I have a confession. I read Playboy for the articles.

It’s Thursday night, prime Christmas time, and I am sitting alone in Salvatore’s the Playboy Club’s bar and restaurant open to non-members.

Sitting pretty on Old Park Lane, the club seeks to take clients back to the swinging sixties when the first Playboy Club opened. Being a fan of the Playboy brand (RIP Anna Nicole!) I jumped at the chance to get my barfly on, so off I went to Salvatore’s.

Regardless of what you think about Playboy and the decline of men’s magazines, there is something incredibly fun about the Playboy Club. Finely decorated in faux-vintage fare the interior of Salvatore’s is dark and golden with vintage champagne bottles and expensive liquor everywhere, and the classic Bunny logo is all around though toned down and measured for a mixed clientele of members and non-members.

As much as I can talk about the selfie-friendly lighting and the relaxed atmosphere no doubt carefully curated to ensure that non-members consider applying for membership, I think we all know the real strength of the Club & Casino and Salvatore’s lies in the novelty of the Bunnies that greet you, serve your drinks and, if you’re a member, deal your cards. Bunny girls are gorgeous, all long lashes and cinched tight waists, super professional and classically trained in the art of the famous “Bunny Dip”.

Sitting alone in Salvatore’s armed with nothing but my book, I found the staff very attentive and in general the service in Sal’s was good. Pulling open the cocktail menu you’ll be confronted with a big old selection spread over several pages with many cocktails developed by the main mix master himself, the eponymous Salvatore.

With so much choice, I decided to ask my bunny for a drink recommendation – “something fruity!” I half-shouted over the increasingly noisy Christmas party din – and with a well-practiced and entirely elegant wave of her hand she suggested I try a “Queen’s Back Yard”, a heady mix of strawberry, rhubarb and elderflower with Beefeater 24 gin. Refreshing and ever-so-sweet it was almost too easy to drink and in minutes I felt the pleasant blush of initial tipsiness.

The menu at Salvatore’s is a simple affair, mostly light bites and oysters. Feeling merry from the sugary-sweetness of my cocktail, I thought best to get something simple but filling so I went for the lobster slider and French fries. Arriving in the form of teeny-weeny bite sized burgers, the lobster was fresh and well-seasoned, and the chips well, call me a connoisseur and trust me when I say they were the tops. 

If you’re looking for a three course meal Salvatore’s isn’t for you, but if you’re game for a laugh and looking to go somewhere buzzy and genuinely a little different you would be hard pressed to do better. If nothing else, do it for the Bunnies.