Zahra Bar, Clapham: 15/20

Location: The Pavement, Old Town

Website: www.zahrabar.co.uk

Visit: Thursday evening, for the jazz

To Note? This is the downstairs bar of Del'Aziz, entrance through the restaurant

Score

Ambiance 2/5

Design 5/5

Drinks 4/5

Staff 4/5

Extra LBS star: Not yet, but this bar is worth another viist


This visit had a rather inauspicious start. First we could not find the place, then we were told that the jazz did not actually start until 7.30 (despite booking a table for the jazz at 6.30) so we popped into Venn Street Records as a warm up (which was, by the way, awesome: great pizzas, great barmen, great music). 


We headed back at 8pm, and guess what? The jazz started at 8.30! We were the first downstairs but were soon joined by 2 large groups which were much needed to build the atmosphere. The room is great, with lots of space for dancing, seats all the way round, large tables for eating earlier in the evening and an middle eastern theme throughout.

Staff were also knowledgable, friendly and the drinks they made from an interesting menu were tasty and well priced at around 8 pounds a go. They also had a wide range of wines and beers, presumably this comes from the restaurant above. 


Unfortunately the jazz was not so good, a little bit "elevator music" for my tastes but despite their efforts no one seemed to be paying attention, they did not get the attention they deserved let alone the applause and soon gave up and got food! 


So after one drink we headed back to Venn St to carry on the party. 


Apparently the bar gets really busy on a Friday and Saturday and they are extending their entertainment with comedy and djs, so I would not write off straight away returning on a busier night.

London Cocktail Week: Day 5 and Day 7 Bits and Bobs

Friday 14th October

This was possibly the most disappointing day of the week, which is not altogether negative considering the very high quality of Thursday (Callooh Callay, Happiness Forgets etc) I popped into Village East, Bermondsey, straight after work, something I had been meaning to do for some time. Despite there being at least two bar men, two hosts and several waitresses, we got fed up of sitting at the bar ignored and after 5 minutes asked for a menu. I went for the signature

Sake to Me

Which was a short drink of sake, apple juice, lemon and a cape berry decoration. On leaving my friend asked how me what my cocktail was like and one the verge of saying it was good I thought, actually, it wasn’t. It wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad. It was boring.

Later that night we headed to my most local cocktail bar – Venn St Records – in Clapham. The menu said the drink was Lynchburg Lemonade but for some reason they served us something else. I am not sure what it was, there were large chunks of lemon and lime, and it was a bit bland. It was however midnight on a very busy Saturday night in a heaving bar. So it was fun none the less.

Sunday 16th October

Day 7 only left time for one more visit before my weekend drinking companion headed home, and this was courtesy of The Blind Tiger/Lost Society, Clapham. This is another venue I had lost since planned to visit, and it sis not disappoint. Once we found out how to get in (buzzer beside the garden gate to the left of the establishment) we were led by 1920’s dressed staff to the brighter front area – as opposed to the dark 1920’s cubby holes towards the back or upstairs restaurant – for a

Gentleman’s Mojito

Mojito for me is always a good test of a bar, and this far exceeded expectations. There was gin, homemade elderflower, apple juice, mint, lime and more and was not only refreshing but well balanced for a 2pm drink. I would have stayed for more but there was a train to catch. I will be back.