The much hyped bar beneath Chin Chin – Go Go Bar – is both a standalone city nightspot and a holding bar for those in line for a table at the restaurant upstairs. The addition to Chris Lucas’s Thai diner, Go Go Bar is located in the restaurant’s basement, which can be entered via the dining room upstairs at the entry to the restaurant and at a more direct entry point on cobblestoned Higsons Lane.

The dark, relaxed bar offers large round tables, banquettes with cosy corners and bar seating in the long space, which is around the same size as the restaurant directly above. Exposed globes hang down in a row and a neon sign at one end of the room reads ‘Lonely for you only’, giving the room a red glow. ‘The Little Black Book’ holds the menu, which is divided into four seasons and pledges, “Drinking should never be daunting, don’t take us too seriously, we promise we wont.”

Summer, autumn, winter and spring each feature several cocktails, beers and wines by the glass, reflecting each of the seasons. But if you feel like pouring your own, order a DIY Champagne cocktail, and a bottle of champagne, three different liquors and a bowl of fresh fruit will arrive for the table.

A selection of bar food from the menu at Chin Chin is available downstairs too, or nibble on soy and spice crusted nuts for a light snack to accompany your drink while you wait for a table upstairs at the restaurant.

Go Go Bar is relaxed and fun and the wait staff are welcoming. With luck, the basement bar will take some strain off the never-ending steam of diners upstairs, for a moment at least. But chances are it’ll just draw an even larger crowd to the Flinders Lane venue, making it a place not just to dine, but to settle in and spend the night.