Crazy Bear Bar
Address 26-28 Whitfield Street, W1T 2RG
Tel 020 7631 0088
Email enquiries@crazybear-london.co.uk
Price £29.00 Wine £14.50 Champagne £37.50
Opening Hours Mon-Sat 12N-11pm (Sat 6pm- )
The ‘amazing’ Crazy Bear Bar, with its sunken service area, ponyskin stools & sexy leather booths, is a bit of a find in this otherwise slightly staid neighbourhood. The drinks are well made & interesting, with a slant towards Oriental flavours, while the staff are ‘excellent’ & ‘attentive’. And the excitement isn’t just confined to the room – the loos are ‘seriously funky’ too. branch of an Oxfordshire gastropub with rooms, this elegant restaurant offers modern Thai cuisine with Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese influences. The somewhat awkward ground-floor layout combines a sleek ecclesiastical style with art deco. Padded monochrome seating surrounds tables that are too small, and design quirks include oversized menus and long cutlery designed to double up as chopsticks. The ambitious menu takes risks with the likes of rich, tender slow pot roast of ox cheek with Thai lettuce, coriander and spring onions. A beautifully smoky, seared charolais beef salad was enlivened with the colours and flavours of cherry tomatoes, cucumber, mint, chilli and lime. Vegetable massaman curry had a depth of flavour that you would be hard pushed to find in a more traditional Thai restaurant. Our only complaint is variable service: on the whole, staff were friendly, but they were also over-attentive, sometimes slow and occasionally brusque. The glamorous lounge bar in the basement is one of the most beautiful in London, and don’t neglect the smoke-and-mirror loos, almost a destination in their own right.
There are well-kept cigars & high-end Champagnes for those that want them. The only drawback is that the bar’s reputation has travelled fast & getting a seat isn’t as easy as it used to be. This London offshoot of the celebrated Crazy Bear in Oxfordshire is seriously stylish; black and white leather seating, brushed steel lamps, shiny dark wood tables and cutlery with attitude. This is combined with the chatter of bon viveurs to create a most convivial atmosphere. The Oriental dishes are well executed; the tempura is very good, as is the steamed red snapper, stir fried tofu, and roast duck breast marinated in a tamarind and crispy shallot sauce. Dessert of Thai assiette - sticky coconut rice with an exotic fruit kebab and guava sorbet is delicious. Thai flavours continue in the buzzing bar downstairs where Thai Martinis (Bombay Sapphire, Grappa, lemongrass syrup, lychee pure) are sipped under red leather padded alcoves and art deco chandeliers. Ten plate tasting menu for six costs £30.

source: http://www.thisislondontown.com/crazy-bear-bar-london.html

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