Rating – 4 Stars xxxx
Birthdays and celebrations can be great fun, but at the same time tricky for many, who can struggle with what to do to mark a jubilant occasion. My pseudo husband did nothing to mark (what for most is) the greatest date of the year when I first met him.
Reluctantly over the last decade we have managed some fun times. The main reason he’s not keen is that his birthday is so near Christmas, and he feels it all morphs into one.
It was a surprise last month during lunch when he coughed and the words came out, “This year for my birthday I’d like to go to an ABBA or Drag Queen bottomless brunch”.
He added that he wanted to do it on a Saturday and it to be in central London so we could have the option to go on and party in London’s Soho.
The only Abba interactive dining experience to my knowledge is at the O2 and the prices for that are not for the faint hearted. Researching further it seems I have missed something, Drag Queen and Abba brunches, many with bottomless alcohol, are all the rage.
Many happen on a Sunday, which must be great if there is a bank holiday Monday to nurse the hangover. I found what looked like the perfect venue right in Soho: Zebrano. I have been to parties there before and the staff are super friendly.
Now let’s start with a warning. There are a few web pages you can book the Drag Brunch through. The one we booked through we felt was misleading, however.
Having paid and received confirmation, when Zebrano’s sent the itinerary, it was not for the drag brunch we had booked but for a cocktail making class! The actual venue was not able to help us and advised us to contact the booking company.
That took three days of my life that I will never get back. They never replied (till after I fixed it ) so eventually we had to pay more, but Zebrano’s waved the booking fee and sorted it.
Chatting to fellow Drag Queen brunchers, many had paid different prices and that left me feeling a little annoyed, so it is worth shopping around. The actual drag brunch was due to start at 1.30pm but we did not get in till 2.00pm.
But let’s look at the positives of what was a really fun afternoon and certainly a little different from tea down the road at Fortnum’s. The Drag Queen brunch is a hoot! You are served a lovely afternoon tea with crust cut sandwiches, sweet treats and scrummy scones.
To top it off there is an hour of bottomless Bellinis (prosecco and peach juice). Please do not expect best quality but it did the trick and the lovely staff come round and pour it for you (which also keeps it under control). One table kept waving their glasses and complaining they did not get enough.
Dead on the hour it stops; even when a half carafe was sitting there unused, we were refused it. You can get two for one cocktails and the prices for central London are very reasonable, so you may want to stay on after if there are a few of you.
The Drag Queens are just fantastic and sing live. My pet hate is miming or lip-syncing Drag Queens even if they are comedy queens. We had three acts entertaining us: opening the afternoon’s festivities was Hungarian Queen Candy Heals.
Billed as the warm-up she was superb, worked like a true professional, her witty one liners and vocal performances stole the afternoon and indeed she worked her heals off. Candy was really the star of the afternoon.
Heading the afternoon was Drag Queen Royalty Vanity Von Glow. One of the ladies I chatted to who, at the age of 53, had never seen a drag show gasped ,“I tell you what, I am woman but never have I looked that good in my life!” She just loved her afternoon. Vanity had been running late and was an enjoyable act.
Miss Glow knows how to work a room but seemed to take offense when I asked where in Scotland she was from. That seemed to disappear when she came to our table telling the whole room that “The Gays are here”. Really! In this day and age!
That brings me to the other plus. Demographic-wise, it was off the scale. There was everyone from an amazing 90-year-old lady and her gang and a hen night posse to your cruise type people on that particular day. There was very little evidence of an LGBTIQQ clientele but everyone there all had one thing in common: they wanted to have a good time. You can get involved as little or as much as you like.
The show is infectious, and you end up on the dance floor, making new friends and laughing all the way to four o’clock. The day finished off with a third Queen Lady Lloyd, who has a sensational voice but by the time she took to the floor, the dancing was in full swing, and it would have been nice to have seen her perform.
We will certainly be going to Drag Queen Brunch again. It really is fun, but please shop around and make sure you have booked correctly. Thank you Zebrano’s for a great day that nearly was not but we do feel they should of waved the additional fee after what we went through to change the booking.
Steven and Adishri x
For more information on Drag Brunchette at Zebrano’s Soho, follow the link:
https://www.designmynight.com/london/bars/soho/zebrano-soho
