80 VENUE - EMEA
LOCK, STOCK & BARREL DUBAI, UAE EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
Having opened more than 25 entertainment outlets in the last decade, Solutions Leisure has a keen eye for what people want. In the case of Lock, Stock & Barrel, it has ditched the glitz and glamour of Dubai, in favour of a retro, unpretentious, industrial vibe to win over a new crowd. www.mondodr.com
Upon arriving at the Best New Nightlife Venue - a recognition awarded by Time Out Dubai Music and Nightlife Awards 2016 - my first impression was very deceptive. Having no prior knowledge of the award, when I entered the venue, which is located at The Grand Millennium Hotel Dubai in Tecom, an area not necessarily best known as a tourist destination, for some reason I was expecting a fairly typical restaurant and bar. What stood before me was a venue that attracted people looking for an alternative to the hangouts that Dubai has become accustomed to. Instead offering an industrial theme with a theatrical twist. Operator, Solutions Leisure was clear from the start that it wanted this to be a ‘venue for everybody’ and had its heart set on ‘something different’. Opened earlier this year, Lock, Stock & Barrel (LSB) welcomes guests seven days a week and during that time takes on many different guises from an after work drinking venue to a sports bar right through to a live music and club venue. It is a two-storey venue, and the ceiling is high, which opens the space out, making it feel larger. It can cater for a capacity of 600-650 people. The mezzanine was put in specifically for