Match Bar

If you are looking for a decent long island ice tea in the west end — look no further. This place gets rammed to the rafters after offices let out but it is worth the wait. Drinks are well made and you can reserve a table if you want to sit down (be warned book in advance — this place is well know to locals!) you can dine her with a taste card giving you a decent discount too. A much welcome escape from the over prices ill made usual tipples around oxford circus.

My husband and I enjoyed a Gin tasting and afternoon tea class by Drinking Classes.
A decent spread of food was provided plus garnishes for our drinks and the «tutor» was informative, funny and interesting.
We had unfortunately arrived late due to trusting TFL with its journey recommendation. Must have been a glitch, but were not made to feel bad for this and were quickly included. Thank you. Thus we missed the start and the starting cocktail which is a shame.
Seemed like a nice bar. Unfortunately we only had enough time to view it from a class point of view but a hen do seemed to be having a whale of a time and a number of tables will filled with people enjoying food and drink.

Had a fab time here with a large group for after work drinks on a Friday night. They managed to accomodate us in the VIP area at very short notice. Lauren the waitress was the best and funniest waitress, managing to keep everyone happy, drinks topped up and laughing throughout the night! Cocktails were lovely, I had Porn Star Martini’s
and Strawberry Mojito’s at £8-£9 each. Great food choices for groups with veggie & meat platters for 4 – 5 people for £26 each.

Continuing in the theme of ‘it’s London Cocktail Week, so let’s go for Cocktails!’ (I’m working on a better title, honest!) I was invited to some work drinks by my wonderful friend, Amy. Last time I didn’t mention her name and got told off at this place, so AMY thank you for inviting me you’re wonderful!!!
Anyway, we went for Match, which was on my list so I could get a rather excellent deal on 2 specifically made cocktails at £3. Needless to say I spent the night drinking those ;) However, happy hour 7 — 9pm with 2−4−1 selected cocktails proved a hit with thes rest of the group, enjoying two cocktails at once for the evening. Needless to say, we had fun!
But what about this place? Well my friend AMY made the reservation and they got it mixed up with someone else so they had to create a table for us. After that, the evening went more smoothly. Service was with a smile (we had the best waitress, shout out to Katie for that evening!) but was a bit slow. Now, considering this bar wasn’t packed, that got a bit annoying. I wonder if they were understaffed. The bar itself is nice, but not amazing. Great location near Oxford Circus and inside they’ve gone for a toned down Republican Texas feel — leather, wood and the occasional animal head. Very chic hunting lodge.
I really wanted to give this place 4 stars, but it doesn’t match up to my past 4 star reviews for cocktails (pricewise, at about £10 it was slightly overkill outside of happy hour). Again though we didn’t have food (most likely the reason for this slight hangover today!) so I would return and sample that. Mmm

I only came here because they had a much advertised all day Canada Day party. Fully expected this place to be packed by the time I got there around 6pm. Nope.
It was quite exciting to see the party advert, stating there was curds and shredded cheese for poutine, so that was on my list of things to have when I arrived. I wasn’t quite so hungry when I got there, but my friend was and she had ordered the poutine and I’d order one later when I was more hungry.
When the «poutine» came, we found out their meaning of curds was feta. Normally, I have no problems with feta, in fact, I love feta, but with shredded cheese on chips and gravy, feta is the wrong thing to add to the mix. I’d much rather they had just said shredded cheese and gravy on chips.
Honestly, if we knew about this, we wouldn’t have come at all.
Another thing was seating, most of the tables were taken by people in groups of 2 or 3. I had four other friends with me, but they had booked out all the larger tables, so we just huddled around a table for 2 and took stools from other tables. We were totally in the way of everything, all the staff just gave us stares everytime they had to walk by. We were going to stay for their live music, but it took forever for them to set up and we felt their «party» was lame, so we left and went to The Maple Leaf.
I understand I came here for an event, but the event was held by the establishment, and I have no interest in returning.

We were here Dec 2012.
right in the middle of busy touristic area but inside were many locals, good drinks but the sign outside was deceiving (happy hour) when we were seated they told us its not for tonight. we ordered anyways, food was OK, this place is a good for drink and munchies.

Good thing about this bar is that it has table service so you do not need to fight with getting served at the bar.
Prices are as expected for this part of London although we had to ask for a less flat tonic water for our drinks however, they sorted this for the next round.
Good place to go for a catch up. We didn’t have food but saw others ordering so would seem to be a good place to get food to soak up all those drinks.
However, can get a bit loud as the night goes on but in a good location to move on to a quieter restaurant.

