That's what you call the student experience!

The colourful seating and lighting in the refurbished 'party' area

Reynolds bar and café, the sole social space for the medical students at Charing Cross campus, had an identity crisis

Serving as a café by day, catered by Campus Services, and at night a bar for the Students’ Union it just wasn’t meeting students’ needs.

Hours for both were limited, and trying to make both functions work in a single layout wasn’t working.

In September 2023 the bar and café re-opened, totally revamped as a cohesive space to meet both functions, with a new back of house kitchen and front of house servery, now open until 8pm, and new modern décor suitable for any student club night!

Key features of the design, include:
• a new bar counter, with improved layout, security and storage
• new lighting and flooring
• new flexible seating configurations
• improved use of space and reduction in pinch point areas with a flexible layout
• a games area
• new audio-visual equipment
• new CCTV

The revamp was led by Estates Operations Project Manager Kirsty Scallan, and Jeremy Moss, external Project Manager from consultant Henry Riley, with the main contractor BW Interiors.

They were also working with Campus Services, and the café area now offers a new servery and back of house kitchen befitting the space.

Working with so many experts in their own field, including with the Students’ Union has also ensured that great attention to detail has been paid. Things such as:
•a drip groove under the polished concrete bar counter-top, which will stop any spills running down the decorative corrugated bar front and make for easier cleaning

• upholstery selected by the student panel concerned – who did not want their new seating stained with blackcurrant juice spills
• extending the length of the bar to remove a bottleneck by a pillar that stopped movement through the space.
• wheelchair accessible space

The results are amazing, and provide a real destination for students studying on the campus, as well as those living in the area,

The project cost circa £1.75m.

The refurbished Reynolds Bar and Café is a great space to socialise and relax. Day-time use of the space has been so, so, good, you can clearly tell students are enjoying using it between lectures and as a general hub. The increased bar area makes it a lot more comfortable to be in and the bar service is way more speedy. Getting rid of the booths has helped when running events using the stage, and moveable furniture is really helpful. The new food menu is a game-changer and the curly fries are better than Five-Six-Eight. Student users