After wowing the loaded residents of Westbourne Grove with their take on a Barcelona pintxo bar, the owners of Pix have moved into the heart of Covent Garden for their second site. And if you want to party on a street otherwise dominated by shoe and clothes shops, in the company of a good-looking, metrosexual crowd, then Pix continues to deliver.

The Venue
You don’t expect to find a venue like this next to Office on pedestrianised Neal Street. Wide-eyed tourists are certainly bewildered to hear the thumping mix of tunes and raucous laughter coming out of Pix but the clued-up ones are already getting in on the action. Inside it’s a long, skinny space with high stools and ledges around the edges and a compact bar on the left-hand-side. Further down it sinks via a couple of steps into a back area with exposed brick work and a luminous red Pix sign attached to the wall.

The Atmosphere
Come the end of the working day, a creative industries crowd are visibly in party mode at Pix. Another big selling point for the venue is that it’s a magnet for girls, and guys are heavily outnumbered. The guys behind the bar certainly aren’t complaining and they’re no ordinary bar tenders – these guys like to party. From dancing along to the party tunes to taking care of everyone in the room with the utmost care, you’ll leave wondering why all service can’t be done with such verve.

The Food
For the uninitiated, pintxo is like tapas but each dish is skewered on a cocktail stick and displayed on plates at the bar for you to help yourself. After your sitting you pay for however many sticks of food you’ve consumed – simple. Food is generally very good. The best advice is to eat when the food is brought from the kitchen to the bar, this way you get the hottest, freshest stuff, without it wilting under the lights. Highlights include: a wedge of garlicky chorizo with Manzano cheese; fried chicken breast with a minty yogurt sauce; slivers of salty Serrano ham served on crusty white bread with a miniature fried egg; and a contorted churras (deep-fried pastry) with a sticky chocolate sauce. Each stick costs £2.50, with some proving better value than others, but you can also get 3 for £5 through a special offer.

The Drink
Bottles of wine, particularly rose and sparkling, are popped at an impressive rate at the bar. A blackboard displays specials and bottles start from around £14. Cocktails are another speciality. Freud has long been the best spot for cocktails around here, but the Bagati Badboy (£7.50), a luscious, refreshing mix of Mount Gay rum and orange and pineapple juice, with a squeeze of lemon, is a drink that compares favourably with the mighty Freud.

The Last Word
A riotous pintxo-serving, cork-popping bar on Neal Street, Pix is the sort of place you dream of finding as a tourist and simply have to try as a Londoner.

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