6 March 2023
Located in the heart of London, Sherlock: The Official Live Game takes you into the unique world of Sherlock with a hint of escape room entertainment thrown in for good measure. Known for the official live game being one of the best and known escape rooms in London, they have more than this hidden within Doyle’s Opticians.
For those who have never come across Sherlock: The Official Live Game, they can be found in West London and providing multiple immersive experiences based on the latest BBC TV hit series. Your job in any of the missions is to assist Sherlock with his latest puzzles. Don’t fancy a mystery? Then you can head to The Mind Palace for a boozy afternoon tea or just afternoon tea with a hint of a mini mystery of your own…
Hidden away behind Doyle’s Opticians is The Mind Palace Bar where some of the immersive experiences are held. In particular, The Case of the Poisoned Chalice Cocktail Experience which is what we are going to be highlighting in this review. An immersive cocktail experience to die for in the Sherlock speakeasy!
The Case of the Poisoned Chalice is an immersive cocktail mystery experience and can be played from £35 per person. They have slots between Thursday to Saturday in the late afternoon and early evening to attempt to solve this case.
Find out below how we got on and a little more about this experience…
When arriving, we had to check in via Doyle’s Opticians using a secret codeword which is sent to you in advance of your appointment. From here, you are taking for your “eye test”, which was just down the corridor. Obviously down the corridor and behind the final door at the end, we entered the wonderful bar area called The Mind Palace.
This speakeasy is well themed and decorated all around. With numerous props, great seating areas and so much to look, see and even interact with. Unlike other bars, many of the theming elements had a link to an experience with them, so it was a hidden puzzle. We loved how it felt like an old school pub and that everything had a purpose.
We were met by a member of the team who took us to our prebooked table which was labelled with a sign and we took our seats. They then brought over a series of briefcases and placed these on the table with a few other pieces we would need. This was in addition to our welcome drink, which was a lovely blue drink that was sweet and delicious.
The basic rules were then set out, which we were advised we needed to open each case and it was best to do it in order as this would make everything a lot easier for us. We were then given a tablet which had some key notes to assist us with each case, which was pretty handy as we had very little to get into the first case.
We don’t wish to give away too much on what was within the cases and how to solve them, however, each case was very different and required new solving techniques that the whole team were needed for. Whilst one puzzle one of us could solve, another needed a new way of thinking.
It was great to see the use of more than just paper puzzles needing to be used to solve these cases. Different props were used throughout and using what you found in the case you just opened, it would then be helpful for the set of puzzles required. We were a team of 4 and thought this worked well in the sense of 2 people could examine anything on the tablet, whilst the other 2 tried to look at the case or the contents to work out the next steps. A perfect team size in our opinion!
If you did get stuck at any point, you can request assistance from your host who would be floating around the bar. They can provide as much or as little help as you want. Do keep in mind you ideally are looking to solve this within 90 minutes and there is no timer (unless you set one yourself).
Additionally, if the welcome drink was not enough and you fancy another drink whilst playing, you can do so as it is a fully functioning bar with cocktails, spirits and other soft drinks available to purchase.
After solving all of the 4 creative challenges in the cases, we were rewarded with a skeleton of red liquid. At this time, the host came over and congratulated us, however, we were not done. We had to still make one final important decision. The wrong decision could be deadly, and this may be the final cocktail we would ever have…
When they came back, we had a great presentation of this cocktail to make it look very cool. A fantastic ending to our mission and solving the poisoned chalice. Our final cocktail was one that we were all anticipating, and it turned out… very tasty! It was a great berry blend which the whole group enjoyed.
Dean said the following about his time at Sherlock; “It was great to step into the world of Sherlock and the mysteries within. Having a drink in a secret pub, whilst trying to solve a case proved to be a great experience; trickier yet more rewarding than we were expecting!”.
Austyn said, “It is always great to experience a sit-down mission occasionally. This is a lot more chilled compared to your typical escape game. With the reward being cocktails and you can have drinks during, that is a big green tick for me. I loved the use of the props inside the cases and how each case linked to the next before the big finale.”
Ultimately, The Case of the Poisoned Chalice Cocktail Experience is a fantastic adventure for those who are Sherlock fans or after an escape room which is a little less energetic. If you fancy some more logical puzzles and a real challenge, then this experience hits the nail in the coffin. Whilst on the upper end of charges for an experience, you do have to remember you are getting a 90 minute on average mission with 2 cocktails included.
A huge thank you to the team for inviting our team of 4 to experience this and providing a complimentary experience in return for our content & review. Make sure you have a little glimpse at our TikTok and let us know if you are a fan of these types of adventures.
@thrillnation 📍Shepherd’s Bush, London Check out the @221B cocktail experience in the world of Sherlock Holmes! #sherlocklivegame #sherlockholmes #shepherdsbush #london #thingstodoinlondon #escaperoom #bar #mystery #cocktailexperience ♬ Sherlock: Series One - The Game is On - David Arnold & Michael Price
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