Nestled In a small corner just off Farringdon Road is The Piano Works, the answer to a classier night of food, fun and inebriation.
With a live band, conspicuous yet cosy dining area and an impressive array of cocktails leaving even the most picky of tipple-choosers spoilt for choice, The Piano Works is the ideal venue for a girls night, date location or somewhere a little different for after work drinks.
As you head down the stairs to the basement, it feels quite night-clubby, and entering at 7pm on a Friday, it feels like a rather premature night out. All is forgotten however once you reach the room. The atmosphere even at early evening is electric and all concept of time is wiped right out the window.
Lighting is dim, music plays and there is a real buzz about the place. A waitress leads us to our table in a hidden dining around slightly round the back. It’s hidden enough to feel a bit exclusive but still close enough to the live action to immerse yourself in the evening.The menu is relatively simple, covering enough choice to satisfy without being unnecessarily chockablock with options. My partner settles for king prawns and steak and I opt for bruschetta.
Whilst we wait, we order cocktails, me a wonderfully girly rose and raspberry cosmopolitan and him an “old fashioned” (Woodford reserve whiskey, orange and mint infused sugar and orange bitters.) Both are delicious and worth the small wait for them to arrive.
Our starters take about 20 minutes and Mark proudly declares the prawns as the best he’s ever had. The bruschetta is equally as flavoursome and with both dishes, everything down to the last crumb is utterly divine.
Whilst we eat, the sounds of live music fills the air and by 8.30pm the venue is packed with swaying bodies- busier than I would have thought for this time- and it becomes clear this is a venue not to end the night, but to spend the entire thing.
It’s look is slightly reminiscent of a club, but the feel and intent entirely different, it’s a refreshing breath of fresh air and fills a real niche in the market.
Napkins on the table prompt you to choose a song for the band to play- another highlight. The band plays only requested songs the whole night, and if they don’t know a song and that particular tune is requested 3 or more times they have to learn it by the end of the evening.
The song choices are varied and vast- From Blink 182 to Celine Dion (cue a dance floor swaying with bodies adopting the famous “jack and rose pose”) it is fantastically fun and no matter if you are down in the thick of the action or relaxing by the bar it’s hard not to feel a part of something special.
We requested a couple of songs whilst waiting for the mains and as a beautiful rendition of Paolo Nuitini “last request” plays, our food arrives.
Again, cooked to perfection and accompanied by a second set of cocktails the evening is really starting to set it now.
Food is served until 9pm when the dining area is cleared to make way for an additional section of dance floor and so dessert is ordered swiftly. The raspberry cheesecake is light and fluffy and chocolate Brazilian lime sorbet a real treat to round off the dining experience. There is only a small choice for sweets but what there is are cooked to perfection.Once the plates are scraped clean we head down to the dance floor.
It’s packed by this point, but comfortably so. It’s not difficult to squeeze to the front and the piano is covered in napkins of requests (I realize my song choice mightn’t get seen for a while!) the band are excellent and really get the crowd involved. The simple concept of the audience choosing the songs is a great one. Everyone is involved, waiting for their choice and screams of delight are often heard as old forgotten classics are played, chart hits reworked and new music discovered.
This is a special venue and one which would be hard to forget in a hurry. Charming yet buzzing, classier than your regular club or dancing venue yet in no way pretentious, this is a venue for everybody. It’s somewhere you can go and feel safe in the knowledge you will have a good time. For a full-on meal or somewhere for a few drinks and to get lost in the musical magic it suits all occasions.
