Reviews by malkinbister

Lost Society (Bar)
23 June 2008

I've no idea what went wrong here - maybe going on a Saturday did it - but this was about as classy as a chav's picnic, and (before 8pm) so rammed we couldn't get to the bar. It looked so nice on the website. How upsetting. Shall have to tramp all the way down to Clapham again to see whether mid-week is any better.

All Star Lanes (Bar / Diner / Indoor Sports Venue)
23 June 2008

Lovely. I had birthday drinks here and the combination of ludicrous plush and gorgeous cocktails in the bar made me go all misty-eyed before I'd even had a sip. Delish.

Apartment 195 (Bar)
23 June 2008

Great for a post-shopping/pre-going out cocktail, but too bright to settle in for an evening. Cocktail list is imaginative and tasty, although focus is quite heavily on sweet ingredients. Squawking newspaper hackettes a speciality, but 195 is too far out to go to more than occasionally, so you're unlikely to be bothered by that very often.

The Hide Bar (Bar)
23 June 2008

Went there for a friend's birthday - nothing special. Standard leather seats and in-and-out bar mentality, which is fine if you're not fussed about where you're drinking but is a shame if you've trekked out. Cocktails were OK but again, nothing to say "WOO, aren't you incredibly lucky to be drinking this". Sloe gin fizz was fizzy pop, seats were McLeather, atmosphere was transient drunks...

Skylon (Restaurant)
23 June 2008

While the food here is good and reasonably priced (although the decor is a bit avocado bathroom suite), the staff are a bit crap.

I had a business lunch there last week and called for a copy of a VAT receipt a number of times. When I wasn't spoken to in a yawningly snobby fashion on the telephone, I was palmed off and forgotten about.

Have lost count of the times I've been told my fax or email was 'just coming'. Two other restaurants I asked sent me a receipt within an hour. What's Skylon's problem? Is reading and faxing so terribly, terribly hard?

The Player (Bar)
23 June 2008

Hmmm. Not really a members' bar as such (we always got in without so much as a raised eyebrow) and it's laid out more like a Wetherspoon's than a nice bar.

The one cast-iron reason for coming to The Player is to try their Fabulous Gay Wedding: hands down one of the finest cocktails in London, and not too pricey. Knock a couple of these back and then head on elsewhere. Delicious, summery and wickedly innocent-tasting.

Taylor Taylor (Hair Salon)
23 June 2008

I'd been dying to try Taylor Taylor since I first clocked it a few years ago. Having been butchered by no less than 12 big-name London salons, I was really worried about what might happen...

I needn't have been. Ricki, my stylist, was totally unflappable, polite and friendly, and gave me good advice on what would work with my hair type and the remnants of the last hair disaster.

I had two lovely cocktails, my hair was beautifully washed and I left feeling tipsy and as though my hair had been properly looked after. Can't wait till my hair grows enough to try a new style!