We’ve written a couple of things about the new Lion Breweries bar, The Floor By O! (click here and here). However, we’ve visited the Floor twice since then and have a bit more to add.
As you may have gathered from reading the site, we really, really like the O! bar at Dutch Hospital. Although it has its flaws (ear splitting music and painfully slow service on weekends), the Brewery is still a great bar. The staff are friendly, there’s a lovely large courtyard to sit in and overall the atmosphere is pretty laid back. You can turn up in shorts and slippers, you can bring your dog, and no one’s going to ask you if you know who their father is.
The Floor By O! isn’t really like that. There’s a bouncer, there’s a dress code and there’s a dance floor. It’s a lot more like a club than a bar. Of course, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing – it just depends on what you like. While the Brewery is casual and chill, the Floor takes itself a lot more seriously; they’re attempting a Guinness World Record for the most extensive cocktail menu and their walls are plastered with expensive silver mosaic tiles. None of this is bad, it’s just different.
The service, however, is bad. On a Wednesday night we stood at the bar for at least 15 minutes waiting for our bill, having asked for it three times only then to be told it would be sent over to the table. When we went for the opening last Saturday, however, the service was excellent. Openings are rarely indicative of the true essence of a venue, but the sheer crowd present at this one means the Floor seems destined, like its sister bar, to be a consistently packed and popular place.
For YAMU, however the Floor just isn’t our kind of bar. If you like loud music, dressing up and a bit of a party then you’ll have a good time at the Floor. The food is good, and they have a really nice house wine (red). To avoid getting frustrated at the slow service though, just collect what you’ve ordered, go sit down and let them bring the bill to you.
