the main floor.

The dry hire option is the unexpected detail. Most bar-restaurants lock events into their own catering — The Anthologist offers the choice of in-house seasonal European cooking or bringing external caterers who can use the venue's professional kitchen. For corporate planners with specific dietary programmes or preferred suppliers, that flexibility matters.

Gresham Street

The location on Gresham Street sits equidistant from Bank and St Paul's, surrounded by the City's financial centre. The venue opens from 7:30am weekdays, making it functional for early starts, working lunches, and after-work events without venue changes. Late licensing on Thursday and Friday nights, combined with weekend availability by request, means events can develop naturally rather than being cut short by standard restaurant closing times.

The mezzanine private dining room — with its 1950s kitchen repurposed as a bar and AV equipment built in — deserves particular attention for corporate dinners and meetings: private, characterful, and equipped for presentations without temporary setup.