Proud Cabaret

So disappointed by the visit here. Arrived to discover that, because our friend was unwell and couldn’t make it, there was an ADDITIONAL £25 surcharge for her to pay. Yes, when you look back to the fine print, it was in the T&Cs, but you don’t expect your friend to be taken seriously unwell, and then be charged extra for it. Now she has to pay £55 for not being able to come. Service was pretty poor. Our waitress was nice but admitted she didn’t speak very good English. Our food and drink took a while, although the food was decent. The drinks were expensive and generally it just felt like poor value for money and like they were squeezing every last penny out of your experience. If you book on a deal you will find they charge you 12.5% service charge on the original value of the event. The burlesque was good but pretty much the same show as we’d seen 3 weeks earlier at the London Wonderground. Miss Polly Rae is good, but said some of exactly the same stuff as her last show. Just wouldn’t recommend it as we ended up feeling ripped off which ruined the night.

I have mixed feelings about Proud. The subterranean space was well decorated and they did a good job at getting the ambiance right. The highlight of the entertainment was the MC who did a great job. I was less impressed with the rest of it. The food was so-​so.
Proud is expensive. £55 gets you a meal and the show. Alcohol and any food sides or coffee are extras that you need to pay for. The cheapest bottle of white wine still came to £27 so overall, it’s an expensive night out. The food is average, which is disappointing given the cost involved. We all had to pre-​order online which then caused confusion on the day as people didn’t remember what they ordered and the waiters just came out, barking out the names of the dishes.
This is what I had:
Duck Eggs Benedict with parma ham and asparagus: it’s not ‘eggs’, it’s ‘egg’ benedict (you only get one egg!) This was by far the best dish I had. The egg was perfectly cooked. The only oddity was bread it came on. You expect a muffin but it was some sort of dense white bread. Think hamburger bun bottom crossed with a compact dinner roll.
Duck breast with strawberries and mash plus choy sum: I know, strawberries with duck? I thought it could potentially be interesting but it was literally a few cut up pieces of strawberry served alongside the duck breast. The duck was tough. They should have given me a steak knife because I was sawing away at it to try to get it into bite sized pieces. Mash was fine as was the one stem of choy sum. Food came out cold though.
Grapefruit and pistachio tart: wow, this was inedible. We were actually laughing at how bad it was. The tart came out rock hard. I had to use a fork to break it up into crumbly overcooked pieces. It really should have been accompanied by a cup of tea to dunk in. It would have been a good way to soften the rock hard biscotti like consistency.
Overall, an ok night. I won’t be rushing back though.

I am a big fan of Proud, I have been a few times and it is always a good night. I would say the décor is spot on — it’s a fine line between cheesy/​tacky and fun, and these guys are on the right side of it!
The staff are really friendly, but there is an air of speed to try and get all of the courses out before the show starts which can make it tricky when you have a query or complaint (more on that later).
On this occasion I came with a friend, and we bought the Groupon deal that tends to come up roughly every three months or so — it is great value for money — 3 courses, a bubbly-​based cocktail and the evening entertainment! I don’t think I would ever pay full price to visit though, especially not if the Groupon deal continues semi-​regularly…
All food is pre-​ordered, which I actually really like as I have been known to take a long time deliberating over a menu! Our deal also included a bubbly-​based cocktail, which was really tasty. I had the asparagus hollandaise starter, which was tasty if a bit on the cool side. My companion had the beef satay which I am informed was pretty yummy.
For main I enjoyed a halloumi stack on a bed of mediterranean vegetables, which was very flavourful though I personally feel the cheese could have been griddled for just 30 seconds more. My friend had the duck and unfortunately it was almost still quacking it was that rare, which resulted in it being chewy and ultimately inedible for her. This was a shame as, although I urged her to just ask for it to be cooked a little longer, she decided not to say anything as it took a while to get a waiter’s attention. As our server took the plates away he did ask if everything had been okay and my friend decided to lie and say that it had been — I am of the opinion that, had she vocalised her disappointment, they would have done something to rectify the situation but it seems we will never know for sure…
Dessert for both of us was a DELICIOUS raspberry Cambridge Cream — basically a crème brûlée without the sugar topping, but with fresh raspberries in it. This aspect was definitely the best of the meal!
We were also enjoying the cocktails throughout the night — at around £10 or £11 each they are not cheap but certainly not the most expensive cocktails in London, and each one was exquisitely balanced with great flavour — it has been a few weeks since I went and the menu has since changed so I am afraid I can’t specifically recommend any but I would say to trust that any cocktail on the menu will be executed well!
There was a bit of time during the night where there was a break in entertainment, and unfortunately we could not get the attention of any serving staff for quite some time, which was annoying as we both wanted to order another cocktail! A server that had not been assigned our table was eventually called over but we had already become quite annoyed with the situation. This was compounded when our bill was brought after the show and there were miscellaneous extra drinks that we had not ordered! They were good about sorting it though and we did end up with our own bill, which included a 12.5% service charge on the cocktails, and the Groupon value of the meal. Not the worst, but a little bit cheeky in my opinion!
The entertainment is great fun, we are particular fans of the emcee, Joe Morose. I would describe him as a camp guy that men half want to be, half fancy but feel weird about it, and women want to either learn a lot from him, or date him but feel weird about it. We also enjoyed the entertainment of two burlesque dancers and a belly dancer/​sword performer who was incredible! It would have been nice to have more variety, perhaps swap one of the burlesque dancers with one of the different types of performers on offer in the programme, but really overall the value for money, atmosphere, experience and cocktails are well worth trying out for something a bit different on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday evening. I will be returning (as long as they keep up the voucher site deals)!

