Listening bars are kind of weird when you think about it. After all, it’s not exactly unprecedented for a bar to play music. What’s next, a drinking pub? An eating restaurant?
Well, step inside Mad Cats — the capital’s latest and greatest listening bar — and you’ll quickly see why it well-and-truly earns that label. You’ll find it on the Brick Lane end of Redchurch Street, and the moment you pull back the gleaming golden jaguar that serves as a statement handle on their door, you’ll instantly feel the mellifluous grip of music pulling you in, courtesy of the venue’s 22 speakers, which are all placed at strategically optimised areas around the bar so as to absolutely drench the place in perfectly balanced sound.
They don’t just play music here; they worship it.
But, lest we forget, the name listening bar has two words and implies pleasures both aural & oral, and there’s thankfully some top-tier food & drink on offer here, too. The whole enterprise was set up by a couple, Ed & Daniella, who each tackle one of those areas: Ed is the music obsessive, while Daniella handles the food and the overall experience.
In fact, the space itself is bisected neatly into two halves. First, there’s the colourful, casual area upfront, for food, vibes, and the occasional game of backgammon or chess (though in the evening, tables are pushed back, and the place becomes a dancefloor). Then there’s the sleeker, moodier space in the back where the drinks and the vinyl take a more central role. And a trip to the loo will feel like you’ve entered a whole new third realm, with the BBC Radio version to The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy playing on loop.
The music changes pretty much with the breeze, but generally it’s a steady diet of highly Shazam-able jazz, soul, and funk. The cocktails that go with them include inventive numbers like The ZaZa, which blends tequila with a thrilling za’atar liqueur, or the Jasmine Spritz, whose gin is offset with jasmine liqueur & green tea soda. There’s plenty of other stuff though, spanning interesting wines, exotic beers, and some high-end sake too.
Thankfully the food is anything but an afterthought, although it is predominantly composed of bar-friendly small plates. There are sushi handrolls stuffed with well-marbled otoro belly tuna; crab salad with mustard frill leaves and flying fish roe; or a sizeable beef short rib in an earthy mole sauce. And if you pop down on Sunday, there’s a hearty roast, too. The highlight, however, is the cheesecake. It’s made to the chef’s grandma’s recipe, and the chef’s grandma apparently knew how to make a silky cloud of a cheesecake.
If someone suggests popping in? It’s worth listening to them.
NOTE: Mad Cats is open now, every day. You can find out more, and make a booking at the Mad Cats website.
Mad Cats | 107 Redchurch St, E2 7DL
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