🌟No Room at the Inn (But £6 Cocktails at Happy Hour)

Something a little different this week. Confession time: I didn’t eat out. But in a twist of divine timing and last-minute salvation, I did create something new... Happy Hour on the website! 🕒🍸

That’s right, Happy Hour is now live and blessed with the finest time-sensitive tipples across the city. And in celebration (and a bit of a trial run), I made the most of No Vacancy’s happy hour deal:

£6 cocktails
£4 selected beers
£18 house wine
£20 Prosecco
Monday–Friday, 3–6pm

✨ The Three Sons Seminar

This whole thing came about after Chloe and I had been trying (and failing) to arrange a talk for what feels like 40 days and 40 nights. Eventually, a date was locked in. Chloe found the venue and assembled the listeners, I brought the speakers &, as any true event host knows, the post-talk drinks. Because what’s a good talk without a debrief over booze?

Our speakers? The wisest “men” I know—Grierson, Donaldson & Wilson (who, yes, isn’t a man—but the joke doesn’t land without me pretending she is)—aka The Three Sons (not of God, but definitely of hot takes). They came locked and loaded with their presentations, and I had just one job left: find drinks. Cheap drinks. Good drinks. Legal-professional-friendly drinks.

🧾 The Scroll of Bar Options

I started compiling a list of nearby bars—ideally those with happy hours. That’s when the divine revelation hit: Why not add all this to the site? Surely I’m not the only one in a panic Googling “happy hour near me” with 20 colleagues expecting budget-friendly beverages and vibes.

As I was adding options to the list, I found No Vacancy—a neon-lit gem a stone’s throw from the talk venue, with happy hour from 3–6pm, live music, and a glowing sign that read “This Must Be The Place.”

My Northern Star (not the Gallagher kind).

🚪Knocking at Inns

Like Mary and Joseph on their weary journey, I began my own search for space. I called No Vacancy a week in advance and asked if they could host 20 of us for post-talk drinks.

The response? “Ummm.. Should be fine for 6pm,” delivered with just enough hesitation to make me doubt anything had actually been noted down. Translation: there’s no room at the inn… but maybe, if you arrive early and look hopeful enough.

So, on the day of the event, I made a lunchtime pilgrimage to plead my case in person. I was met with the same uneasy energy. He’d need to “check with higher powers,” but the final verdict in my mind was essentially: turn up and we’ll see how it goes. A familiar feeling. Like Bethlehem, the signs weren’t promising, but I had no better options.

🕔 The Hour Approacheth

Talk time: 4pm.
Happy hour ends: 6pm.
My ideal arrival: 5:30pm.
The risk: very real.

I escorted the speakers to the venue, zipped back to my office to fight the inbox beast, then made my way to No Vacancy at 5:30pm sharp. Mission: lock in some bottle deals before the window closed.

Praise be: they’d secured me a few tables in the back. I ordered bottles like they were frankincense and myrrh. Chloe gathered the flock, and Wilson led them over like a modern-day shepherd guiding legal professionals in need of libation.

🎶 And There Was Music

Drinks: flowing.
Live music: gentle in the background.
Conversations: lively, professional, and ever-so-slightly slurred by 6:30pm.

Chloe was London-bound in the morning, so things didn’t get too wild.. but there’s always next time.

🕊️ Final Thoughts

Moral of the story?
Sometimes you don’t need to eat out to have a good night—you just need a great happy hour, a group of smart people, and a soft spot to land when the inns are full.

And if you, too, are looking for that holy grail of post-work drinks without the last-minute scramble, find your happy hour right here.

Until next time,
Cheers 🍸