85 Charterhouse Street,
Smithfield,
London,
EC1M 6HJ
(020) 7253 8941
The ViewLondon Review
The doors of Raduno are flung open to let everybody gawp at the C-list grinding within this stylised light box of a lounge club.
The Venue
Raduno is located a short walk from Farringdon tube station, directly opposite Smithfield’s market. It first appeals with its airy spaciousness that virtually pulls you in. Once inside, however, the futuristic bar by numbers is just another page out of the generic book of bar decor.
The large boxes of light that are mounted on two walls combine with the rest of the bright bulbs to get in your face and during the day they seem to enforce that this really isn’t a place to be visited before dusk. The bar itself is a smart and shiny block at the back of the relatively small space and it’s the venue's most attractive feature. The seating is a mixture of high and low choices that are dominated by cubic stools covered in brown leather.
The other floors follow a similar pattern but at least up above the lights are low and (hopefully) packed full of people to create the atmosphere that the aesthetics fail with. Overall, the look is too tied up in the bubble of the early noughties chic cocktail bar and lacks individuality.
The Atmosphere
Men in linen trousers, Birkenstocks, oversized sunglasses and Boom Boom Pow on the sound system. If this sounds good to you then you’ll love the feel of Raduno in the evening. You could totally imagine it getting scouted as a club location for some C-list actors to shake their booties in honour of next summer’s biggest blockbuster, Really Fast Really Furious 5 or some other wild franchise.
Right now though, the people who attend appear relaxed and seem to enjoy the synthy sounds inside although, to be fair, in the club room upstairs the mix of tunes is more impressive than below. The clientele is definitely a mixture of media types from the area and groups that hit Farringdon at night, especially at the weekend.
The Food
The menu at Raduno is a sharp collection of interesting concoctions. Crispy calamari, chicken satay and chorizo, olive oil and bread are inexpensive starters at £3.50 each, whilst all main meals are under £10. These include a selection of gourmet burgers that come with chunky chips, the Smithfield steak sandwich and traditional fish and chips.
The Drink
There is a range of drinks to appeal to the kind of crowd that attend, so only having a few bottles of wine on the menu isn’t a problem. Prices are good and you’ll pay £12 for a bottle of house white or red or £3.50 by the glass. Bar staff prepare a number of classic cocktails including Mojitos, Cosmopolitans and Mai Tais and there is also a small Martini list. The beers on draught are Kronenbourg and San Miguel and if these don’t take your fancy there are bottled beverages, too.
The Last Word
Although Raduno may not be the most interesting ‘classy lounge bar-club’ hybrid, it does fit a lot into its space and it’s not a bad option if Fabric’s queue is just too long.
Raduno has been reviewed by 4 users