Zoo Bar Review - London Bar Soho

Zoo Bar London - Full Review - 13-17 Bear Street, Leicester Square London

The Animals come out to play at Zoo Bar - Guest Blogger

Friday night once again and the boys are out in town. As per a ritual boys night out we all met up at a predetermined friend’s house to get in the right ambient mood to go out. After that, it was a quick hop on the Central line and off at Oxford Circus. Although the quickest way to get to Zoo bar is by getting off at Leicester Square and then walking straight down. Unlike most, we like to get off at Oxford Circus and walk down to the clubs in Leicester Square; it’s a great way to find out where the majority of people are heading and tonight they were heading towards Zoo. 

We got to the club around ten, the queue had already started forming, luckily we had pre-phoned and were on the guest list and headed straight in (recommended!). The entry can vary from £5-£10 depending on what night you go. On a student night it tends to be £5, if you can get yourself on the guest list it can be free before 11pm. Even by 10pm the club had already started filling up and the rule with Zoo is the same as with any London clubs within that square, the later you go, the busier it gets, at around 11pm, the door policy is one in one out.

There was a nice mixture of people, even a few suits here and there but mainly the clientele was in their early 20s. In terms of a girl:boy ratio, that was pretty good too: In some central clubs it tends to get guy heavy and girls tend to become prey surrounded by packs of desperate guys. Speaking of dancing, the music in Zoo is always right up my street, I’ve been to it a few times and if you like R’n’B and Commercial, it’s definitely the place to be. It has the right mixes to get your body moving and keep it moving all night long. The only problem is that it does tend to get quite full quite quick, which can lead to problem of actually finding enough space to dance in! Speaking of which, there is a famous pole that, in itself has seen some action over the years.  

In terms of pricing, on a student night out, double vodka redbull has been known to be as cheap as £2.50. On a normal night out, the price is typical of charges in a city club, not drinkonomical but by no means splash the cash either. The look of the club is chic and modern. It offers seating spaces for when the partying gets too much and you’re in need of a sit down, which tends to happen around one(ish) in the morning. It doesn't have the wow factor but does a job! The bar staff are good at keeping up with the demands of the crowd, serving times are not ridiculously long and are friendly with a smile on their face. As with any bar, it is the crowd in it that makes it worth going to. Zoo had a great crowd, everyone was out in the mood to party and party we did. I would recommend at least one visit to Zoo, you never know you may come back for more you little animals.

Thanks to Ushan S 

Zoo Bar London 13-17 Bear Street, Leicester Square, London West End

Closest Station to Zoo Bar: Leicester Square

Zoo Bar Budget: Happily Affordable

Zoo Bar Designometer: Nightclub

Zoo Bar Queue Buster: 10pm

Zoo Bar Music: R'n'B & Commercial

Zoo Bar Star Rating: 4/5