Perfect if you like music for your brunch!
Piano Works, in Farringdon, is appropriately named because it’s not just a pub it’s also a live music venue. But it’s a pub where the food is second to the entertainment.
Situated not too far away from Farringdon train station near the corner of Farringdon and Clerkenwell Roads, Piano Works is a basement level venue that’s very large with seating of all sorts all around the venue. And in the middle of the venue is where the music takes, literally, center stage. And every Saturday and Sunday there is live music to accompany your brunch that you can enjoy with your lunch companions. It’s live music where the two pianists take your song requests, from noon to 4pm, and then a larger band and choir take to the stage at 4. It’s quite a lot of entertainment to go with your meal, and while the music is actually quite loud making it hard to talk to your companions, once you get used to it it’s a nice way to while away an afternoon.
Piano Works is offering up an excellent valued brunch option if you like alcohol (or even if you don’t). On Saturdays, you get bottomless prosecco for £20, and it drops to £15 on Sundays, or if you fancy bloody marys, this would be £20 both days, all of which come with your meal. And the food, while nothing special, is as mentioned above secondary to the excellent music on offer. Dishes such as Eggs Florentine, Eggs Royale, Salmon and scrambled eggs, a Bombay Omelette, a Cajun Spiced Bap or if you’re very hungry The Full Works – which is what it says on the tin – it has everything you want. It’s a great value for the price all of which comes with the music.
I went in there one Sunday with a friend and we had a very very nice time. The music on offer that day hit all the right notes for us and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. While we struggled a bit to get our order taken, and then our first drinks took quite a bit of time to arrive at our table (they finally did after our food was delivered), we settled into our high chairs facing the stage and enjoyed the two very excellent piano players on stage who entertained the customers. We didn’t want to leave when the full band took to the stage and where they sang some very familiar numbers. It was really hard to pull ourselves out of the venue, we were enjoying it that much!
But Piano Works does more than just brunch, they also have a stellar line up of various events throughout the week. On Mondays it’s Jukebox Live (“put on your dancing shoes and sing away the blues”), Tuesdays are a treat with Twosdays (two cocktails and two main courses for $10 each), then it’s Winehouse Wednesdays, and then on Thursdays it’s time to kick off the weekend with £5 cocktails from 5-7 pm and £10 house wines. And Piano Works is planning a knees up New Year’s Eve party where they will bring you live music from 7pm to 2am and a live DJ until 6am.
There’s so so much happening at Piano Works. The first step for you I would recommend is to have a look at their website to see what’s happening. But it’s a great venue and has been ranked as one of the top 50 bars in London by The Evening Standard. It’s a fun place to go to, if not for the food, then the entertainment.
The Piano Works
113-117 Farringdon Road,
Corner of Ray Street,
Farringdon, London EC1R 3BX
F: thepianoworks | T: @ThePianoWorks | I: @thepianoworks
Review by Tim Baros
Photos from Piano Works