Bok Bar

Oh noes. Bok Bar has been sold. I can’t remember to who exactly, but it’s one of those dreadful chains.
We walked in and the vibe was immediately different, gone are the burly south african barman, they’ve been replaced by young (ish) girls who haven’t quite grasped what a cosmopolitan is yet.
Perhaps that’s unfair, the girl who served us was actually very sweet. However, gone is the big pool table at the back, gone is the games machine, gone is the kitchen even. All of the charm this place once held has been replaced by a laminated cocktail menu and none of the cheap-shots-that-are-so-fun-when-you’re-with-a-group-of-friends. Shame.

The Bok bar does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a mecca for all the saffers in London. As you enter the bar you make your way downstairs as it’s situated beneath a South African food store. When downstairs the smell of stale beer, sweat and sick will probably force you back out of the door… that is unless you’re a South African!
When i visited Bok I couldn’t manage to stay for more than one very swift drink-it’s loud and rowdy in the evening and usually full of drunken and overly friendly South Africans. They sometimes have bands playing live music but they only have a licence for two people to play at any one time which is probably because it’s quite a small venue.
This really isn’t a bar for everybody, certainly not the sober, and the place itself isn’t that great but it has the potential to be really good. They need a good clean out and sterilisation of the seating but hey, if you are a South African in London you’ll probably love it?!