Recently, I’ve been saying this quite a bit (and it feels amazing) – London, we have a brand new cigar shop and sampling lounge in town to visit!!!
Following the success of its flagship store in Holborn, which opened its doors last year, City of London Cigars has recently opened its newest venue at 124 Middlesex Street, Spitalfields, London, E1 7HY, right in the heart of the bustling East End.
It’s just a short walk (2 minutes in fact) from Liverpool Street train station, and even better, they’re open until 1 am on selected nights, so you can enjoy sampling a cigar at your leisure, even into the late hours!
Background
City of London Cigars, owned by Ashok Thakur, started with his background in hotel management before moving into retail and eventually entering the fascinating world of cigars. However, the true driving force behind this cigar shop and lounge is the dedication and hard work of Rajvir, Navaneeth, Diya, Mohit, Sonam, Ronak, Desmond, Ritu and Smit.
Together, they are pushing this establishment to greater heights. Rajvir recently collaborated closely with the interior designer of their new venue to enhance the sampling lounge, drawing inspiration from thorough research into other cigar lounges across the capital city.
City of London Cigars began humbly as a newsagent in Holborn, initially selling cigars from a tabletop humidor. As demand grew, they expanded by acquiring the neighbouring shop, transforming it into a comprehensive cigar shop and lounge. Their rapid expansion extends across London, with new locations at Spitalfields and Chiswick.
In addition to their cigar shops and sampling lounges, they are now offering their own brand of City of London Cigars – Holborn Series, at their venues. These cigars are known for their light to medium strength and are priced from £11.99.
What to expect
As you step into the Spitalfields venue, you’ll find a spacious walk-in humidor fully stocked with a wide selection of Cuban and New World cigars. They also have an area dedicated to premium spirits including whisky, rum, cognac, and tequila. Additionally, they offer a variety of accessories ranging from essentials to luxury items. If you head downstairs, you’ll discover a well-appointed sampling lounge complete with a convenient bar. They offer complimentary water, but you have to pay for coffee and other drinks such as non-alcoholic margaritas, mojitos, and old-fashioneds. Restroom facilities are available. In the near future, they will also offer the option to rent out their corporate meeting room.
This place is open to ALL cigar folk, whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned enthusiast, unlike the exclusive hotel guest and private members-only lounges that have recently opened up around Knightsbridge (ala The Emory 😔). The shop has a pleasant, down-to-earth atmosphere where you can drop in without feeling pressured to dress in your formal attire – I went in with shorts and polo shirt most recently! If you are a cigar connoisseur and used to the more traditional, old-school style cigar lounges, the modern and brightly coloured atmosphere might not be your cuppa!
What you need to know
- There is a minimum spend here of £35 for 90 mins. I reckon there may be some flexibility re timings if the lounge is quieter, but of course at peak times this would be in full force.
- Last entry time for the cigar sampling lounge is 9:45pm on Sun – Wed. 11:45pm on Thu – Sat.
- You can’t bring your own cigars.
My experience
If you have been following this blog, you might remember my post about City of London Cigars – Holborn from last year. At the time of writing, their Holborn sampling lounge had not yet opened, but I was fortunate to get an exclusive peek inside. Earlier this year, I heard that it had fully opened and decided to pay a visit. This is where I heard about the new Spitalfields store!
A couple of weeks ago, I finally had the chance to visit the new Spitalfields location, and I must say, London, we now have something truly special. The highlight of my visit was meeting a fellow cigar enthusiast who reads the blog and follows me on Twitter – big shout out to Will if you’re reading this! We ended up exploring this new cigar venue together, which has become a delightful trend. When I started blogging, I never could have imagined this happening. I used to be too nervous to walk into a cigar lounge alone and was a bit billy no mates. Now, as I explore the diverse cigar sampling lounges and terraces in London, many of you are joining me in person, making this journey even more enjoyable 🚀.
It was great that this cigar shop is so close to Liverpool Street train station! When I arrived, I didn’t realise that the signage was temporary until I looked at the photos I took afterwards. The shop is still waiting for its official signage to be installed – it’s that new!!!
This is where I met Will. We immediately went inside around 2 pm on a Saturday afternoon. Although the streets were busy, as soon as we stepped inside, it was amazing how shut off from the craziness it felt. We saw Rajvir who was behind the till and he welcomed us into the walk-in humidor.
