Guanabara is a Brazilian bar and restaurant named after the main beach in Rio, serving authentic Brazilian cuisine and a wide selection of cocktails. There is a large dance floor with live bands and DJs playing.
Minus special events, the dress code is non-existent, leaving clubbers to choose their style and the variance is great, ranging from simple t-shirt and jeans to fancy ties and full dresses. More relaxed outfits might fair better through than suits and stilettos as the feet keep moving and the drinks make dancing that much warmer.
The ambience and crowd are often equally thematic. The crowd is one of the most eclectic in the West End, ranging in age from 18 to middle age and drawing all internationalities, including some of Brazilian heritage. Students make up most of Monday and Tuesday's small, more sedate crowds thanks the UKP1 beer student night. The bar runs flavourful, typical club-price drinks, including a massive selection of specialty mohitos, a stellar Mai Tai, and the Brazilian house drinks Caipirinhas. Drinks are UKP 5-7 apiece.
The club also includes a house menu of starters, salads, sandwiches, and dessert, including tasty appetizers like feijoadinha (Brazilian pork ' black bean stew with rice ' farofa) and coxinhas de catupiri (tear drop shaped specialities filled with chicken, herbs ' soft cheese), as well as more traditional bites like calamari and hummus.
Nights with stronger showings, usually weekends or special events, get a dance segment from a house bongo/electric dance group who perform some solo and group acrobatic tricks. The DJ's fit the theme as well, taking popular club, house, and pop tunes and often shaping new beats and bass lines. Depending on the night, this can result in very interesting mash-ups, mixes, and remixes of tunes from Western artists from Kanye West to Daft Punk. Before you know it, everyone's really cranking the hips on the dance floor. A swinging time from the Brazil bunch.
- Seth Graves
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