Bunga Bunga, Battersea: 18/20*

Location:  37 Battersea Bridge Road   

Website: www.bungabunga-london.com 

Visit: Many Friday evenings, rarely sober

To Note? Downstairs is the restaurant and bar, upstairs is the nightclub. Big Rich the bouncer is awesome, the female hosts are less so. Look out for their brunch

Score

Ambiance 5/5

Design 5/5

Drinks 4/5

Staff 4/5

Extra LBS star: * for the sheer outrageousness 

Girls dressed like Gaddafi dancing on the bar on a Friday night. Then girls dressed in corsets dancing round the bar. I'm not sure why this surprised me in a place called Bunga Bunga. Perhaps its because on past visits the tables and chairs were removed at a certain time of night specifically to discourage table dancing...by the customers. 

Eurovision Room

So that gives you an idea of my past visits, mainly post dinner party alcohol fuelled trips upstairs to the "Eurovision" room to dance like the almost 30 year olds that we are; and we love it, especially as the kids have not yet ventured in. The crowd is rather post work suits but up for a laugh. 

So it came as a surprise that I was in Bunga Bunga, sober, on a Friday evening and browsing the cocktail menu. As our outrageously good looking barmen dressed as a gondalier approached we both presumed this man was hired for his "talent" rather than bar skills; how wrong I was. 

I declared that only whisky would do considering the day, week, month I had had and he pulled out a parma ham infused Woodford Reserve cocktail with lapsang souchong syrup; it was really good. My friend's B.A.N.G went down so well we went in for another round. I had a Regalo di Tersigni and my friend took the suggestion offered of an "Italian" job. Again, sticky glasses due to an overeager barman with icing sugar but well crafted. We were also provided with a small pot of very fine parmigiana to nibble on. 

Bunga Bunga ground floor

And perhaps most importantly in between all this we were moved to the end of the bar and treated to four dancing girls every 30 minutes dancing with progressively less clothes and come the end, small fireworks and accompanied by the waiting staff. Interesting. The closest my friend has ever come to a strip club. Frankly thoroughly recommended to lift the mood after a dreadful week at work because you help but smile at this tomfoolery even if the girls looked less than delighted!

(This is also a karaoke bar and a pizzeria which has a lot of praise for its food, toilets play Italian lessons, staff wear lewd aprons and your cocktail may come in Berlosconi's head, or the leaning tower of Pisa, or...you get the idea)