The Voodoo Rooms

Competitively priced bistro staples in a live music-driven, eccentrically blinged-up period setting.

The 2018/19 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £7.95 (+p&p).

Raising your voice over the music might not appeal to all diners, but the energising beat of live blues and rock'n'roll from the gig next door epitomises what this artsy, gothic venue is all about. The cocktail offering follows in the same spirit. A repertoire rife with imaginative descriptions and mysterious ingredients, often dipping into that impressive back bar of over 60 rums and tequilas, there's – unsurprisingly – not a Cosmo in sight. Food takes more of a backseat. Thai hot and sour soup seems to have stumbled onto the menu by accident, while a purist might argue that, despite being satisfying, fennel and mushroom-crusted pork fillet does not belong on a bed of goat's cheese ravioli. Popping candy adds a playful element to the indulgent dark chocolate ganache, but lemon thyme set cream with peaches evokes memories of grandma’s blancmange. But whether it's for some posh pre-gig grub or an after work bevvy, you can't help but sit back in the padded leather booths and marvel at the ornate black and gold Victorian ceiling.