Some activities shouldn’t be done by halves.
If you’re going on a stag to Las Vegas, there’s no point eschewing any course of action that doesn’t result in you dancing on a table in Hakkasan at 3am, spraying the groom with a bottle of champagne that will require you to remortgage your house.
If you’re playing poker at Monte Carlo Casino, you really should be wearing a white tuxedo, drinking some type of Martini, and making overly pointed eye-contact with the woman in the red dress sat across the table from you. (Even if she’s pushing 70, and cleaned you out last hand.)
And if you’re doing a boozy brunch in the City, you want a DJ, champagne and cocktails flowing like tap water, plenty of sliders, and a whole bunch of people dressed as though 1pm was actually 1am and the daylight outside merely an illusion brought about by one too many glasses of Perrier-Jouët.
Happily, COYA’s Amazonian brunch in Angel Court has all those things, and plenty more besides. The party runs for an impressive three hours and countless selfies and / or group photos. (Everybody is taking selfies and / or group photos. If you’re not a subject, you’ll be the cameraman.)
The drinks keep following, and the party atmosphere builds and builds
Good for them: in these trying times, it’s important we stockpile as much fun as possible. And COYA’s brunch is nothing if not fun. How could it fail to be with unlimited Pisco Sours, Espresso Martinis, Margaritas, and Bloody Mary’s? If you arrive at half twelve, you’ll have a good hour to make your way through the bar options, soaking up the booze with the occasional slider – beef tataki hits the spot.
Then you’re taking into the main restaurant for the meal proper. There’s a buffet of various Peruvian delicacies to fill you up, as well as a main course to be ordered from the set menu – I went with corn-fed baby chicken and it was delicious. And yes, the drinks keep following, and the party atmosphere builds and builds. Everybody is so obviously having a good time it’s impossible not to be swept up in the infectious bonhomie and general joie de vivre.
Afterwards you return to the bar area for more tunes, more cocktails, and a spot of dancing if so inclined. (Strange how people’s willingness to dance grows across the afternoon.) It was noticeable how many birthday parties and annual group outings were in attendance – as ways to start a day of celebration go, you couldn’t do much better.
Put aside your inhibitions and put some sparkle – and Sangria – in your Saturday. Choose from the spirits package at £65 per head or pay an extra tenner for champagne. Where’s the fun in doing life by half?
For more info, see COYA Angel Court
