Nice place, Horrible people
07 Feb 08, 13:07
Well below expectations
I've never had a night in London as bad as this one. My friend had arranged his Birthday celebrations here and even sorted and agreed a guestlist at this venue. About 50 people who turned up first got in, the other odd 100 were forced to que in the cold outside dressed in suits and cocktail dresses. Whatever could happen next? Along come random girls in short skirts, and a little bit of flirt is all it took to get through the door man. I would have tried, but he wasn't my type lol. Seriously, they then began to "randomly" split the ques up to either side of the club and surprise, surprise, everyone could see that we were being segregated! I know it sounds so stupid, but I almost couldn't beleive it with my own eyes. In fact, my own mates who happened to be white were put in a different que which was slowly being fed through into the club whilst everyone who had black/asian origin was left on the other side. Eventually after approx an hour of freezing my ass off, some little lady came out and said that the club was at capacity. We gave them a piece of our mind and I couldn't fathom how this was happening in an upmarket area of London in the 21st Century. I have never had such an experience in my life, and what is sad is Mahiki IS a nice venue as I had been there before and loved it. But the second time proved the bouncers and management's true colours. Definitely a slap on the face! Anyway, there's so many better upmarket bars/clubs that Mahikis off my list doesn't warrant any sleep lost on my part.
Cathrine M.
Soho
6 reviews
Non-members' bars
13 May 07, 16:02
Above expectations
Your name's not on the list. It doesn't have to be. The death knell for nylon-jacketed, clipboard-wielding, power-hungry door Nazis may finally have been sounded with the emergence of the non-members' bar. Mahiki takes every preconception about traditional members' bars and subverts it. There are no dress codes (except for the staff, who sport Hawaiian shirts), no wood-panelled rooms (think bamboo-lined walls and kitch décor), no racks of fine wine and Cognac (the Piña Coladas are served in pineapples - yes, they actually serve Piña Coladas) and most importantly, there are no egos. With its Seventies-retro feel, Mahiki is a refreshing dose of fun - treading the line between unpretentious nightspot and hen-party-theme-destination-from-hell with dexterity.
