187 Marsh Wall,
Canary Wharf,
London,
E14 9SH
0871 971 6005
The ViewLondon Review
Majingos is an art-deco themed lapdancing club near Canary Wharf. It’s never too busy, there are plenty of provocative dancers, and it is open until 3am; however, expect a level of seediness that doesn’t come with some of its higher profile competition.The VenueMajingos is hidden in a somewhat hard to find spot above the Waterfront Bar on Marsh Wall. Strangely enough, there are no signs to the venue, no advertising outside the building and no club logo, which is rather odd. To find the place, look out for the Waterfront, and ask the bouncers on the door. You should then be directed up a gleaming set of stairs, after a serious frisk.
The bar here is completely art deco and coloured in light cream and brown. The pole dancing stage area is positioned in the middle of the venue whilst the bar overlooks the goings on from the far corner. Don’t worry about getting up here to order your drinks if the venue gets crowded; they have table service. Only gentlemen paying for private dances by card will have to make the trip - sensible men should bring wads of crisp tens and twenties, obviously.
The DJ booth is hidden in the dimly lit, back area of the venue, behind most of the seating and the bar. This is next to a specially arranged lap dance seating area, lavishly furnished with faux-leather seats, verdant plastic plants and garish fibre optic mood lighting.
The AtmosphereInside Majingos, expect a group of approximately 25 highly flirtatious but friendly, attractive girls, who will each almost certainly try to chat you up before you leave. Things don’t get busy here until way after midnight, and only noticeably so on Thursday and Friday nights. The club is closed on Saturday and Sunday when Canary Wharf becomes a ghost town. When it does get crowded, expect large groups of bankers, brokers and brown-nosers from nearby city firms, who have a reputation for bringing clients here when they want to impress them.
The MusicThe DJ, plays a mix of RnB, hip hop, pop, American rock and 80’s music throughout the night and attempts to introduce each dancer to the stage upon arrival. Unfortunately, the club’s poor acoustics, mid-rate sound system and wedding-style DJ mean these announcements become irritating, muffled nuisances, wedged in between annoying toe-tapping chart tracks. Thankfully the dancers are good looking enough make up for the music, which they themselves seem to enjoy.
The DrinkMajingos serves a selection of gangster-meets-city banker style beverages, including pink and clear champagne (from £77 a bottle), red and white wine (from £35 a bottle), cocktails (professionally made, but expensively priced at about £10) and beer (Becks or Carlsberg on tap, served in a vase-like plumed glass and rather foamier than it should be). All drinks orders are taken at your table and served quickly and efficiently by skimpily outfitted waitresses (who are themselves unavailable for private dances).
The Last WordIt’s easy to spend an expensive night at Majingos and leave with little to show for it! One of the only late night bars in the area, the club is popular on certain nights but almost deserted on others. It’s not a bad place, but dodgy enough to do little to convince you to make a return visit.