We really enjoyed our night at Proud Cabaret, the highlight of the night was actually the service! Brilliant and attentive. The 3-​course meal was good but I wasn’t blown away — presentation could have been better. But then the excellent 2 and a half hour Cabaret show more than made up for it. The girls were astounding and the compère, Joe Morose, was fantastic. He really got the audience going, being very funny and downright offensive — which is what you want from a Cabaret. Even though the evening was expensive, it was good value for money. With the show and food included in the price, we then just paid a bit extra for a couple of bottles of wine! Which was a reasonable price. Overall, really recommend going to Proud Cabaret.

J’ai envie de voyager mais je peux pas, alors je ressasse les souvenirs… Février 2012, semaine entre amis, sortie du soir, bonsoir!
On avait envie de tester un des cabarets dont pullulent la ville de Londres, et notre choix s’est fixé sur le Proud Cabaret: on a pas regretté!
On a même tellement aimé qu’on y est allés 2 fois! Un premier soir où on découvrait et qu’on est arrivé après le show malheureusement… Pas grave, le service est super, le personnel très accueillant et bavard: vous vous sentirez de la maison. Et le lendemain où on arrive cette fois bien tôt pour né pas louper les effeuillements en scèné de jolies demoiselles…
Par contre, cabaret oblige, les prix sont hauts: on a testé qu’en mode bar, même si vous pouvez réserver pour un repas.
Les consos né sont donc pas données: attendez-​vous à raquer un peu, même si les cocktails sont très bons.
Mais on oublie tout, face aux rythmes jazzy et on swingue volontiers jusqu’à la fermeture. Les anglais jouent le jeu et même les clients sont souvent en tenue d’apparat des 60s: on aime!
Le Proud, que des bons souvenirs!

I’m no superstar cabaret reviewer. On the merit of this being a show and the food I’d put it at 4 stars. This is for a 2 course meal and the show for 25 quid a head.
The food was disappointing. It was interesting having to choose my starters and maincourse 72 hours before actually dining there. You sort of start imagining the cooks and the place thinking about how best to cook the dish you ordered and then blowing you off your feet with their MasterChef quality food and presentation. Unfortunately the food was an utter disappointment. The quantity was too less and the vegetarian options were few and far between — which is always a problem when 1 in your party is a veggie. The drinks are decently priced which was a surprise — though a pleasant one.
The show was amazing for a casual customer. I don’t go to many shows to any kind — so in terms of entertainment value both in terms of a new experience and laughter it was quite extraordinary.
The overall experience was good for a first time. The underground room, the paintings on the walls, the dresses of the staff all suited the occasion well.
All in all — for the price — I would say 4* in spite of the so-​so food.

