Hakamou

A great tiki bar, which is made so much better by the care and attention that has clearly gone into the interior design, the cocktail recipes and the menu itself. The menu walks you through the range of cocktails available, from the classic tiki drinks (the piña colada in a coconut is a particular favourite of mine) to mocktails designed for the designated driver or your friend who doesn’t drink. The sharers round the selection out — anything between a £10, two-​pint choice and the £135 concoction that quite literally comes in a kitchen sink. If you order that last one, you get your name on the board!
The bar is nicely laid out; there’s an upstairs, which I must confess I’ve never really explored adequately, but the downstairs is deceptively large, housing several tables as well as a small dance floor. If you arrive early enough you’ll be able to get table service from one of the bar staff, since things start fairly quietly and make having a quiet cocktail with a few friends a breeze. If you’re there later, things get busy pretty quickly: 9pm seems to be the point at which things go from being fairly relaxed to pretty hectic.
If I’m honest, I think it gets too busy unless you’re already pretty far along on a night out, so you might want to go earlier in the night unless you enjoy a bar that’s too loud to talk in. The popularity of the bar is also a negative factor in that the menus are printed on unlaminated paper and so were looking pretty unpleasant when I visited more recently; I’m hopeful that they’ll eventually get menus that stand up to being soaked with alcohol more readily.
All in all, if you’re looking for a quirky venue in Leicester and you want to sip a cocktail with an umbrella in your hair, this is a great place to do it!