Cahoots, 21st December

Cahoots I must say was the very definition of a theme bar done right. With cocktails to live up to the décor.

We had already been drinking fairly heavily throughout the evening so were a bit squiffy when we finally rocked up to Cahoots at 11 and hoped there would be space for us. They were able to accommodate us at our favourite space – the bar, where we made ourselves comfortable and woofed down two tins of the complimentary popcorn (no dinner had been had that evening).

When you arrive you go into a little foyer, just like a ticketing area at a station, before you go through the ‘secret’ panels to the bar below on a mocked up underground escalator. It feels ever so fun. The place is kitted out with all sorts of Underground and 40s paraphernalia which gives it an authentic vintage atmosphere.

Before sitting, we perused the menu – cunningly disguised as a newspaper from the time – before making our final choices. This was difficult - there are pages and pages of options and they all sound either interesting, or tasty. I would say, even if you aren’t much of a fan of all things vintage and themes, the cocktails are worth a visit alone. Very delectable. I cannot remember the names of the cocktails we had but I know for sure mine was boozy and rich. We watched as an elaborate garnish of chocolate, peppercorns and possibly dried mango was created before our eyes, the chocolate poured out onto the bar and set, then sprinkled with the crunchy stuff before being set atop the cocktail. It provided a very handy extra snack for us and a sugar rush that kept us going through the night.

Some of the cocktails are very reasonably priced at around £8 but they do rise up to the £10 or £13 (or more) for the more interesting combinations. But this place is great for a treat or to impress so you'll probably be willing to splurge a little bit. Everyone go. But be warned. If you want to book in advance, they require a deposit, even if only for the two of you so if there’s any chance your plans might change, maybe best to try to wing it – go later in the evening and chance your arm. Worked for us!

Kinky Salon, 12th December

The very last rule of KSL is not to gossip about what goes on there. Which is what they say at many of these parties and I really hope that my write-ups of them would not be construed in such a way. I like to keep things general and give a flavour of what goes on rather than the specifics.

KSL has been rather built up in my mind as the epitome of a sex party – where everyone’s mind is on one thing and you’d better brace yourself. As ever with these things, it wasn’t quite such an overwhelming experience. You have to arrive within one hour of the doors opening as the evening is run by volunteers and they want to get mingling too. Depending on what time you get there then, you have an hour or two to mingle before the cabaret starts.

I’d been warned that the cabaret wasn’t that great and that once it was over everyone deserted the dance floor to get to the couple’s room. This wasn’t strictly true. Firstly, I really enjoyed the cabaret – there were a couple of traditional drag acts (male drag queens) and then the Family Fierce (female drag queens) also did an act. They were fresh and very funny. It was hosted by the supersexy Lolo Brow and everything she does turns to gold anyway.

But watching the cabaret was mandatory and meant that there was no more mingling and you couldn’t go to the bar. I had felt I was building up a nice momentum before the show started and when it ended it was a bit like the lights coming on and feeling disoriented – I felt back to square one, sober and wanting to make some connections, and worried that everyone who was there had already found someone, or had come with someone to cop off with and I’d be left dancing on my own. Wanting to dance, yes, but not necessarily solo. I needn’t have worried about this as the music came on and while there was a definite shift to the other areas there were still plenty of people bopping on the dance floor or getting some drinks. Mingling was achieved.

There wasn’t a whole host of things going on other than the play room and couples room after the cabaret had ended. There was a ball pit, and some croquet although I don’t think I saw anyone play it. I personally think it would have been nice if there were other entertainments. In fact, I think if Are you Game and KSL merged it would create the perfect night – do away with the show, and have lots of excuses for people to interact with each other instead.

I had been told that KSL was quite something to behold in terms of the sex and that was true. I won’t go into detail but there is a good amount of space devoted to ‘getting into a scene’ and I have probably never seen so many naked bodies in one place. The atmosphere was sexy yet light-hearted. You have to be friendly and see the humour in things when you’re getting it on with someone in such close proximity to others doing the same thing. Tripping over a bum or accidentally sticking your foot in someone’s face while they’re preoccupied with other things is taken in good spirit.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at KSL, so much so, that the above write-up is from when I went in October and I went back again in December when things were much the same (although the cabaret this time around had suffered a drop in quality). 

Bad Egg, 7th December

Bad Egg has been on the List for quite some time, and I finally made it down. I have to say, it was a little disappointing for me but I wouldn’t write it off completely. We all chose from the burger/sandwich menu. My veggie friend got the mac and cheese burger, my other friend had the chicken burger, and I got the buffalo ribwich.

