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Whatever Happened to a Good Debate
Inside The UnHerd Club in Westminster, where independent minds meet over food, drink and some of the more interesting questions of the day.
When was the last time you had a meaningful debate with someone of the polar opposite view? Cancel culture, say. The state of British foreign policy. Republicanism versus the monarchy. Trumpism and what on earth to do with it. Did feminism kill good manners? Or perhaps you prefer listening from the sidelines, learning something along the way and occasionally joining in, Question Time fashion.
Whatever your stance, there is something rather refreshing about a Club in which disagreement isn’t considered a social emergency.
That, in essence, is the thinking behind The UnHerd Club in Westminster. It is a private members’ club for people interested in ideas and the freedom to kick them around — intelligently, one hopes — with people who may not necessarily agree.
And before this all begins to sound terribly earnest, or even slightly scary, it is first and foremost somewhere to eat, drink and meet. Just minutes from Parliament, it attracts an interesting crowd, but you don’t need a position on foreign policy to order lunch. Come by day and it is a convivial place to dine; on selected evenings, the conversation moves up a gear with the Club’s programme of speakers and events.
The Club sits above Old Queen Street Café, reached by a staircase lined with portraits of independent thinkers from across the ages. Inside, things are pleasingly intimate: a bar and library rather than the drawing rooms, bedrooms and acres of polished mahogany associated with London’s older clubs. In fact, it is rather small. Members come in to eat, drink and meet friends just as they would elsewhere. Conversation is welcome; intellectual combat is not compulsory.
It is the events programme that give UnHerd its particular character. The calendar roams across politics, culture, literature, philosophy and science, with interviews, talks, debates, seminars and lectures tackling the burning issues of the moment. Writers rub shoulders with politicians, journalists, academics and cultural figures, while members can listen, question, disagree — or simply order another glass of wine.
There is something faintly reminiscent of the best literary festivals about it with the events: that particular pleasure of hearing somebody interesting discuss something you hadn’t given nearly enough thought to, followed by the opportunity to carry on talking about it afterwards. Except here you don’t need a lanyard, a field or three days in Hay-on-Wye. If literary festivals, current affairs and good interesting ideas are your thing, you are probably in the right place.
UnHerd itself was founded on the idea of challenging herd mentality: not being contrary for the sheer sport of it, but questioning consensus and making room for arguments and voices which might otherwise be overlooked. The Club takes that principle off the screen and puts people in a room together. Think of the subjects that fill the comment pages of the broadsheets — then add a bar, a table and people willing to discuss them face to face.
London’s private clubs have always gathered people around something: politics, professions, the military, the arts, travel, sport, school, university or social standing. The UnHerd Club is a distinctly modern addition to that tradition. Its common denominator is curiosity.
You can, of course, ignore all of this and just have lunch.
And that is exactly what Luxury Restaurant Guide members are now invited to do.
An Invitation Inside The UnHerd Club
Our latest Private Club Introduction offers Luxury Restaurant Guide members a one-off opportunity to experience The UnHerd Club as diners.
Members and up to three dining guests can enjoy lunch at the Club with 50% off food, Monday to Friday between 12pm and 5pm. Come for lunch, have a look around, soak up the atmosphere and, should Club life appeal, membership starts from £250 annually or £25 per month.
Full details and reservation instructions can be found in the Experience Wallet in the Luxury Restaurant Guide app. Not a member of Luxury Restaurant Club? Join here.
