On arriving at Battersea Power Station we were told to walk down a darkish little alleyway made of bamboo that would have looked great in a more lush green environment but slightly odd in the carpark for the power station...and, as instructed, walked thought the loveheart and basked in the warm glow of the giant tent's entrance. It was bloody freezing last Thursday night so the very fast-moving Q at the door was a relief.
Inside, this was awesome. And not in a west coast USA I-say-that-all-the-time kinda way...I really mean it was awesome. And warm. Did I mention what a cold night it was?! Lavish, stylish, atmospheric and instantly welcoming, this whole evening was pretty special right from the start. Click on the TENT TOUR interactive 360 to see what I mean...and that was taken in the daylight - lit for the evening it was spectacular.
There's a fantastic HISTORY about the tent that's well worth a read - though the most incredible story from the night was the 40-strong kitchen staff, including 4 head chefs, that served the 400-strong restaurant the most incredible food in a rather unbeliveably efficient and stylish manner. The South African wine was also, naturally, excellent.
The old 'strangers are just friends you haven't met yet' definately came into play with our dinner companions...
Once seated, Raymond, our table's server looked after our every need. Though this was a media invite night and we didn't know who'd be sitting at our table...it turned out that they were as up for a good fun evening as we were so we all hit it off famously.
The acrobatics, fused with incredible choreography did not disappoint - we were all ooh-ing and aah-ing much as you'd have expected but the rounds of spontaneous applause when something particularly spectacular happened were far more frequent than certainly I was expecting. It felt like you weren't given a second to breathe (in a very good way!) as the entertainment and food were seamlessly served to you.
The food…ummm, the food. Serving the most tender, medium-rare fillets to a couple of hundred people at the same time might give you shivers of the hotel wedding kind – but fear not. This was exceptional. The ONLY food complaint is that there was far too much. It was all amazing.
Sky Arts' Sinead and Sari get into the swing of things at Madame Zingara in London...
The plate of little novelties that were presented to you upon arrival included a warm soup thing in a kind of a big shooter glass that was so incredibly delicious I could have drunk it, and it alone, all night and walked away content. The South African wine they chose for the tables was very good indeed and the menu choices were superb - extremely limited, but very well thought out.
Incredible handmade pasta stuffed with mushroom for starters, the Chocolate Chilli Fillet was my choice for main…or a choice of lamb shanks (they got a thums up from those at our tabel who enjoyed them) or freshly-caught fish or a four cheese polenta stack, with the desert being a plate of 3 mini deserts…a ‘to die for’ sticky toffee pudding, a light & fluffy tiramisu and umm…something else that I can’t remember but it was delicious whatever it was…chocolate mousse methinks? My taste buds were overawed with surprise and delight by this stage and I was a bit busy watching the final act to notice what I was actually eating...it was yummie anyway, whatever it was!
The dressing-up shop is a must-visit and with prices so low that you don’t even have to think twice about it – you can quickly pick up anything from theatrical hats and feather head-dresses to novelty glasses to…if you’re so inclined…fake burlesque boobs. A must for all the men…
Then, after all the acrobatic performances and the food, somehow, the whole tent…full of cynical media types, was up on its feet, dancing to the fabulous “Original Tons” belting vocals and having an all ‘round jolly time.
There was one problem with the whole night…we didn’t pre-order a cab to get us back to our respective train stations and hailing a cab late at night in Battersea is, as we found, like panning for gold in the Thames. Be warned.
So, if you’re going to be visiting London in the next 3 months MAKE SURE you book a table at Madame Zingara for a night of full-on entertainment that you won’t forget for a long, long time. We loved it :-)
Read our PREVIEW on skyarts.co.uk
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