Little Bay

In case you’re coming to read reviews on the back of the Qype Does London newsletter, I’m afraid we passed this restaurant last night and it still hasn’t reopened since the fire. Doesn’t look as though it will any time soon either.
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Shame really, as I’d heard about the opera singing and had wanted to try it, especially after their pay-​what-​you-​want pricing promotion last year. Would it have been worth a tenor?

Unfortunately fell victim to a serious fire over the New Tear 2010 weekend.

I have only heard good things about little bay — and having had a beautiful meal at nearby Fish in A Tie was incredibly excited before dinner. The décor was dramatic and a little kitsch (a good thing in my humble opinion) and there were very pretty waitresses who were attentive and lovely. The drinks were cheap and fine and the food was nice. A little retro and heavy but all fine. It wasn’t WOW-​good but with friends and good places a great little place to go

Great service and food, quirky and different venue. Love it!

Right then, Little Bay, a small collection of funny, quirky restaurants ‘Sarf of the River’ as they say locally. Now, Little Bay is just around the corner from my house and I’ve eaten here twice. It’s a funny old place that advertises live opera and some of the most unusual seating arrangements I’ve seen in a restaurant for some time.
What Little Bay manages to do very cleverly is to whisk you away from the dirty world of York Road that it resides on and into a slightly weird almost bohemian restaurant.
Ok, to the food first. It’s French inspired modern-​English in my opinion. Lots of things like mussels in white wine sauce, duck, chicken with bacon, that kind of thing. Now, it’s not great food I grant you. It can be a bit hit and miss at times, but on the whole for what you’re paying, it’s a bargain. Hardly any of the main courses are over £10 and most of the starters are under £6. So a cheap deal all round really.
On to the ‘entertainment’ now. So, if you rock up on a Friday or Saturday night, you’re going to get sung at, and I mean sung AT. Energetic opera singers fly around the restaurant crooning to patrons and generally having a theatrical time. If you’re uncomfortable with any kind of interaction then don’t come here. Chances are they’ll smell your fear and sing at you all night. I quite liked the singing, it added something extra to the meal, and something that was very memorable. The opera singers range from sweet sopranos to tenors who obviously haven’t taken their Ritalin.
The seating at Little Bay also deserves a mention. Bedouin style material adorns the walls and there are upper level areas to eat accessed by ladders. There’s also a ‘prime’ table that sits in the middle of the restaurant and is used for special celebrations. Now, you definitely want to be in the front part of the restaurant, so ask for this when you book. As the back is distinctly less glamorous and you risk being a bit left out of the fun.
The place does attract a few large parties so definitely not one for a romantic date on a Saturday night. Rock up with some friends, down some booze and enjoy the atmosphere. Definitely worth a look, but don’t expect Michelin starred food.

From the outside, Little Bay looks like a cheap strip joint in blackpool, lurid purple walls adorned with painted scrawls and an oppressive amount of scaffolding seemingly holding it together at the seams. But walk in, and you are transported into a camp theatrical wonderland, set-​painted opera boxes for couples to dine in reside majestically above the other diners, who are surrounded by vibrant walls and a canopy of shimmering gold.
But nothing can quite prepare you for the highlight of the evening, the live opera: a tall blonde belts out Puccini arias and Gershwin smashes, seductively wandering from table to table as you contemplate whether you’ve ever experienced anything so wonderfully bizarre over a breadstick.
The food is good and surprisingly cheap for London, with main courses between six and eight pounds. I had goat’s cheese croquettes followed by pork fillet; both were well cooked and excellent value for money.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s no Chez Bruce, but for fancy on a budget it’s well worth a shot, and if you’ve ever wondered what steak tastes like with a soprano on you lap and your dad struggling for the harmonies, there’s nowhere else to go.

We went to this restaurant on a recommendation from a friend. The food wasn’t amazing — the mussels were dire but the fish was beautiful — but at about £15 a head inc wine you can’t really complain.
And there’s live opera too! It’s clearly very popular and you do need to book on a weekend.