My sandwich was ridiculous. A huge, square slab of pork belly, breadcrumbed and plopped in a burger bun with buffalo sauce and (somewhere) blue cheese mayo. A delicate leaf of lettuce was almost comical in its pointlessness. I couldn’t taste the blue cheese mayo at all, against the intense tanginess of the buffalo sauce. The pork belly, though tender once you managed to get into it, was a bit tough to crack at first bite and I didn’t think it worked with the sauce at all. I wish it had been paired with a more Asian flavouring like kimchi. My friend and I both ordered fries. Would have appreciated being told that one dish was enough for two.

The mac and cheese burger, however, was pretty brilliant. A circular formation of the cheese carby stuff, it was deep fried giving the edges a crispiness much needed inside a bun.

The chicken burger, too looked great – definitely thigh meat, it had quacamole and a fried egg in it. Apparently the egg made it a bit too squishy and hard to eat but it was finished pretty quickly so I think it can’t have been too bad!

Also pretty enjoyable was this rice krispie ice cream sandwich with salted caramel ice cram and a caramel sauce. I shared with my friend as we were both stuffed but it was so good I probably could have made room for the whole thing. It could easily be too sickly for some but I could handle it. 

This was a post-Alcoholic Architecture treat, Bompass and Parr’s room filled with Gin and Tonic mist. As with all Bompass and Parr things, it sounded better than it really was but I did enjoy it. You have to don ponchos so you all look ridiculous standing in what is quite a small room, while gin and tonic vapour swirls around you and you try to inhale as much as you can in the 45 minutes you have. Apparently you can get 2 to 3 shots worth inside you (and as you absorb it, no calories!) and my friends thought they could feel an effect but I remained unconvinced. 

NY Fold, 6th December

This was actually my second visit to NY Fold but I left it so long to write up before I couldn't remember what I thought of it!

So I went and got another slice, to take away and cement my opinion. The range of types they have is pretty impressive, it was hard to make a decision. In the end I had the Hot Italian, with cumberland sausage, peppers, caramelised onions. They really load all the toppings on, which is great, and the toppings themselves are very tasty. But the pizza is too cheesy. Can you have a pizza that is too cheesy? In a way, no. The real problem here is that the tomato base doesn't have much of a presence, And while I love cheese, a richly flavoured tomato sauce is definitely what I expect to find on my pizza. Decent, but I won't be rushing back there.

Wonderland, 5th December

When I first got to Wonderland, at a little before midnight I was a little worried. Where were all the people? Why weren’t the ones that were there as dressed up as me?

Forward to two hours’ time and all those cares had been forgotten. Sure, it wasn’t rammed but there were more than enough bodies to give the place some atmosphere and I didn’t feel like the odd one out in my choice of costume. I had such an excellent time. I hadn’t been before but had told anyone that asked that I believed it was a bit like Rumpus but on a smaller scale. I think that was a fair assumption. They had live acts, DJs and some ‘goings on’ and had completely transformed the Prince of Wales into an indoor festival.

We arrived and there was a laid back band playing some gentle ska type music. Later on Great Scott absolutely rocked the mic with their MCing and had the crowd in thrall. There was the great coronation of Queen Alice, much to the chagrin of the Queen of Hearts which involved confetti being sprinkled everywhere and much hoopla, and then another folky upbeat band a bit later. Plenty of entertainment. And that was just the one room – there was also another more focused on just dancing and a few little touches along the way, like a glitter shower (non-functioning when I went to explore it).

So, two rooms means it is a much smaller party than Rumpus. But I kinda liked that about it. I felt like I chatted to more people than I might at Rumpus, and also, didn’t have the fear of missing out on something going on. With all the acts happening in the one room, I knew where to go and at what time. Definitely took the FOMO out of my night.

The crowd was fun and friendly and before I knew it it was 5:45 am and time to start thinking about heading home. Wonderland – I will see you again!

Sprited Sermons, 24th November

You get a lot of bang for your buck at these Spirited Sermons – and I mean that both in terms of drink but also activity and education. Every fortnight they pick a spirit and a specialty brand and for £25 you can learn about the origins of that brand, have a chance to make (and then drink) a cocktail using that brand, and also get a tasting session if that spirit.

The one I went to was a Japanese whiskey sermon looking at the Nikka brand. We were given the backstory of the founder and, after already having had two of the three cocktails included in the price, we had tasters of the four types of whiskey they make, starting with grain and moving to the pure malts. Apparently Masataka Taketsuru was determined to make real whiskey, not a Japanese bastardisation of it (basically coloured sake) and had travelled all the way to Scotland, almost 100 years ago, to learn how to do it right. His creativity was stifled somewhat when he went back and tried to put his knowledge to work at Settsu Shuzo. So eventually he left to found his own distillery.  All of the whiskeys (apart from the grain) we drank were blended – originally looked down on by whiskey aficionados, it is now being appreciated for the complexity it can offer. We sipped, and allowed the first taste to singe our tongues while they accustomed to the strong liquor. The second sip was smooth as you like and each whiskey tasted more delicious than the last. Portions were very generous.