Looking at the older reviews, this 3 star tag is justified for the show, drinks & food only.
The lovefest ends when the bill arrives…
My story began when I made a booking for a group of 8 for $ 50pp, no probs. Got there & had a smashing time, that is until the bill came to the tune of $ 55pp. I asked what’s with the old switcheroo & is there an additional service charge to which we were not advised of to be asked by a rather snooty (Manager?) «Well, didn’t you have a good time?» Yes, but that isn’t the point. We’re asking about the change in price. He then says, there is no $ 50 menu. My friends promptly whipped out their well equipped gadget phones to bring up my email with the confirmation of such.
Was told, «If you don’t pay the additional service charge then the waitress won’t get paid.» TOTALLY CLASSLESS… and we didn’t pay a penny more either.
Now, this guy needed a serious attitude adjustment & I don’t know what made him think we were going for a stupid story like that. Not to mention if the waitresses are paid based on their service charge then it’s time they start looking for a new job.
If they don’t pull their finger out (& soon) I reckon they’ll be seeing more less than 3 star reviews… and they can bin the so-​called, uptight manager too!

Just a quick update as visited for a friend’s birthday recently as a fully fledged paying customer… well sort of … it was a ashamedly Groupon deal! However unexpectedly the bill for the extras we ordered ended up to be rather more than we expected. All the cocktails, even though they were 2 for 1 before 8pm, mounted up a pretty penny. Plus there appeared to be inexplicably two gratuities fees, which I couldn’t quite get my head around. Proud Cabaret is not for the light of wallet.
The stocking and corseted waitressing staff are excellent and very friendly despite the overly busy demands on their attention. The food was pleasant, but not outstanding. Yummy drinks and desserts though. The show looked like it was entertaining — standard burlesque with a pretty MC singing show tunes at us… from what I could see anyway. A warning if you are seated by the entrance, as we were right at the back, you *will* have a restricted view. The staff will claim otherwise — they say the performers come out to all areas, however I found that the majority of action takes place on the stage. Being seated at the back meant you could not always see what was happening. It’s your choice though — the booths at the back are secluded and intimate but the pay off is the lesser view and being set too far from the show, and the cabaret vibe.
Although I can’t give Proud 5 stars, I would give top marks for customer service. When I let them know my thoughts via email, I found the staff just really helpful and courteous, as they were on the night in person. Heart them, I just wish the whole experience lived up to their standards. We had a good night, and I pretended not to mind for birthday girls sake — I just couldn’t help feel slightly dissallusioned. On the plus side there appeared to be a sock-​hop at the end, we didn’t stay for it but it looked fun with Buddy Holly dressed band playing swing dancing hits.

Today in the Metro there was an article about the arrival of a new Playboy Bunnie club in west London. There is a hoo har about half naked girls serving fellas drinks, food and manning gambling tables from the feminists in this city. Apparently it’s an outrage and a disgrace coming into the city. Well, these people have obviously not been to Proud Cabaret — where your waitress forgot to dress and has come out in her undies!
It’s not often I come out with social commentary such as this in a review but I feel I have to. This is entertainment. A woman taking of her clothes in an environment such as this is purely for fun, yes it can be sexy (gents, you can pop these images in your wank bank) but I do not see it as derogatory. It’s liberating. I laughed so hard I almost spilt my £10 drink over my £55 meal. This might have been that I was twisting my head so hard around to see the show though. The seats could be in better places.
I feel that everyone’s issue with this is one of two things, the price and the entertainment. This is not a «show» as sorts, it’s a bit of fluff to watch while enjoying overprices consumables. It’s like they have found a group of friends who are really quite talented with their hobbies and have invited them down to show what they can do. It’s not bad, it’s not terrible, it’s just hit and miss as to whether or not that guys will not be able to hold the pose, will fall on his neck and be broke in two for the rest of his life. Watching is morbid curiosity, as it is when watching Britain’s Got Talent.
The second problem is the price. It’s not cheap and you feel like they are trying to bleed the money out of you. It also results in a certain crowd coming down: hen do’s, city boys and old people trying to be «cool» for their birthdays.
Saying all of this, it is a great night. It just might only be something I do once…

I went to Proud Cabaret with a Groupon voucher.
The show started an hour after my booked arrival time 7pm. Among the acts was a woman singing «There’ll Always Be An England» and taking her clothes off. Other acts included semi-​naked gymnasts and a Marilyn Monroe look-​alike. Quite entertaining.
The food was good. the entertainment was spoiled somewhat by the gratuitous use of foul language. When I got my bill, there was an amount shown for a «gratuity» in addition to the mandatory service charge. I queried this and had the «gratuity» removed.
Were it not for the language and the overcharging, it would have been quite a good evening.

