Battersea’s most lively restaurant / night club has recently replicated itself on the famous streets of Covent Garden. Now also to be found in the heart of London’s theatreland on DruryLane, Bunga Bunga Covent Garden takes it one step further and is both boisterous and brilliantly bizarre.
The latest project from Charlie Gilkes and Duncan Stirling’s Inception Group, Bunga Bunga Covent Garden has split itself in half to offer two different concepts which includes BungaTINI on the ground floor which presents itself as an authentic all-day family friendly Italian pizzeria and bar.
Epitomising Italian old school glamour, downstairs and hidden beyond a door is where all the action can be found. Described as the ‘blockbuster follow up to the legendary Battersea site’ which has just celebrated its 5thanniversary, Bunga Bunga Covent Garden embodies everything that made its sister site so successful with tongue-in-cheek performances, Italian food and cocktails.
An all singing all dancing supper club extravaganza, those who visit are required to pass through the meat locker to grant access to the room. An unexpected way to kick off the evening, the meat locker takes its inspiration from Don Corleone, complete with fake hanging carcasses and butcher guests have to negotiate. Just one of the new elements that takes the original Bunga Bunga to a completely new level, each evening an array of different acts and performances create a vibrant and interactive experience.
From musical performers to actors and dancers as well as ‘BUNGAOKE’ where guests get on stage to perform with the band, its extroverted Italian designhosts two distinct bars: one inspired by Venice’s most famous export Harry’s Bar where the Bellini was born and the second with its own roulette wheel, whilst aside from the stage is the Disaronno Riva boat which has been transformed into a dining space, reflecting Italy’s most glamorous mode of transport. Turning our attention to the food which compliments the overall Italian theme – dishes include fennel sausage arancini, burrata & pappa pommodoro, mushroom and truffle risotto and a selection of signature Bunga Bunga metro pizzas rounded off with a chocolate fountain and flamboyant cocktails to match.
Upstairs, if you fancy simply swinging by Bunga Bunga Covent Garden during the day, is family friendly ground floor restaurant, ‘BungaTINI’. An all-day dining space with homemade paninis cut off from a foot-long homemade focaccia, salads and a selection of Bunga Bunga’s signature pizzas cooked in a wood fired Valoriani oven. Each evening it transforms into a laid-back cocktail bar that only hints at what’s beyond the hidden door…
BungaTINI and Bunga Bunga Covent Garden:167 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5PG, bungabunga-london.com
