Niko’s

This place took way too long to find. I’m not sure if Niko’s ran out of business, or if they became replaced by Weez, as the sign above the door says?
We were told to hookah outside. The strict smoking laws and chilly wind are problems beyond our control, but the service was below par. We were given two half lit coals. On top of that, the workers didn’t even bother turning on the heating lamps for us, and when they finally did, only half of the lamp turned on.
Three stars for the shisha, which clouded impressively well, but one star for service.

A surreal little spot once home to independent café Oppo, Niko’s has a bizarrely spacious youth club feel to it. I think you can tell that the owners are foreign, there’s something that feels very strange about the choice of decoration and low tables.
Weird though it is, it’s not a bad place either. Drinks aren’t bank-​breaking, there’s a range of shisha pipes which can be smoked in the relatively cramped outdoor area and there’s invariably plenty of seating room.
The minimal decoration there is is loosely Eastern inspired, and while Niko’s isn’t ever going to be anyone’s favourite bar it’s a good place on Park Street to grab a chilled out drink late into the night. Provided you’re not an agoraphobe that is — the overwhelming impression here is of emptiness, space and lots of it.

This weird find I came across with a few mates last year when we were looking for somewhere for a drink. It is easy to miss as it is just a doorway, but if you follow the corridor you get to a peculiarly decorated room with sofas set in groups hugging the wall. It is obvious that the owners decorated it themselves on a serious budget. Their major USP is that they sell shisha, and although it might not be the mot comfortable place the drinks are reasonably priced and the staff are nice.

I was slightly disappointed when the bar that was here before went out of business. Nikos have basically come in and carried straight on, and seem to be doing a better job of surviving. Their angle is shisha — you can order a pipe for around £7 and take it into the garden for a smoke along with a drink. Only the garden isn’t very big, so it gets full really quickly — which in my mind slightly defeats the point of a shisha bar in a country with a smoking ban. There’s a massive space inside, and I can’t help the feeling that they should utilize this space better, rather than selling themselves solely on an idea that doesn’t seem practical.

This place is really cute! I never really expected it to be here, but was pleasantly surprised at the non-​pretentiousness of Niko’s considering it is right next to Park Street. You can find the bar to the right of the White Harte (Scream Bar).
There’s a small selection of slightly more exotic beers in addition to the standard spirit optics. You can also but shisha for around £7 in several different flavours, but don’t expect to have an easy job of finding somewhere outside to smoke it, especially if you’re in a large group. The cosiness of the garden area do however make for a friendly shisha sharing experience.

With the smoking ban in place I’m not sure why the owners of this place decided to open a shisha lounge. Their solution is to have a pipe sitting outside the entrance, which a bit pathetic in my opinion. It costs a fortune to smoke as well — you’re better off going to somewhere exotic and trying it out for a fraction of the cost.
They have managed to get something of a middle eastern feel to the place, with slightly garish orange pastel walls. I should declare my interests at this point. X replaced a favourite bar of mine, Oppo. Whilst I’m sure the new residents of this bar had nothing to do with Oppo closing down, I still sort of hold it against them.
I suppose I should have a go at the pluses. It’s got a pretty nice chilled out atmosphere, with people just here to kick back for a bit. The price aren’t to bad for the area, and they probably have a slightly better range that when Oppo was here. So, not a bad bar, although I can’t quite understand the point of a shisha lounge under current circumstances.