Not terribly unlike A Tale of Two Cities, It was the best of times… it was the worst of times. The server was super friendly and very helpful. The acts were fun, the cocktails were tasty and the desserts were amazing.
Why so glum, chum? Well getting the bill and having been charged gratuity and an additional service charge is a bit much. (yes, in case you’re wondering, even though you’ve paid for the meal, which you think is padded to include the cost of the show, it really isn’t, a table of 4 pays I think just over £25 for a show-​fee *on top* of your service charge… surely they’re taking advantage of the bankers with this).
The food was decent, though not totally an appropriate temperature. Side dishes were kind of necessary, but all in all not bad. We had a discount rate, which was fine, I just don’t think it would be worth the full price. The cocktails are where Proud really shines and they have a new guy who knows his stuff. You won’t be disappointed (unless you don’t like paying £9 a pop).
I think Proud is a riot of a time I just question the value for money. Our server kind of joked that we wanted to leave after the show even though it was a friday… well sorry dear, but I don’t get paid till tomorrow and I can’t keep chewing up your surcharges. Fun shouldn’t be taxed this heavily, it makes it less fun.
You’ll probably have a great time if you come here as well (really, it’s a lot of fun). Until you get the bill… cause you’ll look like this

Whatever people, this place is fun.
1) Food: Solid. The best fine dining ever? Nah. Certainly edible and sometimes tasty. I had the pork rib, which was, for me, a sizable hunk-​o-​meat, but I was still glad my friend and I got two veg sides (asparagus and spinach) because it felt more balanced that way. The green garlic and tomato soup was really tasty (yea, that was the app, I am going all scatter-​brained on ya’ll). And for dessert, the Eton mess? I think? It was whipped cream with some stuff like raspberry and lemon curd. Whatever it was, it was good (though had to mess up THOSE ingredients!) Our one beef was that the sultry dim lighting made it impossible to really see what we were eating, but whatevs. I had an inventive gin cocktail with chamomile tea and raspberries and it was tasty as well.
2) Atmosphere/​service: Fun, friendly staff, 1920’s glam… just fun! They offered us a variety of gloves, sparkly masks, and boas upon checking in downstairs. Our service/​waiter were both quite good and attentive.
3) Entertainment: The host/​singer (coco something) was really quite good, and I am very judgmental of singers, being one myself. Some of her song choices were very cliched (Chicago/​Cabaret numbers, Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, At Last, etc.), but I think that is kind of what people want in a corporate-​style area like that. Her voice was impressive. We also had maybe 6 different burlesque acts (4 or so girls) and one contortionist and one male gymnast/​dancer who was really funny. All in all, I would say it was a really good show for what it is.
I’d go back when I had the cash or someone else was paying, for sure! FYI, no mobile reception in the venue.

I was quite excited to go here. I mean, come on, tasty food while a girl seductively removes each piece of clothing in a classy way? Pretty much every guy’s ideal dinner.
Sadly, the food was sub par. The pork belly was passable but the lamb was utterly horrendous. It had a strange soapy flavour that caused us to push it aside after a single bite. Given that we paid around 50 squids for the night it was quite a disappointment.
The saving grace (other than the shows which were quite entertaining) was the ability of the MC to get the crowd in gear and fully participating. She salvaged an otherwise dismal night and made it one of entertainment and excitement. For her alone, I would go back.
So overall… food is a 2 at best (dessert was good) and the show a 4 so 3 stars to finish.

Wonderful food, friendly staff and a pretty good show — in all I had a great evening. Having seen some pretty bad burlesque shows, I went to Proud Cabaret with an open mind but doubt in my heart. The doubt was alleviated as soon as I walked in by the great décor and the very welcoming staff.
Our waitress was friendly and attentive and very good at choosing cocktails for us — which were delicious. They were the beginning of a great taste sensation: a starter of mussels in a creamy cider sauce, which had me cleaning the bowl with a slice of bread to get every last bit, followed by a slice of roast pork belly, tender and deliciously sticky with pumpkin gnocchi and asparagus, cooked perfectly al dente and finished off by a lemon and raspberry Eaton mess, which was the perfect finish to the meal — sharp and sweet and fruity and light.
I’m probably not ideally placed to judge the quality of the show in terms of burlesque, as I am far from knowledgeable in the subject. What I can say, though, is that it was a night of good entertainment for the uninitiated. The hostess and main singer had a lovely voice and chose the perfect songs for my mood. The burlesque part was very tasteful — a joy for the eyes rather than the lower parts — and the dancers were beautiful.
I did not have the impression that this was a meeting point for testosterone overloaded bankers, a strip or pick-​up place or anything else sleazy and sinister. On the contrary, the majority of guests were women and everyone was out to have a good time. I will definitely be back.

