Yo! Below Bar

London

A basement bar in Soho's Poland Street where the design developed directly from the physical constraints of the shell space, in particular the very low ceilings and a significant change in floor level along the Poland Street frontage.

The low ceilings led to the decision to keep people as low as possible and this in turn led to an area of raised floor incorporating innovatory serviced tables which allow customers to pour their own beer at their table. Customers sit in the raised floor, a western and more comfortable take on the Japanese custom of sitting on the floor. The step in structural floor along the Poland Street frontage generated the section of the Low Bar, a two tier bar that allows staff to serve standing customers over the heads of the seated customers.

During the day Yo! is light and airy, an island of calm with green tea, massage and muted music all helping to relieve tensions of working in central London. At night the pace picks up with a reduction in the lighting levels, creating a more intimate atmosphere. As the night goes on the music is slowly increased to club levels and the relative formality of the space is lost in a dynamic mass of party goers.