Thursday 25 November 2021 8:27 am | Updated: Wednesday 24 November 2021 2:32 pm

We swing by The Ned’s new jazz and cabaret lounge The Parlour

The City’s vast eating and drinking destination The Ned has opened a new jazz and cabaret lounge called The Parlour. One of six restaurants housed in the former banking hall (the others being The Nickel Bar, Electric Bar & Diner, Malibu Kitchen, Kaia, and Lutyens Grill), The Parlour is an intimate venue located in the lower levels of the building, where you will find an ever-changing bill of acts from established industry names to hotly-tipped new talent.

What should I expect?

Typically of The Ned, it’s a stylishly designed space, with tables and banquettes emanating out from the stage. Kitted out in dark floral wallpaper and lots of velvet, it has the atmosphere of a smoky old Parisian jazz bar, complete with art deco flourishes.

What about the food?

The unusual menu veers from tyakatori skewers to parsnip soup, and dirty burgers to lobster thermidor. We ordered a selection of skewers – pork belly and yuzu; chicken thigh and spring onion; mushroom – and were impressed with them all. We followed them with starters of smoked salmon with potato blinis, and scallops, both of which were well prepared and presented. For mains – we went for a classic rack of lamb with gem lettuce; a vast portion of well sourced and cooked lamb. The stand-out dish of the evening, however, was the chicken kiev: a huge, golden, pear-shaped creation that tasted as good as it looked.

And the booze?

There’s a sizable wine list with some real quality – the pinot noir comes highly recommended – although it feels like the kind of place where you should work your way through the cocktail list – start with a Flying Scotsman and go from there.
What’s on?

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays are typically jazz nights, Saturday is cabaret, and Thursdays are for members only. This evening you could catch Kat Eaton Trio and Joe Stilgoe, Friday is Basil Hodge Trio and The Giacomo Smith Band, while Saturday is Black Cat Cabaret followed by the Cat Loving Criminals. On the Thursday we were there we were treated to raunchy, occasionally confrontational and often hilarious combination of lounge singing, magic acts and stand-up comedy.