We arrived about 6.30pm for cocktails in the bar beforehand, I like places that have an understated (take: impossible to find) entrance on a street, placed you'd normally just walk by tend to be the best you will ever find. In keeping with the theme when we walked in we were faced with all mirrored walls and changing colour lighting. It was quite a shock when the hostess greeted us from a booth amongst the mirrors - didn't see her at all!
We were shown through one of the mirrors which led into the main restaurant. We walked by the 'top table' and were led through to the bar. It was smaller than I had expected, I'd also thought there would be more than one main table for performances. The rest of the restaurant was very nice - but fairly normal.
The cocktail menu was eclectic - classics were available on request, however I opted for an orange daiquiri. Very nice it was too. Cocktails aren't cheap - starting at £9.50 and heading up to the £14 mark. After this I opted for a Bellini - this was no where near as good as the daiquiri it was overpowered with the fruit juice - it was almost smoothie consistency, not what I'd normally expect from a Bellini.
The first act kicked off when we were still in the bar - three ladies dancing en point and then one fire eating. It was really impressive, but we had the impression the best was yet to come. Once we were led to our table we opted for the sharing menu. at £50 it promised a taster menu of three courses selected by the chef. The first course arrived fairly promptly after we'd ordered. Edamame beans, chicken gyoza and salt and pepper squid. The beans were standard (impossible to get wrong!) the gyoza again was fairly average. The squid however was immaculately presented, crisp and delicious - with a fiery hit of chili.
The main course was amazing - were we however squashed on a table that was probably for 4 persons so 5 people, 3 drinks each (the sharing menu came with a glass of prosecco - with that plus our cocktails and water...) it was a tight squeeze and impossible task to fit everything on. It may have been better if the food was bought out in a staggered way. However on the tiny table we had: black cod (amazing) Thai green chicken curry and a veg version (fab), fillet steak (great but far too small for 5 to share) and then a selection of Asian greens, rice and baked aubergine. It was all fantastic. I was like a hungry hungry hippo eating everything in site, but mainly having to stick to what was near! Logistically tackling this feast was hard!
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| Act 2 - The best of the night |
While we were enjoying this the second and third acts were on. The second by far my favourite of the night. Two girls dressed in vintage swimwear tackling the overhead hoops to the tune of 'Mr Sandman' fantastic. The third act was a young gentleman on rotating blocks (the picture explains it better!) He was good, but it didn't natch up to the second act.
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| Act 3 - Still impressive! |
Once we had enjoyed the third spectacle desert arrived. Having perused the menu before we settled on the sharer I was looking forward to this course - brownie and creme brulee had caught my eye - so what would we get for 4 to share? Mini versions of each? Great big cakes to devour? No. A small jam jar with some mascarpone on a sponge?! It was nice enough but really disappointing. It was almost like this course was completely unconsidered.
After this we were also told our table was turning (it was 9.20pm on a 7.30pm booking) in 15 minutes. Disappointing especially as we'd just ordered a bottle of wine which was hastily decanted in huge quantities into 3 glasses (that wasn't going to stay very cold!)
Luckily before we were booted off the table another act came on, it sort of set the tone for the next sitting - it was much more risque and involved a date over the gender of the performer and culminating in nipple tassels.
We went to the bar to finish our drinks and then left getting the impression this wasn't a place that welcomed drinkers, much more eat and leave. On our way out the first act of the next sitting started - the same three girls doing a similar act to the first one we'd seen - so assume they rotate with slight variations.
I would go back, but next time I'd say the later sitting (10pm) and ordering from the a la carte menu. The main was excellent but the other 2 courses could maybe have a bit more thought on the sharer menu. Also in terms of value for money this is not a cheap night out by any means - but you have the cabaret aspect.
Atmosphere: 4/5
Food 4/5
Drink 3/5
Overall 4/5
Good for a treat/special occasion
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