Galante is a super-swanky bar in Kensington. A dimly-lit interior, with the bar at the centre…read moremanned by male bar staff in white DJs. Customers sit on leather booths or bar stools, served by female waitresses in glamorous dresses.
I was there with Andrew M, Erica U and Dza D. First up were the cocktails, in my case, the signature 'Galante'. I'm generally a cocktail-sceptic: too often they appear to be little more than labour-intensive, watery additions to a glassful of ice. But the 'Galante' served here was so much better than that: a super-strong mixture of various liqueurs, a cherry at the bottom of the glass and no ice in sight. Had I drunk that all night, I would have been a happy man.
But as a Yelper I thought it my duty to try their other stuff too. So, feeling lucky, I opted for their random mix of the day: 'Canta' (Spanish for 'chance'). And quickly discovered that I should have listened to Clint's monologue about the Magnum being the most powerful gun in the world, for 'Canta' proved to be exactly the kind of cocktail I dislike: hardly any alcohol, some fruit juice, and a whole lot of ice. To their credit, the staff took it off the bill and replaced it with some Argentinian beer instead. A welcome gesture, but unfortunately the beer wasn't great, rivalling US Budweiser for depth.
In and amongst the cocktails and beer I also tried some of their Argentinian wine. I loved the huge glasses they came in, but I didn't think the wine was spectacular, certainly not for the £8.50 charged per glass.
But I wasn't done there. An ill-conceived game against Erica (that stuff about alcohol affecting your decision-making? It's true) of 'Spot the American' in the crowd of women in the neighbouring booth with double Tequila shot stakes resulted in, well, us all trying their Tequila. Perhaps for the better, because it showed their Tequila to be pretty good.
Overall, okay. Great service, swanky interior and some good drinks (their 'Galante', the Tequila) off-set by some not-so-much ones (their beer, the 'Canta' cocktails) and the high price of everything (most cocktails were around the £12 mark, wine was £8.50 a glass).