Zingara

Last night after an amazing trip to the Greenwich Union (see my previous review) I met up with my best pal from my childhood to celebrate his birthday with a little bit of food and some drinks .
As we went on a Monday night it was absolutely dead inside there was just our table (around 10 people) and two members of staff, Although I had eaten earlier I was still hungry! When I arrived I went straight for the menu, which I have to compliment as it was very comprehensive with about 4 pages of cocktails and quite an extensive range of beers (quite hard to find decent beers in bexleyheath so points there for Zingara) so first off I ordered an Estrella and I asked for the bartender to come to the table as they offered their own type of ice tea but I hat wanted a stirred ordinary Long Island which he was more than happy to do and seemed to really want to engage in conversation about some drinks offering his recommendations (I have to be honest a he seemed rather over-​qualified to work there) I then went on to order an appetiser of fried calamari and a main of paella. I was just leaving my seat to go for a cigarette when the waitress came over to inform me that they were out of Estrella … I wasn’t to bothered I understood as it was a Monday so maybe they were hit hard over the weekend as Estrella probably is the most popular beer they have to offer so I asked for her to surprise me with any other «decent» beer they had.
So I’m outside in their smoking area, unlike most bars of this style their smoking area is out front but it’s not in a bad location and who doesn’t love a little bit of people watching. The whole area is fitted with powerful electric heaters and in the middle of the wall connecting to the inside there is a fire covered by a glass screen which maintains heat brilliantly, although I was bemused by their use of half of a bathtub with a cushion fitted inside as a sort of sofa and a tombstone as a table but it was different, which is always good.
When returning from my smoke I was greeted by a ¹⁰⁄₁₀ quality Long Island ice tea, a beer named «modelo» and a friendly bartender who seemed rather proud of his work. Shortly after sitting down a waitress brought over our appetisers. I was a little disappointed by my plate of around 5 fried calamari I’ve never seen a portion so small but I assumed the taste would make up for it… But it didn’t. They tasted suspiciously of «brakes» or «3663» style food so I was very disappointed as far as starters were concerned. From this point I’m gonna jump straight ahead to the mains … 8 dishes were brought out so myself and my friends sister were left without a plate in front of us which we questioned. The waitress came over to inform us that my friends sister’s food was coming but what was much worse was that she had to admit to me that she forgot to even order my food and that if I still wanted the paella it would take 45 minutes so I settled for a Tennessee burger instead. The bartender brought over a small bowl of about 8 complimentary chips to make up for this mistake which to be honest really wasn’t a make up gesture at all as most places wouldn’t charge for the replacement meal or offer an entire complimentary round of drinks for the whole group but instead I was offered a tiny handful of chips. When the burger arrived it was very mediocre jut a standard wetherspoons style burger, there’s not really much to say about the burger other than that as with most «spoons» style food it was pretty tasteless and dry.
All in all the venue is brilliant and wonderfully decorated, but I have to be honest and recommend that they stick to being just a bar offering just a small snack menu or something containing just simple bar food such as olives etc. I would definitely go back but only for drinks and the scenery.
Sorry there are no pics but to be honest it was very dark inside and my phone battery was low as I had been out for the entire day.

Thought we would pop in for a few cocktails over the bank holiday weekend. The bar staff were friendly and helpful the drinks were good and the music amazing. We had a great time and will defiantly be returning ;)

Happy Birthday to meeee…
So this was the choice of venue for my 23^rd birthday. It was a joint event with two others so we needed somewhere central to everyone, with semi-​decent prices (enough to make you feel like it was a special occasion but not so pricey that you’d be stuck with water and the bread basket) and a menu and drinks to cater for multiple different tastes. We also needed somewhere crucially big enough. Zingara delivered on all accounts.
We were given a few tables next to the bar to wait at while the rest of our party arrived and an extensive cocktail menu to peruse (all good, all strong, all cheap if you go on a Thursday like we did where it’s 2 for 1). Once the majority of us had arrived, we were shown to a HUGE table with plush sofas and cushion backed chairs. More cocktails were ordered at this point.
Then the menus came and boy, this place has a selection. You can get everything from burgers to sirloin steak to Thai green muscles and it’s all good. Believe me, we all tried everything we could get our hands on. Dishes do range from £4.95 for an appetizer to £19.95 for fillet steak but they have deals like 3 appetizers for £13.95, etc.
It’s a smart kind of place so guys, wear shoes and girls, it’s a low lit environment with loads of seats so throw on the heels and glitter. This one’s a winner.

I’ve been here both to eat and just to have a drink. Both times I was very happy with the service we received (the staff are very attentive) and the quality of the food /​drinks.
The downside to this place without a doubt is the price… It’s very expensive for everything from drinks to food, this isn’t the sort of place you can come of a cheap night out.
An important note is that you are required to wear shoes if you come here in the evenings for the bar.
When I came the security presence was very high, there were three guys on a Thursday night which felt like overkill.
I must say that it’s probably one of the better places to drink in Bexleyheath though!