The ViewLondon Review
Kisse is a smart, Continental style, welcoming late night bar.The VenueKisse means pussycat in Swedish. Which goes no way to explaining why the bar was given that name by its owners, an Iranian couple who can't quite explain the choice either. What is clear is that its success is down to the couple, Simin and Kami, and their geniality. Having lived in London for over twenty years they were rather bizarrely accused of bringing Chelsea to Battersea when they opened Kisse.
The bar operates on Continental Europe time and is a cafe for breakfast in the morning, a workers' lunch pitstop during the day and a DJ bar at night.
The AtmosphereThere is seating outside in the summer and inside the atmosphere is smart and chic with wooden floorboards and its red walls adorned with Picasso, Braque and Matisse prints. Banquettes run along the sides and the rest of the bar is furnished with contemporary, solid-looking tables and chairs and a scattering of plants. Behind the chrome bar, in the evening, tiny light bulbs reflect off double glass mirrors bouncing back hundreds of small lights. At weekends it's buzzing with the local party crowd.
The FoodThe food is substantial and unfussy, ranging from sandwiches and burgers to jacket potatoes and salads, as well as eggs florentine and omelettes. There's a slap-up all day breakfast, the club sandwich is a near-perfect example of the American classic whilst the chicken teryaki is thinly-sliced tender breast coasted in the sweet, sticky sauce.
The DrinkKisse offers a good selection of bottled beers plus Peroni and Kronenberg on tap. There are seven white, seven red wines and three roses to choose from and the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo as a house red is a sound choice. If you don't fancy alcohol, classic ice cream milkshakes are a good bet. At night, champagne cocktails and Kisse specials are the drinks of choice and include Kisse Baby comprising of fruit vodka with Galliano and Jungle Bird, a combination of campari, rum and pineapple.
The Last WordThis stretch of Lavender Hill has come forward in leaps and bounds and now boasts some of the best bars in South London. With its cosmopolitan class and all-encompassing and laid-back approach, Kisse is certainly one of them.