The Moroccan Medina
Queen of Hoxton
26 OCTOBER 2017 - 31 MARCH 2018
Free
The Queen of Hoxton is a pub, club and BBQ food joint, boasting three floors and a rooftop terrace. On the weekends DJs spin disco and house, whilst the weekdays are filled with film, food and fun.
Whilst most winters see rooftop bars and venues close up shop, The Queen of Hoxton has other ideas. Every winter it uses a wigwam tent to transform the roof into a new, adventurous set up. This year, the team decided upon the cosy splendour of Marrakesh, featuring Moroccan lamps, floor cushions and decorative drapes. The 'garden' area is inspired by cacti-filled Jardin Majorelle, with a few plants and fairy lights putting on a fairly meagre display... but at least they tried.
The Moroccan Medina offers a range of cocktails, both hot and cold (spiced buttered rum, shimmering gold pomegranate Bellini) ranging from £6-9. I stuck to the 'medina pale ale' £5 for the evening so wouldn't be able to vouch for any of the other drinks. What I can vouch for, however, is the food. The most surprising part of my visit is how good it was... (excuse poor photo quality - it was dark in there!)
A range of falafel wraps, lamb tagine and mezze boards - there's even an exciting option for vegans (rabbits rejoice!) Tom and I got some halloumi fries £6 and a meat mezze board for two £13 (for both), which included lamb kofte, chicken shawarma, salad, beetroot hummus, baba ganoush and flatbread.
The halloumi fries weren't battered but were perfectly crisp and not greasy at all. The meat mezze was a generous portion - the lamb kofte crisp on the outside, chicken tender and flavours great. Ok, so it's not going to win any awards anytime soon, but for something which came from a box on the roof of a club which has Nicky Minaj posters on the ground floor, it was much better than expected.
The Moroccan Medina isn't anything mind blowing, but it's a nice way for a rooftop to be enjoyable in winter. The prices are decent (especially for the food) and whoever is controlling the playlist has good crack, playing old school tunes you barely remember. It offers shisha, if that's your sort of thing.... as well as crackling chiminea fireplaces to warm you up outside (word of warning - don't get too close or you'll leave stinking like an ash tray).
OVERALL RATING: ***
http://queenofhoxton.com/rooftop/winter/
http://queenofhoxton.com/photos/winter-rooftop-moroccan-medina/
