Avora London: A New-World Cocktail Experience — Restaurant in London

UPDATE: To respond to my rebuttal below, Google self proclaims that reviews are not verified, please do not be fooled - companies often fabricate positive reviews for business. They will only remove fake reviews once they have been highlighted. Obviously, Avora would not report their own fake reviews.

————————————————————————

Again, to mimic all of the 1* reviews of this venue, I too will be echoing the same thoughts and feelings. I’m unsure how there are so many 5* reviews, fake perhaps?

Anyway, much like many other reviews are alluding to, our experience also felt like we’d been scammed.

Firstly, we were waiting outside before our booking for 15 minutes in the street with no real waiting area. The security guard, to our surprise also shouted at one of the couples for standing on the wrong side of the street… despite there being no pedestrians at the time. This was our first red flag…

Our booking was for 20:00, yet our experience didn’t start until the 20:30 group arrived, so we were sat waiting downstairs with the first (awful, cheap and overly sugary) cocktail for nearly 45 minutes… I’m almost sure there is no alcohol in these cocktails and we were not informed at any point what was ACTUALLY in the cocktails… concerning to say the least.

The whole experience felt like a rip off of Avatar… almost hilariously, and the acting was sub-par. The main doctor was wearing summer shorts and high top trainers… and a lab coat? Hardly immersive whatsoever. We were fortunate that the group we were paired with were wonderful people.

The decoration you see online is purely for social media… in real life there are gaps in the ceiling, walls, and it looks cheap and unfinished.

All 3 cocktails you are presented with are watered down and full of ice. You have no idea what you are drinking and you’re left sat twiddling your thumbs for most of the experience waiting for a 2/3 scene of okay acting.

Finally… the experience ends and you are all “rushed out” of the venue… and are literally given no close down brief, thank yous or opportunity for feedback… they literally don’t care now they’ve had your money and rush you out! At this point it was just funny.

Please do not be scammed by what you see on social media or quite potentially lots of fake AI generated reviews. There’s plenty of other immersive experiences in London that are much...

I have previously visited Alcotraz, another of Inventive Productions experiences in 2022 and absolutely loved it, so when I heard they’d created an even more ‘immersive’ experience called Avora – I couldn’t wait to try it out. We visited one Saturday afternoon as a group of four, and after a short wait outside the rather inconspicuous building in Hackney, we were led into the experience by a rather over-excited American scientist.

Upon arrival, you store your bags and coats, before heading downstairs to the first room in the experience – the lab. Here, you put on your Avora jumpsuit, before the story of why you’re there and what you’re going to get up to unfolds. The actors are very enthusiastic, and it’s not long before you get your first dose of the mysterious ‘Luminol’ – which was a rather tasty cocktail you mix together to your own liking.

Over the next 90 or so minutes you’re taken from the Laboratory on to the planet of Avora, where you communicate with the locals, enjoy more of the ‘Luminol’ cocktails and let the story unfold around you. The experience is certainly unique, and I won’t give away the storyline, but it was just on the fringes of being a little too over the top for my liking. The actors were very passionate, but I can’t help feeling that if they all didn’t speak in a fake American accent, it would help actually make the experience feel a little more believable.

The theming for the experience was impressive in some areas, especially the final room, but I would say there is room for improvement. The most disappointing thing was the ‘portal’ into Avora, which really needs some excitement adding to it, as it was literally a dark corridor that felt very hastily thrown together. Overall, the experience was very enjoyable, and we did have many laughs (and a few jumps) throughout the experience. The cocktails which are a large part of the experience were very tasty, and all quite different from one another which was great.

However, I do think for the price that is being commanded, there are tweaks to the formula that would take the experience from a 4 star to a 5 star in my opinion – such as the lack of theming in certain areas and more coherence in the storyline. If you’re looking for something unusual to do as a group of friends, Avora will certainly...

We went yesterday evening and the only word that would sum it up is underwhelming. Firstly, be wary if you are plus sized, they don't ask what size jumpsuit you need so I was left putting one on and then swapping it for a bigger in front of complete strangers in some sort of weird embarrassing loop. Ultimately my jumpsuit still didn't fit but I gave up trying. I will add that I had checked on the website prior to visiting and my size should have been available but the staff didn't seem able to find one that could fit me. So we did not start off well.

Secondly, there is a real lack of attention to detail. If you have seen the tiktoks and photos online then yes, those parts are great. Except zoom out and you will see the bits that aren't decorated which make the space feel as magical as a dishcloth.

Thirdly, nothing makes sense in the script. The scientist tells you why flamingos turn pink and that the avorians consume luminol in everything they eat and drink as this is how they survive on Avora. Then you're given a tube of luminol to add to your cocktail which is purple liquid. Are the avorians purple though? Absolutely not. In fact the costume is two stripes of UV paint on their face and a blanket......I've seen GCSE drama productions with more costume creativity than Avora.

I'm fortunate to have been to lots of immersive experiences, many of which have been outstanding. Avora is not one of them. I guess if you've never been to one then you will like it. The actors themselves were good despite the awful script they are working with. The cocktails were ok and price wise I felt the ticket cost generally covered the cost of 3 cocktails in London. We were sat with two other couples who we didn't know and fortunately they were great. They were also disappointed in the experience so it wasn't just us who felt that way. If you go, don't have high expectations, or indeed any expectations, and you...