I had a fab time here celebrating a birthday recently. They have some yummy mojitos and they make some other delicious mixed drinks like the Thai Punch, which was so yummy! We also tried the Nui Nui Ni which was a tad heavy on the tequila but who ever minds that. Also, the elderflower martini was delicious which leads me to believe that the whole drinks menu must be YUM YUM!
We also tried the sharing platters, which I found to be a good size and fairly priced at £26 for 4 – 5 people.
All of this combined with the music which was mainly 90s and 80s songs means a gala time was had by all.
There was one issue however, they don’t allow you to pay the tab with more than one card, so either carry cash or take your Sugar daddy/​mommy along

Nestled on a side street near Oxford Circus, you would be a little skeptical of a place in the middle of tourist central. Step into the glow of Match’s mood lighting though, and you’ll find that the drinks are consistently decent. It’s the place to go when you’re looking for something close to fight Monday doldums.
Tried the Tricolore, Thai Punch, La Hermosa, and Wild Tea Marteani. Thai Punch and La Hermosa are your typical girly island drinks, while Wild Tea Marteani is more complex with its earl grey tea infusion and Tricolore was my favorite with an interesting, slightly bitter and vanilla combination. Prices run from £7 to £10, which makes it a great place to go for a slightly swankier happy hour.

I was here last weekend to celebrate my birthday. The plan was actually to book a space in barrio central a few walking minutes away but they were fully booked already at the beginning of the week.
So I ended up at the Match Bar. For this special occasion I booked ‘the Den’ (£50 deposit/​bar tab) where you can basically fit up to 20 people, have a bit of privacy, drink and talk. The music was actually good + not too loud (at least in the Den), I can remembering hearing a few good songs from the 90s.
Just for your information the cocktails are around £10 and taste amazing.
I had a good time here and will definitely come back.
PS: Only bad thing they close on a Saturday already at 12am.

In any trendy/​cocktail bar, it’s always the friendliness of the barternder that makes a place.
In this case, I’m glad to say, the barman we had was really friendly.
i’ll pretty much drink anything, but my wife is slightly more specific about her flavours, and the bartender asked her what kind of flavours she liked and made her something specific which was actually quite good and not too strong (cant have her throwing up later!).
The venue is slightly small so I would imagine it would get quite rammed on a weekday with the afterwork crowd, but still overalll good.

I didn’t think this place was that bad! Fairly low expectations but the bartender was friendly and mixed us special cocktails on request. Classy ambience, private area… we ended up leaving early due to teenage drama but will probs return :)

I really enjoyed my visit to the match bar, tasteful surroundings, fantastic cocktails and really friendly and approachable staff. The atmosphere is sophisticated, with low tables, subdued lighting and high quality fixtures. This place feels polished, but with a touch of class. They did make a mistake with our order (we came late to a party and we had the same drinks as a couple of other people there had just ordered, so they assumed it was a duplicate order, so ours never arrived) however they made up for this by giving the table a couple of fishbowls and the manager came over to appologise. The cocktails were fresh, tasty and reasonably priced although beware the service charge! A nice bar, where it would be easy to spend a pleasant evening.

Meh! I’ve been a twice but both times it was never my choice. Really it’s not horrid but just doesn’t do anything for me. It feels a bit like the kind of bar you go to when you’re just venturing into the «grown-​up» world of drinking. There is nothing actually wrong with it per se, yes it’s small but lots of bars are small, hmmm, I’m not sure what it is and I can’t quite put my finger on it. However I will say this, I would prefer to go and have a drink in the All Bar One across the street. Now that’s saying something!

This place reminds me of how bars looked in the 80’s — well on TV at least (defo reminds me of Moon Lighting & Cocktail).
Not really my cup of tea, very noisy & gets really busy with after work crowds.
I suppose if you are desperate for a cocktail/​wine in that area then it’s handy but… na, there are better places.

