From the Stork Club to 99: Seventy Years at 99 Regent Street
Last updated: 6 October 2026
Most London clubs claiming heritage are a few years old with a vintage font. 99 Regent Street is not one of them. This address has been a nightlife venue since 1954, and the names that passed through it in the first decade alone are a reasonable summary of post-war British public life.
Al Burnett’s Stork Club
It began with the Stork Club, run by Al Burnett. What it drew was a particular kind of mid-century London crowd — political and Hollywood at the same tables.
Prime Minister Harold Macmillan went. So did John Profumo, the Cabinet minister whose name would later attach itself to the decade’s defining political scandal. From the other direction came Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner.
That combination is worth pausing on. A room where the sitting Prime Minister and Sinatra might both be in on a given night is not a room that exists in London any more, and it tells you what the West End was in the fifties.
What Came Next
The building carried the thread forward and became, in the venue’s own description, one of London’s defining nightlife institutions in its own right — the Cuckoo Club, which ran the floor for years and drew its own generation of guests from around the world.
That chapter ended and its founders went their separate ways, pursuing other projects. The address went quiet.
The Reunion
99 is what happened when those founders came back together. Same floor, new club, and an explicit argument behind it.
Their reasoning is worth quoting in substance: London’s nightlife landscape changed dramatically, traditional nightclubs no longer define the city as they once did, and members’ clubs, listening bars and destination restaurants have reshaped how people socialise. 99 is positioned as an answer to that evolution — built on what the address has represented since 1954 but designed for the London of now.
Why the Name
Because it was always the address. Cuckoo’s entrance was on Swallow Street at the back, which is how most of London knew it and why listings filed it there, but the building is Victory House, 99–101 Regent Street.
Naming the club after the address rather than inventing something is a reasonable move for a room whose whole proposition is continuity. It also means anyone who knew the Swallow Street door is in the right place.
What Stands There Now
Two floors of around 200 each. Hip hop and open format upstairs, house downstairs. Wednesday to Saturday, 11pm until 4am, with one floor running midweek and both at the weekend. Tables from £600, a guestlist that takes mixed groups, and a 19+ door.
The table numbering upstairs runs 95 to 99 for the booths at the DJ end — one more nod to the address.
Does the History Matter?
Honestly, not to your Saturday. You will not have a better night because Ava Gardner was once in the building, and anyone selling you a club on its ghosts is selling you something other than a club.
What it does tell you is that this is an address with staying power rather than a speculative opening. Three distinct clubs across seventy years, the current one run by people who already made the last chapter work. In a postcode where rooms turn over constantly — Tabu became Rumour, Funky Buddha became Itzel, both within the past year — that counts for something when you are deciding where to put a birthday.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is 99 Regent Street as a venue?
The address has been a nightlife venue since 1954, when it housed Al Burnett’s Stork Club.
Who went to the Stork Club?
Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and Cabinet minister John Profumo among the political crowd, and Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner from Hollywood.
What was at 99 Regent Street before 99?
The Cuckoo Club, which ran the floor for years before closing.
Is 99 run by the Cuckoo Club founders?
Yes. They went their separate ways after that chapter ended and reunited to open 99 on the same floor.
Why is it called 99 Regent Street?
It is the building’s own address — Victory House, 99–101 Regent Street. The entrance used to be round the back on Swallow Street.
Thinking about a night at 99 Regent Street? Tell us the date and your group size and we will arrange the table or the guestlist. message us on WhatsApp and we will take it from there.
Marco F.Nightlife Editor
London nightlife specialist and VIP concierge with over 5 years helping guests experience Mayfair's best clubs. Marco has personally visited every venue we cover and works directly with club management to secure the best tables and guestlist spots.