102-108 Clerkenwell Road,
Clerkenwell,
London,
EC1M 5SA
0871 971 3992
The ViewLondon Review
Make that a Mousaka with Tzaziki and Houmous to start, please. Hang on, no - this east London venue two minutes from Farringdon tube, isn't the no-frills Greek restaurant its exterior suggests, but in fact a two-floored bar and club.
Upstairs, a moderately modish medium-sized lounge offers multi-levels alternating between cosy booths and open space, plus abstract portraits of music icons in every effort to entice.
Alarm bells start sounding in the ears of any poor barfly seeking a quiet, sophisticated drink, however, when they note the centrally-placed flatscreen TV on the wall and the panic rises when they trip over the mic lying beside it.
ZG, you see, plays happy host to unruly parties looking to shamelessly showcase their lung capacity during drink-fuelled karaoke sing-offs.
A sneaky escape route lies subtly to the left, and a small staircase winds to the basement club space. Exposed brickwork, cold large floor tiles and battered speakers balanced curiously on top of one another suggest a youth hostel where the youths have run amuck - tanking up the bar with sugary alcohol confectionary and a limited range of basic beers.
Mirrors surrounding the sizeable central dancefloor mean you can witness your own comically uncoordinated moves to the crowd over friendly hip hop and soul numbers.
The place is far from hip (come on, it has glowing stars on some bits of the ceiling), but will certainly satisfy those looking to sing loudly, dance badly and humiliate themselves amongst forgiving friends.