Family Feel - 2/5
Girls Night - 4/5
Romance - 5/5
In the heart of Camden High Street, not far from the acclaimed Bang Bang Chicken stand is Shaka Zulu! The venue is like no other in is interior, theming and design. South African inspired, it's as if you have been transported to a secret underworld built by a Zulu Tribe. An elaborate restaurant and cocktail bar by day, which transforms into a wild club by night. A short 5 minute walk from Camden Town station and a left after the Camden Lock bridge (of course stop to take a quick snap of the notorious street art sign for your Instagram story to reveal to your followers that you can do indie-hipster too), you won't miss the massive tribal structure marking the entrance.
I visited Shaka Zulu for a date night with my boyfriend of five years. Having been together this long, it's hard to find places and experience that you haven't yet tried or indeed sometimes to keep up the effort in doing so, rather than developing the tendency to opt for a more comfy, hair scraped back, trackies on kind of evening. This treat was part of his 21st birthday present and a fabulous deal it was. Virgin Experience Days offers a three course meal with champagne cocktail for two at this stunning location for just £49! Including an additional 20% discount for UNiDays students. Next birthday present for the boyfriend - check!
From the moment my heeled boot left the ground of Camden High Street and stepped onto the descending escalator enclosed by an arched tunnel of fantastically tribal carved walls, it was as if we had left London altogether. Turning the corner into the grand venue, I felt as though I was trespassing on a Zulu Kingdom. The place was lit perfectly, dim and mysterious with warmly illuminated areas by candle light (though, most probably, a very realistic, Health and Safety approved alternative). After a slight misunderstanding with the front of house lady, who seemed to believe we didn't have a booking under my first and surname until she realised the reservation had been made as my first name twice, to which she got slightly sassy about and I had to resist the urge to respond 1. How many Ella's have booked a table for 2 at 18:30 with a Virgin Experience voucher on this same evening? and 2. Who is named Ella Ella anyway please? We were then taken, by a much more approachable member of staff, down another level and to our table.
Every item complimented the theme. The bars looked as though it had been hand-crafted by knife and wood, carved animals were emerging from the walls, like a freeze-frame of an African stampede. The tables and ceilings were covered with intricate Zulu patterns and everything was in marvelous tones of orange and brown. We were presented with our voucher menus, which I was half expecting to be very simple, although to my surprise it was quite fancy indeed. We had many options, and for a foodie, all sounded rather delightful. I ordered the Vegetarian Samosa, Sea Bass and Pomegranate Cheesecake. We both had a side of chips, £5 each for a serving that resembled that of a Hamster bowl - well it would have been a small miracle if the voucher really did cover the full costs of your meal. Though I didn't mind at all once the food arrived, it was absolutely exquisite!
While awaiting our desserts, we had a glance at the cocktail menu, for the individuals who laugh at those of us who must purchase vouchers to attend such restaurants, who's Nandos is places like Shaka Zulu! The most expensive choice was that of the Monkey themed Fish-Bowl (I assume one would describe this as a Monkey-Bowl?) at £160. I was astounded by this, and my judgement of the young trio sitting behind Connor with said Monkey-Bowl to share between them, whom I had noticed when they arrived, swaggering over to their table, all in their tracksuits with headphones still firmly in ears, altered immediately.
After we had eaten the meal and feeling highly satisfied, we took to the upstairs bar to give them a chance to redeem themselves in the only lacking factor of the evening, the Champagne cocktail (which would be more fittingly defined as a small glass of Prosecco with a splash of squash). And this they did, though, for a small fortune. This bar was also perfectly themed, with wooden monkeys carved into the stools and life-size lionesses encrusted with diamantes sitting at each end. Every bottle of alcohol one could possibly imagine perfectly positioned behind the bar like a beautiful stained glass window. For an Events Management student, who was forced to study how to engage the five senses for what seemed like an extremely long term, I noticed the immersive touch of burning of incense sticks out of wooden Zulu masks upon the walls (Pine and Gilmore would have been thoroughly impressed).
We headed home after sipping down the last bit of our cocktails. Walking to the station hand-in-hand I thought, I really must visit South Africa. Overall, the evening was glamorous, tasteful, expensive and absolutely it!
Tips for this experience:
- Go to dinner at 8pm if you want your evening to run seamlessly into the club.
- Ensure your booking is reserved under your birth first and surname to avert confusing the staff.
- The woman's toilets are not on the same floor as the men's, avoid wasting 5 minutes searching the corner opposite to the men's for some sort of secret door or hidden sign.
(Visited by The Lady Critique 15th February - 18:30)
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