Tantra (Tantra Lounge & Bar (Nottingham))

Member Name: abyznw

Product:	Tantra Lounge & Bar (Nottingham)
Date:	28/09/08 (304 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great cocktails, fantastic atmosphere.

Disadvantages: Very busy and a little pricey.

Tantra is a relatively up market lounge bar on Victoria Street in Nottingham.

The place: It is quite a small venue so get there early because the queues can be a bit insane. Inside it is decorated beautifully with fancy chandelier lights, velvet sofas and beds (if you want a bed I would suggest booking in advance!). It has 3 nights a week, - Sunday is 'Secret Sunday Clubbin' with a DJ spot by Mark James. Monday is 'Jug - a - licious' - half price cocktails and pitchers, and Tuesday is the originally named '1/2 price Cocktails..' night, the unofficial student night and the only one I've been to! It is open from 5pm to 4am and free to get in. The website says that the dress code is 'casual & fabulous'... I would side more with the fabulous, I think I would feel out of place there in jeans and scruffy shoes!

My Experience There: Tantra was always the place to take visiting friends to impress them with the delights Nottingham has to offer. It is more up market than a lot of student dives, but still great fun. The main problem with Tantra is that it is always packed, and being a small venue, if you don't get a seat (or bed!) you end up stuck permanently in the drinks queue which isn't fun, and it also takes ages to get served, so I would definitely recommend getting there early. I have to say though, the drinks are worth the wait! Tantra does a range of amazing cocktails, my favourite is the 'Choc-work Orange' (a mix of Triple sec, Creme de Cacao, Baileys and Chocolate Milk). It specializes in creamy cocktails but also sells a variety of spirits and shots, beer and other more classic cocktails. Price wise it is pretty expensive, for the Choc-work Orange it was £3.30, but that was on a half-price night, so I would probably not buy it at its regular price! For a shot of Sambuca it's £3.40, and for all bottled beer (Bud, Becks, Corona) it's £3.40 too. Bottled wine ranges from £13.50 to £28.50 per bottle (although happy 'hour' is 5-8pm everyday and you can get house wines for £7 a bottle). Tantra on a Tuesday always used to have entertainment in the form of an acoustic set, I think by a guy called Steve McGill. He is absolutely brilliant, and does a great range of tunes, especially the more classic stuff from the Britpop era, and it was always fun to be drunkenly singing along to 'Wonderwall' with the rest of the club. They often have other artists performing such as Kat & Robb (acoustic tunes), Roy De'Wired (classic tunes and 70s stuff) and Tom Wardle (acoustic pop). The atmosphere in Tantra is always buzzing, although it is a bit more up market, it doesn't take itself too seriously like other bars (such as the Coco Lounge), and I've always had a great start to the evening here, there is always witty banter to be had with the doormen and the music isn't too loud for you to have a catch-up with friends. Location wise, Tantra is slightly further out than other bars, but it is still easily within walking distance to the town centre.

Conclusion: I would recommend this as the place to go before going on to a club. It is a little on the pricey side, so it's perfect for an early cocktail (before it gets busy) rather than several, and then on to one of the many clubs in Nottingham.

Summary: A great place to go for a cocktail and a catch-up if you're feeling flash.