Café de Paris reminds me of a boat. Not because it sways left to right (or is that port and starboard?) and has pirates hanging from the chandelier, but because it has the air of a 1920s cruise ship – the type of vessel that might have taken Bertie Wooster to New York, or Hercule Poirot to Egypt. It’s probably something to do with the dark red and gold walls, the huge chandelier, and the circular tables (all with their own lamps) and deep booths to sink into. It’s the kind of place where glamorous burlesque performers or smoky-voiced singers entertain ladies and gentlemen who have dressed for dinner… My reverie is interrupted by a loud crash of cymbals and the rattle of a snare drum. Forget dinner jackets and pearls, the only accessory to be seen with tonight is a Gibson guitar or some black skinny jeans. We are at Café Rocks at the Café Paris, a central London showcase for some of the best bands on London’s unsigned scene.

This is a good chance to see some new music in a venue that adds a little glamour to the proceedings. The bands were generally good (notice I said some of the best bands on the unsigned scene…) and the standard increased as the clock ticked on. We very much enjoyed the final band, whose name I have forgotten (but I could tell you what cocktail I was drinking) and the Dido-meets-Garbage Cecilia de Lisle.

De Lisle’s kooky style is reflective, honest and acoustically interesting. I compare her to Dido only in the sense that her voice has that magical much-higher-octaves-than-natural quality, which lends a romantic and whimsical sound to even the hardest lyrics. You might be tempted to call her folksy, but listen harder and you’ll see that it’s actually more edgy, and more interesting. The male friend I was with also suddenly seemed to want to go to the bar and buy all the rounds (no complaints from me) so he could sneak a peak at her on stage.

Talking of the bar – this is where the evening was let down slightly. The music is grungy, good fun and worth a listen, but the target crowd probably aren’t in the market for a £9 cocktail. True, there were special offeres on beer, house wine and vodka mixers, but that long cocktail menu is just so inviting, forcing the venue to feel a little at odds with the underground style of the performers. If you have saved your pennies and plan to max out on mixology, be careful when you go off-piste in the Café de Paris cocktail world, their strength definitely lies in the cocktails that are listed on the menu.

The best cocktails we found were mixed in the VIP room. I’m not just showing off, the first 100 to arrive all get a wristband letting them into this area once the live music finishes. This is definitely worthwhile, as we sat at the bar chatting to the staff about the proportions of a gin martini, listening to some chilled out dance music and generally feeling smug that we weren’t in the more crowded main auditorium. The girl at the bar made a mean martini for my friend, and mixed up something delicious for me – impressive, as my requirements were rather broad: “gin and fruity!”

One more cocktail and it was time to head home, slightly worse for wear (those cocktails were very tasty…) Enough live music to take me back to my teenage years, enough good cocktails to keep me occupied, and enough friendly banter to balance out the dancing: What more does a Friday night need?

Free before 7pm with internet flyer (see website)
£5 before 8pm with internet flyer
£8 with flyer
£10 without flyer

www.cafedeparis.com
www.caferocks.co.uk