Baranis — Restaurant in London

If you ever find yourself having recently returned from the South of France with patchy tans, dreams of retirement and a score to settle, Baranis is the place for you. That's providing the score to settle was in our Gallic cousins’ sharpest art, Petanque. Or Boules. Or whatever it is.

Baranis is a cracking little Provence themed bar on Chancery Lane. Taking the Provence theme to its most evocative ebb, they’ve only gone and got the UK’s only indoor petanque court, that’s all. It’s quite an unexpected place in quite an unexpected area, but somehow it really works. Down some steps and you’re in old vaulted cellars of a former auction house, the place is speckled with illustrations recalling a sun-drenched southern France, and held together by some arrestingly green pillars. The drinks menu naturally has its fair share of great wine, but peppered with some Pastis and Absinthe concoctions that give the bar its name. The crowd when we went was overwhelmingly French, which really completed the effect.

The big draw is the petanque. It’s a pretty tight spot and you’re convinced that you’re about to smash something at any moment, but with thick shale and a brick enclosure the only damage you’ll do is to your reputation. Freely hire out the little cubby hole towards the end of the petanque court and you'll not only add the edge of true danger to your evening, but have incredibly cute secluded spot to position yourself. Highly...

I've been to Baranis a couple of times as I work nearby. A friend took me there first for cocktails and they were absolutely fantastic! I've been to Nightjar,Experimental Cocktail Club,64 Colebrook Row and other famous cocktail bars in order to try out the innovative drinks made by the in house mixologists. Baranis has a special edge over all of these - its not yet 'too cool' (aka long queues) ; its still firmly in the category of an undiscovered gem. I tried the Lychee and Lavender martini, which was served with a gorgeous fresh sprig of lavender in a martini glass with lychee at the bottom. Also tried a really good Laphroaig based cocktail, absolutely delicious! The place has a really old school 40s French vibe with great music and decor. The bar staff are really friendly and I've even popped in for lunch (might I add the food is also really good!) for a burger. Try some of their bar snacks, also really good. I will definitely be going there more often and am...

Booked the pentanque as a fun thing to do on my birthday. Arrived shortly before our booked time, was checked against the schedule by a staff member and shown to a booth. Pentanque remained in use, when it was getting to the end of our slot we brought it to the attention of the staff who basically shrugged and told us we should have chucked the other people off the court ourselves. When we were told it was then booked for the next several hours I asked for my card from the tab back and contactless payment was taken without asking to settle our bill. Whole attitude of the staff in a not busy bar was that we should have sorted it out ourselves and it was our fault for not knowing how the booking system worked. Made for a really happy birthday, obviously. Would advise avoiding this bar like the plague if you expect...