• Added: 4th of October 2008
• Area: Camden Town
• Category: Nightlife

London NW1 7JE
0870 432 5527

VickieMac said
Glam!
This is one of my favourite venues in London. It's huge with three(ish) glamourous floors of guilding and plush red curtains and seating. It's great!

I love it best for live bands. The sound is mediocre but the atmosphere is fab. The HUGE disco ball is lots fun and adds a whole lotta sparkle!

Downside, the drinks cost a BOMB!! Wayyyyy too overpriced even for London. So bring your cutest piggy bank.

• Added: 4th of October 2008
• Area: Camden Town
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London NW1 7AN
020 7485 1773

VickieMac said
Full of musos & scenesters
The place hosts some of London's best up and coming musicians. It's a great place for a music night out. It's good size venue and the drinks are reasonably priced. The staff are okay too.

But the sound is WAAAAAYYY too loud - to the point of distortion for most bands. It's harsh. And the pub itself smells awful and the lights are blinding for a pub.

As for the clientel - if you read NME, this is your mecca. And be careful who you speak to if you're open to different types of music - some of the clientel is less than open minded. In fact, I'd go so far as to call them music snobs. But of course, that's not everybody and I get the impression from other reviewers that perhaps on the 10 or more occassions I've been there, I've simply met a not-so-representative group of people.

So, I'll keep going there for the music but I might not share my opinion of it with the people I meet there.

• Added: 11th of September 2008
• Area: Islington
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London N1 2SF
020 7688 2882

VickieMac said
Indoor Street Party!
I LOVE this place!! The music is totally street party perfect - sort of a fab mix of samba, salsa, pop and house.

The staff are friendly and welcoming and always smile to say hello. It seems to me they actually enjoy their jobs. This also means there's no pushing and shoving at the bar because the big oaf beside you thinks the bartender hasn't noticed them standing there becuase they don't make eye contact. They DO make eye contact and they SMILE!!

The drinks are also FANTASTIC!! They make a mean Manhattan and their Mojito's are super tasty! No water and sugar flavoured cocktails here.

This is practically my new local.

• Added: 11th of September 2008
• Area: Soho
• Category: Nightlife

London W1D 6BL
020 7734 7700

VickieMac said
Cafe Rocks
I've been to this spot a few times but Cafe Rocks was one of my best nights. They had four great bands on then some really great music into the early morning.

No problems on the door for me but we arrived around 9pm which isn't quite peak club time.

We had VIP so we had the pleasure of enjoying the balcony and when the bar closed we found ourselves ushered into a VIP room downstairs in the back with it's own bar and some really cool "beds". Very plush!

My biggest complaint with this place is the price of drinks - £27 for a bottle of "house" wine. I've paid this in other clubs so I guess it's normal by London club standards but that doesn't mean I have to like it!

I'd definitely hit it again.

• Added: 11th of September 2008
• Area: Barbican
• Category: Restaurants

London EC1R 4PX
020 7278 0077

VickieMac said
Porn Stars welcome!
I went here early on a Saturday evening for a special occasion meal and I was overwhelmed. First, it's beautiful inside. The upstairs has gorgeous lighting and the seats were super comfy. The downstairs is very plush and would be a great spot for a cocktail on a date. It has little alcoves that offer the right amount of intimacy for a public place. ;o)

But it wasn't the decor the sold me, it was the cocktails - A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I had the pleasure of enjoying (among others) the Porn Star Martini and to this day have not found a drink I enjoyed more than this one. I take great pleasure in telling people that this is my favourite drink!

We also had food and although at the time I thoroughly enjoyed my fish soup thingy, it was only good enough to be remembered as a fish soup thingy. The cocktails simply stole the show.

I would definitely go here again and have but only for drinks. I'll have to try the burgers next time!

• Added: 11th of September 2008
• Area: Stockwell
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London SW9 9BE
020 7978 9778

VickieMac said
Eat & Run!
I met a boy at this bar. Yep, you heard right. I met a real live boy! (I'll pause while you lean in closer to the screen.)

Actually, I met an enormous (6 ft 4, 300lb) beast of a man that was hungry for a piece of me! (…and in more ways than one!) But don’t get too excited because although he seemed nice enough, sadly he won’t be visiting my fair domicile anytime soon.

It all started when he snatched a camera out of my hand, kissed me and pushed me into the picture. This was a bit of a shock but I've come to learn that this is not entirely unusual behaviour for Swan boys. Then, he tried to buy me a drink (they didn't have what I wanted), then he tried to talk to me (he ripped my hair out trying to get to my ear because the music was so loud), and then he danced with me (this new fangled dance requiring little-to-no movement)to the cheesiest selection of sultry sounds I've heard in decades. But I figured that’s okay, when I could hear what he was saying he wasn’t too bad. That was until he tried to eat me!

Seriously, right there in the middle of the not so packed dancefloor he tried to eat my face! I thought I was going to need a complete run of cosmetic surgery to repair the mangled state of my mouth. This guy made a full on midnight snack out of me! He literally chewed my lips and I'm pretty sure he took a chunk out of my shoulder. So, what happened next? I ran. Fast.

Perhaps it was my chocolate scented perfume that made a taste of your’s truly seem so difficult to resist (or perhaps not). But whatever it was, as you can plainly see I'm hardly quick snack for anybody!

As I mentioned, I've come to realise this is a common occurance at the Swan as it's quite possibly one of London's largest meat markets. But if you enjoy falling prey to a very eclectic selection of patrons and grooving to the sweet sounds of the eighies and nineties then this is the place for you. Oh, and make sure you check out their Cheeky Vimtos. They're a treat!

• Added: 29th of April 2007
• Area: Piccadilly Circus
• Category: Bars and Pubs

London W1B 4BF
020 7437 7300

VickieMac said

Strawberry Moons...everytime I hear the name of this central London haunt I have visions of My Little Pony's frolicking through fluffy pink clouds. I've always wanted to check it out and last night I did.

The cue was reasonable, the doorman was cool and the price wasn't too bad for a bar just off Regent Street.

Now, the tunes...the tunes were nothing short of perfect. All the cheese and some of the charts. It was grrreat! I think it may be my new favourite bar. However, it was absolutely packed and super hot. Not much room for this is my dance space, this is your dance space but we managed to dance our suitably refreshed butts off and had a great time.

If you're looking for a club on a Saturday night, and you happened to be in the vicinity of the most whimsically named club this side of Regent Street, this one is well worth a look.