I can't express how much I loved this place. How much WE loved this place. It was totally a random…read morepull - one night, my husband was browsing one of those "things you MUST do when visiting London" articles, and I briefly saw "The Bletchley" as he scrolled down the page. I made him click on the link, saying "Bletchley like the Circle? Like the code breakers?" And sure enough, it was exactly like that.
It's an escape room mixed with a puzzle room mixed with a lot of alcohol. A LOT of alcohol. They bill it as a mix between Alan Turing and Sherlock Holmes, both names that I adore. We were intrigued, and after a bit of research made our reservations online. (Reservations definitely required, and you have to pay beforehand, just heads up.)
We were giddy as we walked down the stairs into the basement to check in for our experience. They immerse you in their world the second you step foot inside the threshold, calling you "agent", giving you instructions and helping you with your Army-style jacket.
Your "contact" walks you through your "Enigma Machine" and your "radio" and then sets you off on your first puzzle: opening the box to start the game. I'm not going to spoil any of the puzzles, but I will tell you that you get a personalized drink for each puzzle you solve. AND, you get a welcome cocktail. So, if you're solving two puzzles, you get 3 drinks in total.
The drinks are created for you based on the answers you provide to the puzzles you solve. There's a bit of a sniff test and a taste test for that first round, but after that, the talented bartenders use the answers you provide to craft drinks you're sure to love.
We had planned on doing only 2 puzzles because realistically, I'm a lightweight when it comes to booze in general, and fairly useless when it comes to liquor. But, we were having so much fun, and the drinks were SO incredibly tasty (easy to drink, let me tell you!) that when our "contact" came back to ask if we wanted one more puzzle, we both immediately said, "Of course we want another puzzle, crazy woman!" Or something along those lines.
Friends, the puzzles are super easy. After solving our first one, the second "contact" asked if we wanted the easy or difficult version for the next round. We were feeling cocky (and tipsy), so we asked for the difficult one. It's not that difficult!
But, as we were sitting there, we noticed that the group next to us - they'd come in about 15 minutes after us - was struggling to answer their puzzle. We thought, "Oh no, the contact gave us the easy puzzle for sure!" So when the contact came back to ask if we wanted the final puzzle, and we answered yes, we thought we'd be struggling like the group of four next to us. I mean, we *had* been drinking hard alcohol for an hour, and we were feeling pretty warm and fuzzy, so of course, our brains would be slow and not so willing to make logical connections, right?
WRONG! We solved that puzzle in less than 5 minutes and sat back wondering how drunk the group next to us was that they bumbled around for almost 20 minutes trying to find the answer.
Anyway, the drinks are to die for. The welcome drink was gin-based, and I almost told the guy to take it back (gin and me? SO not on friendly terms). But, my husband asked me to give it a try, and two seconds later, the cup was empty.
I enjoyed the three drinks that were crafted specifically for me, but that first drink - with its fresh fruit and its tease of a burnt sugar flavor - left me wanting more.
If you're about experiences, good drinks and great times, this is definitely a spot you're going to want to visit. Plan on spending at least 3 hours here (if you want to soak up all the...uh...puzzles...that is), and definitely plan on having a ride back home.
