6 Little Turnstile,
London,
WC1V 7DX
0872 148 3910
The ViewLondon Review
Some people do not agree with me when I voice the opinion that Jarvis Cocker is deeply attractive and possessed of a beguiling, if slightly sleazy allure that his NHS specs and range of knitted ties do nothing to conceal.
I would wager the municipal flower displays of five Northern mining towns on the probability that Na Zdrowie’s designers would back me all the way on Jarvis. They seem to have absorbed some of his style lessons: the retro emphasis, the mixing of different and seemingly unrelated genres, and the importance of seeing properly.
Sadly, I don’t think they have captured the essence of his charm.
Na Zdrowie is located in a tiny street next to Holborn, which you probably wouldn’t go down by accident. It is quite small and feels full quickly, but it is not terribly relaxing. While the utilitarian aspect of Mr. Cocker’s style works well on a human, it’s too sterile in a bar. Chilly grey blue walls with cold, heavy-handed lighting remind you that it is winter and that life is often grim, up North, down South, everywhere!
There were a few girls with outstandingly red lipstick and ‘asymmetrical stripes are the new black’ outfits, and they succeeded in making the small bar look slightly less like a swimming pool changing room. But, like golden leaves floating on the surface of dark puddles, they were rather outflanked by sartorial drabness that contributed to the vaguely dispiriting budget atmosphere.
In keeping with the Polish theme, there are numerous different kinds of vodka that can be mixed and matched into your very own DIY eastern bloc stomach churner, and there are some Polish beers, and that’s all quite fun. Luckily you can drink your appetite away, as the bar menu features a bizarre, misjudged preponderance of cabbage that would require me to be very hungry and very charged with vodka to consider seriously. Unlike Jarvis, whom I would consider very seriously without any alcohol at all…
Na Zdrowie has been reviewed by 5 users