Lower Ground Floor,
100 Wardour Street,
Soho,
London,
W1F 0TN
0871 971 3449
Note: Calls cost 10p per min plus network extras.
The ViewLondon Review
The sort of venue Tony Montana would look quite at home in, Floridita channels a Latin American theme across its food, drink and roster of events, creating a vibrant and very credible music venue in the heart of Soho.
The Venue
Floridita shares its address with Carom, an Indian restaurant at 100 Wardour Street. Both are owned by D&D London, a group with restaurants in prime spots across the capital, including Skylon at the Southbank Centre. Floridita sits in the basement and is a bar, restaurant and club all rolled into one. It’s accessible via a central staircase that delivers you into a bar area; here you’ll spot an impressive selection of rums like Diplomatico and Havana Club, which are shaken and mixed into a range of cocktails. On the other side of the room there’s a compact stage area, a little dancefloor and dining tables with some white leather booths for groups and white-linen covered tables and swivel chairs for between two and four guests. Long and round dining tables mushroom around the expansive room to accommodate bigger groups and parties, but the best seats in the house are the ones closest to the stage.
The Atmosphere
Earlier on in the evening, Floridita has a nice buzz without getting too raucous; later on however, when the cocktails have kicked in and the main act is on, the place is heaving with revellers who take to the dance floor to bust their Strictly dance moves. Members of staff, sporting red braces and black uniforms, are everywhere you look and if you’re eating, you’ll get particularly well looked after.
The Music
On a good night, Floridita is one of the best music venues in town. Musically it’s kind of like a cross between Ronnie Scott’s and Guanabara, so along with the Cuban dancefloor grooves that soundtrack most of the evening when the live acts aren’t on, you can find the likes of Omar, Liane Carroll and many more UK luminaries. A recent gig from Omar confirmed his status as one of the best soul singers of his generation, and due to the intimacy of the stage – you’re that close you can see beads of sweat appearing on the performers’ – you might even see them jumping off stage to mingle with friends in the audience, before and after the show.
The Food
It may not be the venue’s biggest selling point but the food is more than adequate, and being able to dine while a world-class performer sings on stage is a rare treat. Again there’s a Latin American feel to the menu but it’s not exclusively so. You can start with something simple like an avocado salad (£8.95), or a more ambitious triple serving of scallops presented in their shell on a bed of salty samphire (a hefty £16.50 a pop), before moving onto mains like the slightly dry suckling pig (£19.50) with garlicky chorizo and black beans (feijoada-style), or the red snapper (£19.50) which is presented in banana leaf and is pepped up with lemongrass, lime and chilli. Prices are not cheap but they are consistent with venues where entertainment is built into the dining experience.
The Drink
Fans of rum are going to be in their element here – they have one of the biggest ranges in Europe, apparently - with a range of hard to find rums used as a base for their extensive cocktail menu (around £8-£10 each). Highlights include a Diplomatico Daiquiri, a potent and complex drink served straight up in a martini coupe and a Coconut Martini, a frothy-topped fragrant twist on the classic. Wine nudges the £25 a bottle mark, even for the cheapest tipples, but the Malbec for around £27.50 pays dividends once it opens up as it has a spicy kick and a brambly fruit flavour.
The Last Word
There aren’t many venues in town that successfully combine drinking and dining with a busy live music roster, but Floridita does. If you pick the right gig and bag a table close to the stage, good times are practically guaranteed.