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by Amanda
London, United Kingdom
November 27, 2001
As you walk in, the décor makes you take a deep breath – it’s almost unbelievable. The floor is an odd mixture of stone, tiles, and mosaic. Every inch of the interior is decorated within an inch of its life in a riot of self-indulgent rococo excess – from red velvet table cloths and giant air blown lamps, to gold-coloured engravings and curves. The seats are patterned tapestry, the lighting is dark. Along the sides of the long room are balconies, each holding a table and chairs – underneath are the booths which are no more than 6 feet tall, tucked under the balconies. Down the middle is one long table, with parties of people sitting together. The toilets are surreal – the women’s at least has slightly impressionistic soft-porn painted all over the walls and doors!
We were in one of the booths off the side, and when you make a reservation it’s best to go for one of these, and it’s much more fun than in the centre. We got there at 8pm, and started (slowly) to order. The food is OK, nothing special, but we had a fantastic evening. Between us, we order 3 starters (houmous, and Greek cheese pancakes) and 5 main courses – monkfish, two lamb meatballs, a vegetarian bake, and a steak. While we enjoyed the food, I wouldn’t say it was great. We also managed, between the five of us, to get through 5 bottles of wine, 6 cocktails, and two after-dinner drinks. They made no effort to kick us out – we were there from 8pm to 12:45am, when we rolled out. (The other 4 went clubbing, but that amount of alcohol means bed for me.) I had a wonderful evening, and would recommend the place highly. It has to be seen to be believed.
On Sunday and Monday nights they have live opera singing, and on other nights there is piped opera at a good volume – it doesn’t drown conversation, but you can hear it if you want to. Have fun if you come here – I certainly did!
From journal Eating in central London