24 Oct 2025
The countdown has started for the opening of St Albans’ new Cosy Club in the heart of Christopher Place Shopping Centre.
The former French Connection store and snooker club has been completely transformed since the St Albans Times first took a look behind the scenes earlier this year.
Ahead of its opening on Monday, we joined general manager Deborah Benelli for a look at what customers can expect…
Featuring disco balls, fish tanks, bespoke patterned fabrics, carpets, mirrors and wallpapers, dramatic statement lighting, and sumptuous soft furnishings, there’s nothing quite like it anywhere else in the city centre.
The venue features a private dining area – The Consulate – comfy sofas, intimate booths and plenty of other ways to enjoy everything from brunch dates and business lunches to cocktail parties and get-togethers with friends.
Staff were in the midst of a final training push ahead of the opening, the entire restaurant was set to undergo a deep-clean tomorrow, and there were still finishing touches to be made over the next few days, but you can definitely appreciate quite how exciting it’s going to be for the city.
The Cosy Club and neighbouring Pho restaurant fit-outs formed the biggest redevelopment of Christopher Place since it opened its doors in the 1980s.
Property company Bidwells has overseen the scheme to create a 697 sq m site for the city’s first Cosy Club – including removing the old stairs out into Lower Dagnall Street
Christopher Place centre manager Catherine Morris said: “After the successful opening of Pho, there’s more exciting news for Christopher Place and St Albans as Cosy Club opens next week.
“Offering all-day dining and drinking, decadent surroundings and a decidedly different experience, Cosy Club is going to be the most talked-about new venue of the year and I can’t wait to welcome our customers to this amazing new space.”
