When it come to clubs and pubs I'm an eternal student and always will be. I like to feel comfortable with my surrounding and abhor pretentiousness clubs and bars. I would rather have a nice cosy pub where I can get a seat and chat to my friends or have fun and make a bit of a fool of myself to some cheesy music in an indie or cheese club than try to hard at a place that is up its own bottom. I've never been a real clubber preferring indie, rock and cheese clubs and could not differentiate between handbag house and happy hardcore if my life depended on it. So why was I at Cafe De Paris, an “excluisive2”venue beloved of the celebs and wannabes last Saturday night?
Cafe De Paris is very much a misnomer. Its not a pavement establishment on the banks of the Seine selling yummy pastries. Instead it is an opulent, elegant nightspot on Coventry Street, just off Piccadilly in London's West End. I had read about Cafe De Paris's heritage whilst reading a book on the Monopoly Board. Cafe De Paris was very much the place to go to in the inter war period and just after with the glitzy glamorous clientèle including the future Edward VIII, Cole Porter Princess Margaret, Orson Wells, Vivian Leigh and Liberace. It was one of the only entertainment
venues open during World war two and sadly eighty people were killed when a bomb hit the club. Only the Moulin Rouge and the Hacienda night clubs have as many credentials (I would have loved to go to the Hacienda in its prime but now its apartments like every other building with a heritage). When I was invited to a friend's birthday party at the Cafe De Paris I had to accept the invitation as I was so intrigued by the club and wanted to follow in the footsteps of the great and th good (oh and Gazza!)
Cafe De Paris is open 6pm to 3am, firstly as a restaurant then as a club. We arrived just before 11 so I can not comment on the restaurant aspect of the Cafe De Paris. There is a menu on the website and it seemed to be fairly expensive but in keeping with prices with other up market places in London's West End.
Entry is not exactly cheap. My friend had booked a guest list so it cost us £15 to get in before 11. Normally it is £20 without a guest list place or after 11. This to me is quite expensive for a club night without any extras such as a live band or any food or drink. They do have Burlesque nights where the tickets are £25 in advance and £40 on the door. This maybe better value for money due to the entertainment provided.
Dressing to impress is the key to getting into Cafe De Paris. There is a strict dress code with no sportswear allowed and it is strictly over 21st only. . Guys seemed to be in smart shirts or even in suits whilst girls seemed to be in varied states of undress. Its the type of place where the skimpier the better Is the rule. To quote a line from Cabaret (very appropriate as the Musical is set during the heyday of Cafe de Paris )“The boys are beautiful, the girls are beautiful” ) I must admit although I had put a nice summer dress on and my best shes I felt a bit chubby and dowdy half way through the night and had thoughts of what am I doing here!
The venue itself is very impressive. It reminded me of an old theatere maybe even the Muppet theatre done out in swathes of red velvet and bands of gold topped with ornate chandeliers. I really did feel like Cinderella arriving at the ball (even though I felt like Cinderella in her normal circumstances later on in the evening) The dance floor is not the biggest and there is a stage up front. Surrounding the dance floor there are private booths that retail at £500 a go. We sneakily tried to sit down at one but were soon shooed away , since we had not paid. Being the plebs that we were we had to stand up or dance the whole evening even when my feet were killing me.
I was a bit concerned beforehand about the music. As said I'm not one for dance music particularity but was more relaxed when arriving they were playing Ace of Base's “All that She wants”. The music seemed to be a bit of house, a bit of reggae, a bit of R and B with some indie numbers jazzed up thrown in near the end and even a bit of Queen! . I was pleasantly surprised by the music and found myself getting lost in it and enjoying it. It did not seem too hardcore and there certainly was no thump thump bleep bleep type of music. I'm not sure this is a true clubber's haven, although Mark Ronsn's sister was djing there the following Saturday. Cafe De Paris is a place to be seen and to pose.
There was some entertainment with dancers on the podiums either side of the stage. This provided much hilarity between my friend and I, as we made catty comments about the girls dress sense. One seemed to be wearing control style big knickers and a bikini top (did she forget her skirt?) whilst the other one was wearing her tracky bottoms with her crop top!! One thing that was pretty cool was when they played the Thunderbird's theme tune and they had fireworks and confetti streaming from the ceiling but even this was not worth the £15 entrance fee.
Dancing is thirsty work but don't be too thirsty or drink in the pub be forehand. You certainly will not get tipsy without a trust fund or a Z list celeb's contract with Heat or perhaps find a rich suitor. (None were on offer to me. The guy that tried to chat me up was not my type at all and all the nice looking blokes seemed to be dancing with their mates. Its always the way!). If I rememberer rightly soft drinks and juices were £2.50 to £3 and a vodka and cola was £8. ( I could just about buy a bottle of Smirnoff for that. How can they charge that much when the Sports Cafe down the road is charging £1 for a vodka and coke. Its ridiculous). Cocktails were £9. i hate to thinkl how much the champagne was. Proably a day's wages for me. I ordered a non alcoholic cocktail priced £5. I pointed to the one I wanted, as it was difficult to talk to the bar tender. The one I wanted was mango and passion fruit sort of tropically but I got one which was raspberry and Red Bull. Oh well at least it kept me awake and dancing through the night. I could not be bothered asking for another one so drank the one I had which was ok but a bit sweet.
I was slightly disappointed with the loos. They were not as grand as I thought they might be. They seemed to be bog standard if you excuse the pun. I've seen nicer in an Indian restaurant I have been to recently. There was a seat but the attendant (with her range of sweets, make up and perfume at a price) was unhappy with us sitting down when my friend tried to do my make up.
I must admit I did enjoy my glamorous evening at Cafe De Paris. It was an experience I will never forget. It is an impressive building and it was nice mixing with model types and city boys but I doubt I will go back. Its just not worth the £15 entrance fee and I like having somewhere to sit which is not £500 a go and drinks that I don't have to take out a mortgage on. Its back to Weatherspoons for me!
I'm giving it three stars and recommending it but only as a one off,
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Jun 7th, 2009
very helpful by (100%):
