Saturday 18 April 2009

Mahiki tiki tavi

Mahiki in Mayfair seems to have become famous on the back of a certain pair of royal brothers, which is normally enough to put off a die hard republican (note the small 'r') like me. Fortunately the bar has a lot more to offer then wealthy toffs in polo shirts and baseball caps. Anyway, I hear they now go raving 'out East' nowadays. Friday night and a motley crew of commoners that included Heavy D, the Engineer, the Northerner, Texas Embassy girl and l headed out to Mahiki to celebrate the Quiff's birthday. 
The last time I had been there was to celebrate my own coming of age a year or so back and was pleased to see that all the elements that make it a great bar were still in place. Wonderfully mixed, high quality cocktails. Check. Classic seventies and eighties pop. Check. Bar staff dressed as extras from Hawaii 5 0. Check. 
We settled into one of the many upstairs booths and started attacking the cocktail menu. The Northerner and the Quiff got intimate with something Dark and Stormy, I got off with a Honolulu Honey, and Texas and the Engineer struck a rapport with the vodka based Fa'aene's. Heavy D drank beer. Crazy dude that he is.
The Quiff and Texas Embassy were heading out to dinner, so we said our farewells and after a few more sharpeners headed downstairs to carve up the dance floor. Well the Northerner did whilst the rest of us shuffled from side to side and tried not to look like minicab drivers. 
The places was rammed with gangs of pretty young things busting moves to a great DJ set that included the Clash, Abba, David Bowie, Wham and even some seventies Elvis. Too cool for school this place.  Eton and Harrow were obviously still on Easter break judging by the Prince Harry wannabes bouncing around, but they were harmless enough. Although I'll never quite get that turned up polo shirt collar look. 
The cocktails meanwhile were having the desired effect of getting everyone singing along to the likes of Spandau Ballet and Michael Jackson while the dance floor got cosy bordering on intimate. Which suited the boys just fine.
The Northerner and I finally hit the wall - literally at one stage in my case - around 1amish leaving the boys to try with what seemed like misplaced optimism, to chat up the Kate Middelton and Paris Hilton lookalikes that were leaping all over the dance floor. No doubt the reports will come in soon enough.
Now to find some berocca and maybe think about having a Bloody Mary. 




No comments:

Post a Comment