Kamique

Some people say that the area of Covent Garden with boundaries of St. Martin’s Lane, Charing Cross Road and Long Acre is something of a nightlife Bermuda Triangle. A place where nights are lost in amongst a blur of chart pop, sugary cocktails and surface level bling. We’d probably agree… if anyone really did say that.

Kamique is located slap bang in the middle of this strange area. Geared up for fun on a Thursday night, we’re visiting for cocktails and sharing platters. The interior of the bar-cum-club is exactly what you’d expect of a venue lingering on the edge of Leicester Square. Shiny lights, lounge like areas and haphazard, makeshift dance floors all over the place. Spacious yet packed on this occasion, we take a seat in the Red Room at the back. Now, the Red Room is alone and apart, a dining area of impressive sultriness. Covered in red velvet – including the ceiling – it’s a veritable love tunnel.

We share two of Kamique’s sharing platters, large plates that come piled with fried treats – if you don’t like ‘brown food’, look away now. Perfect for bar snacking, there is calamari, sweet potato fries, hoisin duck rolls, fried Camembert, deep-fried battered prawns, chicken satay sticks and onion rings. Greasy? Sure, but thoroughly delicious. The only thing to cut through all that is strong liquor and the cocktail menu is long and adventurous. We try the Aperol Spritz with peach, which is almost too sweet, and we follow it with a vanilla Manhattan. Billed as one of the strongest drinks on the menu, again, it’s too sweet and the syrupy flavour only detracts from the drink. The Kamique Old Fashioned is a pleasant surprise. Carefully prepared, it’s a fine effort for such a busy bar.

All the while we’re here, we are serenaded by the hits of Will.I.Am, Rihanna and most amusingly, Gangnam Style. As stated, Kamique is your quintessential, commercial Covent Garden bar. And with some of the finest service we’ve received in a bar, we wouldn’t hesitate to head back provided we were ready for a lost night sound tracked by the bleeping dance sounds of Now That’s What I Call Chart Pop 2013.