Parker Cars Magazine: Issue 4

london’s finest
Six of the best
The bit where we bring you the very greatest of London life. Tuck
into popcorn, and enjoy the capital’s best independent cinemas.
Electric Cinema
Dating back to 1910, this gorgeous
Edwardian baroque building in
Notting Hill is one of the oldest
working cinemas in the country.
Leather armchairs, sofas for two,
foot stools, side tables, cashmere
blankets, even reclining beds
on the front row… everything
about this place oozes comfort.
Bizarrely, during World War I,
following a nearby Zeppelin
bombing raid, angry locals
stormed the cinema, believing
that the German-born manager
had signalled to Zeppelin pilots
from the cinema roof.
191 Portobello Rd, W11 2ED
www.electriccinema.co.uk
Olympic Cinema
Bathe your ears in Dolby Atmos
surround sound at the Olympic
Cinema in Barnes, housed inside
what used to be the Olympic
Sound Studios. Former clients
include The Beatles, The Rolling
Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin,
Jimi Hendrix, Queen, David
Bowie, Pink Floyd, Oasis, Prince
and Madonna. Nowadays it’s a
very snuggly picture house with
sofas and “love seats” for more
amorous viewers. There’s a bar
and restaurant, too.
117-123 Church Rd, SW13 9HL
www.olympiccinema.co.uk
Rio Cinema
You won’t see 3D glasses sported
in this particular establishment.
Proudly eschewing commerciality,
Dalston’s Rio Cinema shows
mainly independent and foreign
films in its split-level, Grade
II-listed art deco classic. “We
have plush red velvet seats,
atmospheric music before the
show, and long red curtains
that swish back before the film
starts,” they boast. (But sadly no
usherette selling ice cream during
the intermission.)
107 Kingsland High St, E8 2PB
riocinema.org.uk
Lexi Cinema
“The UK’s first social enterprise
independent boutique digital
cinema,” claim the volunteers who
run this tiny venue in Kensal Rise.
“That ticks quite a few boxes,
doesn’t it?” It certainly does. Here
you can sip pre-movie drinks at
the bar, enjoy a mixture of art
house and mainstream movies,
and rest assured in the knowledge
that all profits go to charity. Huge
letters on the cinema’s exterior
façade display the message, “I AM
A CINEMA. LOVE ME.”
194b Chamberlayne Rd, NW10 3JU
thelexicinema.co.uk
Prince Charles Cinema
Love musicals? This is the place
for you, then. Every couple of
weeks this Soho cinema runs a
“Sing-A-Long-A” film event where
paying punters are encouraged to
offer vocal accompaniment to the
on-screen tunes. Coming up this
autumn are Dirty Dancing, Frozen,
Grease, Moulin Rouge, The Rocky
Horror Picture Show and The Sound
of Music. All gloriously camp.
7 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BY
www.princecharlescinema.com
Roxy Bar & Screen
It’s a bit like a speakeasy. Front
of house in this Borough venue is
the bar and restaurant while in the
back room is the cinema where
comfy sofas and table service
await your custom. Both films and
live sport are shown.
128-132 Borough High St, SE1 1LB
www.roxybarandscreen.co.uk
Rio Cinema
Electric CInema
50 where to, parker?