when i was living across the pond in la many of my friends raved about bunga bunga.

the battersea venue, which enjoys royal approval counting prince harry among its patrons, opened last september and is still as popular as ever.

i have to admit, prior to my visit i wasn’t entirely sure whether it was a restaurant, a bar or a nightclub. turns out it is all three, plus there’s karaoke and you can learn italian in the loo.

after months of wanting to pay a visit a friend decided to hold her birthday celebrations there and i’m rather glad she did – it proved to be a complete hoot of a night out.

the evening began in a quiet fashion sipping on some prosecco and enjoying tasty cured italian meats and fresh breads.

at this point, while i admired the scrummy food and the quirky decor, i was at a loss as to what was so special about the place.

sure the bubbly waiters were dressed in tennis gear, which made for an unusual sight, and i have to admit the slab of pizza served to our table was rather impressive but i was still left a little stumped.

at the end of the meal huge tins were produced, along with an ice cream desert with sparklers, and we all sang happy birthday, rather badly.

it was at this point we were presented with the post-dinner karaoke menu and from that point on the fun pleasant evening out snowballed into a crazy hectic evening of hilarity.

for starters what is not to love about karaoke – singing your heart out to classic tracks  thinking you are celine dion, when in reality you sound more like a strangled cat. 

while the drunk performances provided the entertainment i was also treated to a dance lesson from a gentleman who really could move.

i’m more of a shuffler, right foot to left foot, but there were plenty of amazing dancers in bunga-bunga more than happy to show off their skills and shake they stuff, it really was impressive.

we visited on a wednesday night and it was really good fun but i hear that weekends are packed and not in a good way. more of a can’t get to the bar for hours kind of evening.  and to be honest if there wasn’t room to dance it would be a real shame.

i’m practising my moves for a return visit, you never know when you might need to impress a royal with your fancy footwork!