By the time it came to making a cocktail, I had drunk ALL the whiskey (through the ingenious move of taking along a friend who didn’t really like it) so even though I’ve had a few cocktail making sessions in the past I chose to make an easy one that didn’t involve anything but stirring. That was a little sweet for my liking, having green tea as an ingredient but still drinkable. My friend and I still had one more cocktail on the list to make up our full complement so we retired to our table cluttered with about five different cocktails to finish them off at a leisurely pace.

I love whiskey so this was a nigh-on perfect evening for me. I would highly recommend looking out for a night where they focus on your particular poison, though it would also be a good excuse to discover something new. Even my non-whiskey loving friend appreciated some of what she drank!

TheTabl Supperclub, 20th November

The other Friday I had one of the best culinary experiences of my life. Truly unforgettable and unlike anything I have had the pleasure of doing before. The Tabl have recently launched – they are offering a bespoke supper club service – helping people host their own, finding venues, even helping with recipes. And to celebrate this they put on one hell of a meal to which I was invited.

Collaborating with Charles Spence who has worked with Heston in the past (creating that famous sounds of the sea dish) and Jesse Dunford-Wood who runs Parlour in Kensal Rise, they put together a feast that was not only delicious and entertaining but an education in eating. We didn’t know what we were going to eat until it arrived in front of us (or the method by which we would eat it) and we weren’t told how many courses would be coming our way. In total there were nine I would say, but this does not include the little bursts of experimentation we also participated in.

It started immediately – one fork had woven through its tines a strip of paper. We were asked to place this in our mouths and then asked what we tasted. It seemed it had been soaked in chemicals to me – not very pleasant at all. But others said they couldn’t taste a damn thing – it just tasted of paper. But every strip was the same and this is how they determine ‘non-tasters’ and ‘super tasters’. I think I was somewhere in the middle.

Jelly beans were then passed around and we were invited to take one. But we had to eat it holding our noses. What could we taste? Nothing but sweetness as it turned out. Then we unplugged our noses and the taste flooded in! Going to prove how vital your sense of smell is to your dining experience.

A few other experiments took place – how pleasant we found eating with fingers, or being fed – was it sensual, or sexual, or a turn off? This probably rather depended on who you were sitting next to and what utensil you had been fed with. I was lucky and was spooned some seabass on a normal silver tablespoon by the girl to my right, whereas I had to feed the man on my left with a big soup ladle – much less erotic. When having to eat asparagus with our fingers did we enjoy it or find it slimy? And what about feeding your neighbour a parsnip? Intimate? Too much so?

And all the while food kept coming. We had 'McTucky's' popcorn chicken, chestnut hummus with rosemary pitta bread, raw sea bream with citrus fruits and olive oil, duck liver pate with figs, honey and yesterday's bread, raw vegetable ravioli (pickled veg) with goats' cheese, 'back door' smoked salmon, crispy smoked salmon skin and salmon caviar, blue cheese custard with hazelnuts and marmiteless twiglets. These were served in egg shells and were so rich and cheesy (yet not overpoweringly blue) - amazing. 

Finally we got to the main course and a dish of cabbage was set in front of me. Just cabbage. Next to me, the guy had a small swirl of mashed potato. But to my left was an amazing looking dish of sea bass! And then someone got an actual globe of chicken kiev! this wasn't fair! Luckily it was just another experiment and before long we were all sharing out our dishes. The cow pie that was placed in the middle of the table was more than impressive but the chicken kiev got my vote as the best dish. 

One final experiment came just before dessert when a little dish was placed before us, with lemon juice and a wedge of lime. In the dish was half a pill. We were asked to dip our fingers in the juice and taste it. Sour as you would expect from lemon juice. Then we were instructed to place the half pill in our mouths and chew – not simply swallow it. We tasted the juice again. It now tasted sweet! It was like drinking sugary sherbet! The same of the lime! Unbelievable!.  Unfortunately it had the same effect on the lovely red wine we’d been drinking which was now like having a huge glass of very sweet port.

The piece de resistance of the meal had to be the dessert. Headphones were handed out and a sheet of kitchen foil rolled out along the table. As Flight of the Bumblebee played in our heads, the chefs raced around creating a tapestry of desserts – swipes of chocolate sauce here, blobs of caramel there. A macaroon placed here, a Souffle over there. The tableau of dreams was built up before our very eyes – eyes which were now the size of saucers at all the different desserts being placed before us. A giant wagon wheel was created, there was cake, there was a queen of puddings, a chocolate ‘black pudding’ a chocolate tart. It was amazing. The music stopped, we handed back the headphones and then we plunged into the spread before us. It reminded me of the scene where the kids are let loose in Willy Wonka’s factory – not knowing where to start, wanting to try everything – a spoon went into the soufflé, a finger swiped up a bit of cream. Even that description I do not think does justice to what we were treated to and the joy we had eating it. Absolutely hats off to all involved for creating a truly magical event.