Bunker (aka MA1: Bunker) Formerly: The Bunker Bar / East Bloc / Sedition

A section of a First World War bunker reinvented as a subterranean gay playground, in the spirit of "continental sleaze". This is the domain of dungeon aficionado Alan Roberts (aka MA1 since 2000), who revamped the space — previously Wayne Shires's East Bloc — in January 2019, when MA1's signature club night, Buff, shifted from Backstreet to here. The 150-capacity, low-ceiling and black-walled venue includes a maze, cabins, booths, a blackout bunker and chill areas, with . In short, passageways, nooks and crannies define the space; the pint-sized bar area feels more like a holding area. Strips of blackened camouflage-effect plastic mesh are used liberally to separate various zones. No beers on tap. Check busy schedule for various themed slots, including Buff and Fitladz [see separate entries], Boys and Sirs, Suited & Booted, Bearbait, Eastern Promise, Footy Fetish, Club CP — specialists in spanking and corporal punishment...billed as "the oldest CP club in the country" — and the "hands only" London Jack Off Club. Plus the dress-code-free events Barcode and Blackout. And SM Gays meets here monthly [see separate entry]. Autumn 2022 marked the debut of two monthly nights devoted to classic fetish: (the externally promoted) Rubber Slut [see entry] and ClubXXX-Leather, though this survived only until January 2023, subsumed by Bunker Bash, then Geared Up (with free entry for leathermen). Several Bunker events are refugees from the sadly departed Bloc South. Check website for the daily 'fetish's greatest hits'-like schedule, which is rivalled only by the basement Underground Club London at Central Station [see entry]. Located in the City Road, between the Shepherdess Cafe (on the corner) and Istanbul Supermarket, just minutes from Old Street tube station. Warning: steep stairs at entry.