had i written this review after the first time i went it would have gotten 4 stars. hell, i would have been thinking about doing 5 stars.
the first time i went it was awesome. i went with a friend of mine on a Friday, looking forward to a night of good food, beautiful naked women, good music and generally a fabulous evening. and i was not disappointed. the food was fabulous, the drinks were tasty, the service was attentive. the show itself was pretty cool. the MC, was a Marlyn looking American Blonde, who sang jazz and torch songs in between acts and had an infinity for shoes. brassy as she was busty, all i could think of was «man, i want her job.» the acts themselves were alright. they definitively had one act who was their show stopper, while the rest were ok, but nothing really special. good background while you ate, drank and were merry. and she, another bottle blonde, who was amazing and conversation stopping, was worth seeing. our waitress, Maud, was charming and enthusiastic. she obviously *loved* her job. the timing however, was a disaster. to the point that dear Maud checked in with a few «omg, your (starters, mains, drinks, etc) havent come yet? let me go check on that for you.» we had to wait a million years for everything. it got to the point with our after dinner drinks that we almost canceled the damn things and just wanted to leave. but we still left and said that we were happy there was a place in London that had that type of thing and it would have been an amazing place for a date.
needless to say i was excited for the next time i went. when i booked i told them i was surprising my boyfriend who couldnt go with me the first time. he ended up not being able to go the second time either, but we were sat at a tiny booth way in the back by the door. we couldnt even see the stage. this time it was a tuesday and man, was it a Tuesday Show. half assed and boring. there was some guy juggling and doing gimmicks. um… this is not what i paid for. and the service… oh man. the timing was off, but not quite as bad as last time, but this time the actual service, Maud, again, was horrendous. maybe she forgot about us back there. but the booth in front of us was having the same problem. the manager ended up giving them a bottle of Champers, which they ended up giving to us as they just wanted to leave. which we did as well very shortly after.
not impressed. i doubt i’ll go again. if someone wanted to take me, i would insist on a friday or saturday and not want to pay myself.
so much potential. what a pity.

I was so disappointed with this place.
The recent revival of burlesque is good in so many ways, yet so bad in others — namely the indiscriminate use of the word ‘burlesque’ to defer cool upon … anything. This was ‘burlesque’ at its loosest interpretation.
Good things:
The décor was beautiful and the food was good.
Bad:
The half-​assed server uniforms: a corset does not a burlesquer make.

The compere: a chav in jeans and trainers who clearly couldn’t be bothered to be there and even cracked a rape joke, ffs.

I hate to slag off the acts, but, wow, it was like watching a high school end of term dance recital. Slow down, girls! And enough of the high kicks.

The crowd: bankers, stag and hen parties.
There are so many better places to see burlesque and cabaret in London. This place got it all wrong.

hmmmmmmmmm, well having been to some of the underground cabaret venues in Berlin, New York etc, and being a huge fun of the art form I was very very disappointed! £10 to get in and did not even get me a table, it was a friday night and only had burlesque on WHICH IS NOT CABARET it is basically girls ‘artfuly’ stripping for a load of middle age city bankers with egos the size of there stomachs! There was nothing beautiful or moving about it, and was quite boring really. People did not seem that interested in the acts really, just carried on eating and drink with some background nakedness to watch if the conversation dwindled.
The Bar itself obviously had a lot of money thrown at it and was very very classy, nothing wrong with this but it made for quite an uncomfortable night if you wanted some fun. My friends and I dressed up in our Sunday best and even then felt uncomfortable with the cliental (middle age city bankers with fat wallets and big egos)
All in all the drinks were great and not too expensive, but the entertainment was short and boring, I would have been disappointed even if it was free!

Joining the Proud clan, the latest addition to the family is modelled on a 1920s speakeasy. Good for city folk and trendy creatives alike, the venue aims to ‘exude the illicit glamour of a bygone era’. Designed by Russell Sage Studios and Danielle Proud, the venue has a sophisticated, decadent feel.
Kind of similar in feel to the Volupté Lounge, I’d more than happy with this trend which seems to have infiltrated London’s CBD, great for dating or a friendly gathering.