A Witness to an enjoyable reunion with some very old old friends

Location : 1 Chicheley Street, London SE1 7PY, England (Southbank)

Being in London, that too when FIFA World Cup was going on in full swing – what would you expect at all the outlets – crowd, crowd, crazy crowd, noise, noise and more noise. So what does a non Football crazy person like me do…. I had done my share of Football craziness last night, what I was looking at was a slightly slower atmosphere, less charged, I needed to recollect my thoughts and prepare myself. And yes most importantly when you are meeting friends after 18 long years, the same friends you had taken the first international trip, you would have a lot to catch up.

While roaming around the London Eye at Waterloo Pier – saw this joint, found it a peaceful haven, the football craziness was outside the door but inside it was quiet calm. The atmosphere was not at all intimidating. They have ample space and are decently lit.  The team was young and enthusiastic and all ready to help.  We ordered beers and a Cold Coffee (the team was nice enough to let me experiment with my cold coffee as they don’t serve a regular cold coffee, so we did some experiment). I was hungry and I was suggested to eat something (as they have an extensive food menu), the doubting Dave in me was still apprehensive, so played safe ordered a bucket of Fries with smoked paprika and saffron aioli.

Everything came with a smile. I loved the fact that we were not being rushed, not being disturbed by noisy crazy fans.

Our first round of drinks was followed by cocktails and alcohol free cocktails (yes that’s what they were being called). We were able to do a lot’s of catching up and also could make some new friends (with the team)

We came back again the next evening too – after all one needed a slightly less charged atmosphere when England was playing with Belgium in Group rounds and when finally they lost. The services the food quality everything was decent (probably the atmosphere with some new friends made it more enjoyable)

All BAR One is pocket friendly too. Enjoyed the experience.