One of the original London style bars. Tricked out like a Manhattan cocktail lounge with lowslung seating, exposed brick and tile walls, lighting turned low. Recent renovations have seen the intallation of comfortable booths on the lower level as well as a revamp of the menu, now matching City sister Giant Robot, though if you’ve been there in the last five years, I’d be surprised if you could tell the difference.
The cocktail menu is a strong feature. Pages of classics vie with house specials behind the well stocked bar. As many purveyors of high strength liquids they fair less well with the grape and grain, beer limited to a measly selection of three bottles (one of them a weissbier) and wine proffered without comment by grape variety. Whiskey and Amaretto Sours go down well (the latter definitely not my choice) and the dirty martini, a good test of any bar, is competent, though I’m not offered a choice of preferred brand.
Foodwise, they go with small plates. It’s beer fodder at best, hearty, stodgy and male (even more surprising given the office girl and post shop clientele. I’d have thought they’d be crying out for something small, wholesome and Asian, rather than cannonball-​esque mini burgers, heavy (though tasty) deep fried rice and mozzarella balls and sharing platters of charcuterie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s well enough done, though more suitable for soaking up pints than the cocktails more regularly quaffed. Slightly bland crostini and an odd, almost chemical guacamole are best avoided.

Klasse Bar!!!
Bin dort Stammgast, und habe dort noch nie eine enttäuschung erlebt. Man lernt viel leute kennen. Das Puplikum ist weltoffen und locker.
Die Drinks sind Klasse, besonders er Zombie ist né Wucht!!! lol
Die Weinauswahl ist klein aber fein und nicht teuer.
Man bekommt viel für sein Geld und das kann man von allem dort sagen.
Das Essen ist auch gut, alles von guter Qulität und für London nicht wirklich teuer.
Vor allem sind die Zutaten super.
Also wenn ihr in London Seit unbedingt dort hin. Perfekt um nach dem einkaufen den Abend abklingen zu lassen. Während der Woche bokommt man fast immer einen Platz, am Wochenende ist es schon schwieriger :-)

t’s very sleek inside Match, with a sharp yet romantic ambiance. Low orange shades hang over the tables providing the only light in this dimly-​lit lounge bar.
There are a mixture of tables and comfy leather couches lining the walls which are great to sink into with good company. If you’re with a larger group there’s a big circular table in the window cove that everyone can fit around, our favourite place to sit.
The smooth music is at the perfect level, loud enough to liven you up before moving onto a club, but you can still hold a decent conversation. I’m not sure how to describe the music, apart from it’s the opposite of mainstream so you are safe from cheesy sounds here. The bar staff are very attentive, remembering to return to you when you need a little longer to choose your cocktail from the great list. They also do wine by the carafe (£16 for a carafe of Merlot) which is just enough for 2 glasses each when sharing with another friend, so you can swap between wine and cocktails without breaking the bank. The doormen too are Match-​esque, being relaxed but efficient whilst their unimposing eye keeps a good check on everything. Even the toilets are great, with scented candles on the sinks keeping them smelling good.
I’ve seen people eating when we’ve been for late night drinks and although I would find it a bit too lively to have a meal in, the food looks and smells delicious so I’d like to try coming for lunch sometime as it opens at 11am.
Match is definitely one of my favourite well-​dressed, warm-​up bars in the West.

GIN CUP! The size of my head — ask at the bar, say Lizzie send you, they’ll understand and hook you up to the good stuff!
Seriously, this is the best cocktail ever. They have taken it off the menu but it’s one of their huge ones and they do make it on request. I can’t rate this place higher as it can be a little chavvy but generally the friendly staff make it a nice experience.

The Match Bar is a cool and funky bar which is great for a Sex in the City style evening out. I really like it here and although I don’t venture into Oxford Circus as much as I used to, when I do, I always make this a stop point.
It is fantastic for cocktails — very chic and sophisticated and somewhere you can get dressed up. The food is great and I would recommend the sharing platters such as the Mezze Block which serves a good selection of vegetables and pickles. The seating is comfortable with lots of leather sofas although you may struggle to sit down on the busier evenings.
The prices are actually not too expensive at around £6.50 for a cocktail. I recommend the Pink Lady –simply delicious but be warned; it goes down far too well!
Definitely a venue for a girly evening as opposed to a romantic one with the boyfriend!

Match Bar is a really chic bar behind London’s busy Oxford Street that is perfect for cocktails with the girls. The dimly lit bar and mellow music also makes it ideal for a romantic night as you never feel overcrowded. There’s a definate SATC vibe about Match Bar (the Mai Tais are a bit too moreish) and there aften groups of friends relaxing on the leather sofas.
The food is also really great and the duck spring rolls are delicious– just right quatity to share. The lunch menu is also very good and is the perfect place to stop off between a busy day shopping.
Match Bar is a styish bar without the steep prices– a rarity in Central London/