Pimp Shuei had clocked up nearly 10 years in Mount Pleasant and was known for its screens showing classic kung fu movies and arcade machines

IT was considered an off-the-beaten-track gem, a “dive bar” cherished by those who know London’s quirkier night spots.

But the Kung fu-themed Pimp Sheui, run out of a basement in Mount Pleasant, Holborn, looks to have mixed its last cocktail after plans emerged to convert into a new medical centre.

The bar, which had retro arcade machines and retro posters, closed during the coronavirus lockdown but has not reopened, with, according to planning papers filed at the Town Hall, no new operator showing interest in taking it on.

Officials have been told there has been extensive marketing without any takers and now have been asked to approve its conversion to an ultrasound scanning service.

The bar had set up a “GoFundMe” fundraiser in which its fans made more than £5,000 of donations to try and help get the bar back up and running.

In the appeal, Sipheng You, known as Slash, said the pandemic had “caused many hardships” and that “business grants and loans helped, but weren’t enough.”

Pimp Sheui has hundreds of glowing reviews from customers online who described it as a hidden gem.

A planning application for a “change of use” for the property said that the “the ground floor is subdivided to create two consulting rooms with medical scanning equipment, including ultrasound. There would also be a reception and waiting room and staff and patient facilities.”

It said it had been “vacant for some considerable time” with no offers from anybody wanting to run the premises as a bar.