The concept of The Piano Works is deceptively simple: they have 2 pianists and accompanying musicians and they only play songs picked by the audience. It’s an idea that you might think is easy to copy, but their pianists are outrageously talented and able to turn any song into a pop hit sensation.
The location is at a Victorian listed warehouse with a capacity of 400 in Central Farringdon. It might have a voluminous capacity, but you do frequently see queues forming outside due to the immense popularity of the venue.
They have a well-curated menu which includes 2 courses for £25 or 3 courses for £30 and the option of enjoying bottomless Prosecco for £15pp for 2 hours during your meal.
For starters, we tried a very hearty tasting tomato and basil soup. It was very well-portioned and came with toasted bread. There are other options like cherry tomato bruschetta and beef carpaccio with rocket.
They do offer generally very safe choices on the menu rather than anything extremely groundbreaking, so for the main course, you get a selection of steaks for either beef, lamb, pork or chicken or the option of roasted seabass or stuffed butternut squash. The Tomahawk steak that I tried did have a £12 supplement involved but the size is perfect for those hungry meat-eaters out there: it was 500 grams of Hereford rib steak dry aged for 28 days. It wasn’t quite as tender as I had hoped and the beef flavours of the meat didn’t come through as strongly as I had hoped. I suspect the standard rib eye might be the wiser option as it comes with a rosemary and thyme reduction.
Desserts were simply organised into tiramisu, chocolate, cheesecake and sorbet. I opted for the more exotic sounding Brazilian lime sorbet, which was once again generously portioned with 3 large scoops and did have a refreshing citrusy kick that aided digestion with the previous 2 courses.
Apart from Prosecco, they do have a lengthy list of cocktail options available including mojitos that are served 5-ways: classic, spiced, coconut, vanilla and passion fruit and selected cocktails are only £5 during cocktail hour which is 5-7pm. They also have a curious brew table beer dispenser which contains 3 litres of beer from Chapel Down or for larger parties, the 30 litre self-serve keg.
The Piano Works has a vibrant, happening atmosphere, you won’t easily find in other large-scale venues in London and is the ideal place to visit for group celebrations and a great evening out.
baldwin@townfish.com