This felt much larger than their Holborn store. It was brightly lit and there was a great collection of cigars. I was surprised to see so many Cuban cigars here too.
In the middle of the room there was a table with some interesting cigars on including these Meerapfel cigars 🤩.
A couple of days before our visit to the store Reinhard Pohorec popped into town alongside Tor Imports (UK importer and distributor of New World cigars).
Tor and Reinhard recorded this interview, in this very cigar lounge. Watch it below:
I picked up a Montrcristo Wide Edmundo cigar and I spotted this Gurkha 25th Anniversary Beauty Tubos cigar – the packaging really stood out. It look really unique and it was an ok price so I picked up one of those too. Can’t recall if I’ve had any Gurkha cigars before 🤔.
Once we picked our cigars we made our payments then we headed downstairs to the basement to enter the cigar lounge to sample our cigars.
Once we descended the stairs, we found a place to hang our coats and jackets. We also caught a glimpse of the meeting conference room under construction, which will soon be available for hire!
Then it was straight into the lounge… and WOW City of London Cigars have definitely upped their game compared to their Holborn cigar sampling lounge – honestly very impressed 💪. The lounge’s interior was fantastic with a striking blue colour scheme and plenty of comfortable seating.
Toward the rear of the lounge, a modern coffee bar caught the eye, where the staff will be happy to serve you drinks as you enjoy your cigars.
It was relatively quiet, with cigar smokers coming in every 30 minutes to an hour. This was the perfect setting for great cigars and great conversation. If you’re a bit of a cigar geek like me, you can even see the floor plans of the venue here!
I thoroughly enjoyed sampling the Montecristo Wide Edmundo cigar.
The stats:
Length: 4 7/8″
Ring Gauge: 54
Strength: Medium to Full
Vitola: Wide Edmundo
I then sampled the Gurkha 25th Anniversary Beauty Tubos cigar. The packaging is slightly gimmicky, maybe, but it worked – it stood out – I picked up the cigar and took it to the till, then the sampling lounge.
The stats:
Length: 6 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 60
Strength: Mild to medium
Vitola: Gordo
Origin: Dominica
I was a little disappointed with this particular Gurkha. I got quite a bit of ammonia from it. Sadly, I felt this cigar went for style over substance 😔. Not sure if its a fair comparison after I just smoked the lovely Wide Edmundo. Still glad to try it, though! And I still want to sample that Mike Tyson Gurka cigar – that got announced at this year’s PCA – US cigar trade show.
After a good couple of hours, it was time to wrap up and make a move. I honestly can’t speak highly enough of Will. It was such a pleasure to share a cigar and great conversation with him at a brand new cigar lounge we experienced together – I did say to him before we visited that this place could be hit or miss – you never know when you go to a new cigar lounge – but I can confirm this was definitely a hit 🙌.
I always learn new things from everyone I meet when it comes to cigars. My favorite tip from him was learning how to determine when your cigars are ready to smoke after aging them. Will adds a sticker to the side of his boxes with the date of purchase and the date it can and should be smoked.
My rating: 8 out of 10
I was well impressed with this place. I think City of London Cigar have proper smashed it with this venue – I’ve actually been back since this initial visit and I can see myself returning there for more cigars in the future. What I love about this place is the fact that you can be pretty casual in here – when I’m in St James I always feel the need to dress smart (which I also enjoy) – but you can go in this place in shorts and t-shirt and its absolutely fine. Rajvir, Nav and the rest of the staff are absolutely smashing guys, really friendly too. I think this is a terrific place for people curious about smoking their first cigar in a cigar lounge – I believe this was Will’s first time in a sampling lounge! Perfect for newbie cigar smokers. Also those on a budget as they have cheaper cigars there too. And the location couldn’t be any better – 2 mins walk from Liverpool Street. If you are a cigar connoisseur you may not appreciate the vibrancy of the place.
Want to visit City of London Cigars – Spitalfields?
City of London Cigars – Spitalfields
124 Middlesex St,
London
E1 7HY
Email: info@cityoflondoncigars.com
Telephone: 020 3649 9504
Website: https://cityoflondoncigars.com/
Social media: Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
If you like this review, check out my other reviews of cigar bars, terraces and smoking lounges – including my visit to City of London Cigars – Holborn shop/sampling lounge.
Leave a Reply