Things change fast in the time of coronavirus. Check on venue websites and social media ahead of visiting for the most up-to-date details.
Just when you thought London already had every flavour of activity bar going, along comes Clay's.
A virtual clay target shooting bar, it sort of fills the vacuum left by Mac & Wild's Devonshire Square basement bar closing. But where Mac & Wild's was designed as a hunting trip, with some disturbing moments along the way — the piglets were virtual, but riddling them with pretend bullets still felt Real Bad — Clay's is virtual clay targets only, themed along escape-to-your-country-estate, landed-gentry lines.
Drinks are okayish prices (* for the City, * considering you're a captive audience), with cocktails at about £10, pints at £6 or less, and a nice range of whisky. Food's good, carb-heavy, and designed at being easy to cram in with one hand in between shots, but on the very steep side (£8.50 sausage rolls, we're looking at you).
Each booth has a huge 4K screen, a few rifles, and a range of collaborative and head-to-head game settings. Our favourite: the Bonanza, where the clays veer wildly around the screen, and let you smash down another player's points total by hitting occasional trick targets — a game where the low-skilled and treacherous (us) can power to the top of the leaderboard in one lucky shot.
Tl;dr? Games are fast and idiot-proof, new shooters can still level up fairly quickly, and you can cram a lot of glory and bonding moments into a 90-minute session.
Clay's Bar, Moorgate. Off peak prices are £40 per group for 90 minutes.
