Loft West End

Well, I don’t go out often, and I’d never been here before, but one of the girls from work suggested it for drinks.
I lobbed in early and nabbed a lovely little table and couch area, with just enough seats for our group. While we left fairly early (10:30) it wasn’t crowded at any stage, unlike Archive downstairs. Plenty of tasty drinks, although expensive, but where isn’t these days?
The bar staff were all friendly and attentive, never having to wait long for a drink.
You can book out sections for functions, and it’s really quite a nice place. Enjoyed hearing a lot of music from a lot of favourite bands; pretty rare these days!
I’ll be back.

Loft does not skimp on two things: atmosphere and music. It’s chilled, with dimmed lighting, pot plants hanging from the ceiling, and a soundtrack that would make Barry White weak at the knees. As it is, though, if I wanted atmosphere and good music, I could just lock myself in a cupboard with some candles and my iPhone; the whole reason we go out is for the drinks, expertly crafted by expert craftspeople who craft expertly. And, unfortunately, it is here that Loft fails to deliver.
Over the course of a few hours, I had an incredibly ordinary vodka and diet coke (come on, people; I can only imagine there was something wrong with the soda machine), a very average mule, a truly horrible espresso martini (bitter, bitter coffee combined in absolutely the wrong way with the alcohols), and, worst of all, the absolute WORSE lemon, lime and bitters I have ever had. I actually don’t know how it’s possible to stuff up a LL&B, but apparently they figured out a way. I also was not alone in my disappointment: several other people commented that their cocktails were poorly mixed, or just tasted downright awful. Furthermore, they skimped on the alcohol: for nearly all of our drinks, they barely filled the shot ²⁄₃ full, until we eventually said something. And, lets be honest, that’s what your paying for, and the drinks sure ain’t cheap.
I really hope that it was just an off night for them, but unfortunately I will be very unlikely to ever go back to see if it was. Very disappointing.