25 Newman Street,
Fitzrovia,
London,
W1T 1PN
0872 148 2989
The ViewLondon Review
Thought there was no such thing as an original idea in barland? Think again.
Nordic claims to be the first ever Scandinavian bar in London, however unlikely that may sound. Though I’ve never travelled in that part of the world I’ve known a few Scandinavians in my time, and I have to say they’re pretty cool people – energetic, creative, down-to-earth, and patriotic in the most endearing way possible. If Nordic managed to reflect those qualities, I thought, it couldn’t go far wrong.
The visual style is not so much pared-down Ikea ‘good taste’ but craggy eccentricity. There’s an industrial roughness to the scheme - dark stained wood, white walls, a distressed concrete floor covered in peeling blood-red paint.
That isn’t the whole story, though – as you’d expect, there are touches of whimsical weirdness that detract from the hardcore furnishings. I adored the light-fittings – bulbs framed in glass cases, filtered by pastel-coloured plastic sheets. They cast jewel-coloured glows across the walls in a very northern lights sort of way, and don’t disturb the pleasing underground dimness.
You could argue that Scandinavia is just a bit too big to base a bar on, and therefore Nordic suffers a bit from an over-eclectic accessory collection – large pictures of reindeer, discoballs, ABBA posters, vodka-drinking instructions, holiday brochures for a bewildering array of destinations.
This bar isn’t just trying to sell itself; it’s selling a fairly large section of the globe too, which is perhaps a trifle ambitious. But it also means there’s a lot to look at, which is always nice.
I personally found it all excellent fun; and the multi-national thing definitely adds interest to the menu, which ranges from smoked reindeer to Jarlsberg sandwiches.
Intrigued? You should be. At the very least, the mere fact that Nordic’s doing something new should get your curiosity going. More than that, though, it’s got a great combination of advantages: style, inventiveness, plenty of vodka and a wacky Scandinavian atmosphere – now why didn’t anyone think of that before?
Nordic has been reviewed by 13 users