Good food, great music, lovely atmosphere, you can find it all in a church at London Bridge. Halleleujah, Nick is now definitely a convert

When did live music in London die out? When I was a lad my A level revision suffered badly because I was out almost every weeknight seeing a live band, usually in a pub. Music was everywhere and it was affordable (and back then so was the beer), but today it’s a musical desert out there.

Except here at Amazing Grace. You come in the old church door to find a lovely space, still showing much of its past life, all seductively lit. Upstairs is a mezzanine bar, while downstairs tables fill most of the space in a cabaret venue style. As we walk in, a young woman, possibly herself still at school (she later sits down with a couple who are almost certainly her parents), is playing acoustic guitar and singing with impressive skill and confidence. We feel at home immediately

The crowd is mixed both young and old, I suspect many of the latter are here for the band that’s now setting up who, on a Thursday, are going to play the hits of the 80s. I’m up for that, despite being an ex punk.

There really is nothing better for selling drinks than a live band. In America it’s pretty much standard for a bar to have a band, the loud music draws in punters and creates an atmosphere that you just don’t get by playing recorded music. The fact you can feel the music actually moving the air also gets people in a fun mood.

Amazing Grace has different styles of music every night – acoustic on a Tuesday, karaoke on a Wednesday, bands and a DJ on a Thursday, etc. You’ll find a night that’s right for you.

Now I have to admit I play bass in an amateur band myself, and yes we do covers of 80s tunes, so I was interested to see how real pros do it. And the answer is very well. After some delay getting started, as the guitarist fought to get his pedal board working, they were up and running and soon the crowd was up with them. The hits kept coming.

It was great to see people coming in the door and almost immediately sticking their arms in the air and singing along. If I may be sexist for a second, in my experience the ladies do love a live band, especially when they’re out in a group.

Hang on though, this isn’t the NME, it’s a restaurant site so what about the food?

Well it’s not fine dining, it’s fun dining. It’s Asian inspired menu but at the same time very American in its punchy flavours and favouring hands, or just a fork to eat. Burgers are big and sharing is encouraged, even insisted on, and you will want extra napkins. Definitely.

We ordered a heck of lot, so I was a bit surprised when the waiter said that  it would all come at once. I’m a greedy guy, but even I can’t eat fast enough to stop some dishes going cold.

After a quick discussion,  the friendly waiter agreed that he could bring half the orders and then deliver the rest after a reasonable pause.

So we soon had a load of Crispy Calamari with a little pot of Kewpie Mayo and lime, and Vietnamese Fried Tofu,  Pickled Shiitake, Sesame, Sweet Kombu and a  Soy Dressing.

The calamari was indeed good and crispy, lots of small nuggets of niceness, and the tofu was interesting with the slippery mushroom, the aroma of sesame and the dressing adding a sharp touch.

With these done we had time to enjoy the band who were at just the right volume, no need to scream at your dining companion but loud enough to move some air.

I love Baos, and here we had Pulled pork with Korean BBQ Sauce, Lime, Pickled Onions and Kewpie Mayo, and as it sounded very unusual,  Crispy cod with Lime, Pickled Onions, Gochujang Mayo and Spring Onions

They were a tiny bit disappointing, the flavours turned down just like the band. The BBQ sauce overwhelmed the pulled pork and the cod was not crispy. Gochujang is usually more fiery, as well. Despite all the ingredients inside, the sum was not greater than the parts.

However we moved on to the Amazing Grace Sharer which consisted of Japanese Fried Chicken, Korean Chicken Wings, Padron Peppers, Corn Ribs and Korean Potato Bites and this was much better.

The padrons were grilled to a good limpness, and some even had a bit of chili heat, which is unusual these days. JFK is always a good choice, we liked that, and the wings were good too but very messy, we went through our paper serviettes at a forest-destroying rate of knots. The spuds were soft and spicy and really rather addictive.

The corn ribs were tasty too, well grilled and sweet and served up with Gochujang mayo for extra fire. We put out that fire with some mochi and the last of our bottle of reasonably priced wine.

If you fancy a night out that has much more to offer than just good food, your prayers have been answered.

Photos supplied by the venue.

amazinggraceldn.com

 9a St Thomas St, London SE1 9RY

HAPPY HOUR

House Lager £5 | House Wine £6 | Prosecco £6

Selected Cocktails £8

Bao Buns £5

Tuesday – Friday

4 – 7 PM