Review: Blending in at Chameleon Bar, Liverpool

Gazing around the plush interior of Chameleon Bar, we could not help but notice the black and white swirling decor that gives this hidden gem an almost translucent if not psychedelic feel.

Located just off Seel Street, tucked away from student haunts such as Heebie Jeebies and Zanzibar, the first thing that myself and my colleague noticed was how good the music was.

From modern beats to classic Motown, from Hip-Hop to indie pop, it seemed to cover all bases, without venturing into the 'cheesy' spectrum that is more commonly associated with bars around Concert Square and Mathew Street.

I can also say that, although slightly biased being two men in a bar, the women to men ratio seemed abundantly higher than we were used to in a city centre establishment. Although that overwhelming percentage increase could be attributed to the immense cocktails that we devoured with gusto.

We started on the MOJITO's which, having been to Cuba three times in the past three years, were, quite frankly, amazing. Muchas gracias mi amigos!!

Next on the list were TWISTED MOJITO's. The same as above but with home infused vanilla rum. They were so good we had another round before moving down the cocktail list, our enthusiam ever increasing!

Speeding through the cocktail list we were presented with a cornicopia of magical beverages to rival any hedonistic drink that the Greek Gods could muster, including the wonderful MAI TAI which consist of light, gold AND dark rum with tropical juices and almond syrup, the HURRICANE which comprised of light and gold rum with passion fruit, orange and pinapple, and the GRATEFUL DEAD which mixed soured Skyy vodka with spiced rum, lemonade and Chambord.

With our palletes well and truly tingling with excitement we moved onto the Piece de Resistance. The LORRETTA LEMONADE. This astonishing drink was made by the great cocktail gods in the sky for the pleasure of we mere mortals. It was basically a MOJITO with the addition of Jack Daniels. But the mix of Jack with fresh mint, apple juice and ginger gloriously crowned with Midori melon liquor impressed myself and my colleague to such an extent we had to order another. By this point the women to men ration had grown ever bigger. Or perhaps we were seeing double.

Michael, the barman who so graciously served us all night with such passion for his concoctions, gave us some valuable recommendations as to what to order next.

The staggeringly divine ZOMBIE. Containing a mind-blowing 5 different hits of rum and mixed in with apricot liquor, bitters and orange juice. This was the utopia-crowning moment that we had been craving from the moment we walked in.

This bar is edgy, cool, modern and a number of other adjectives that, by the time we had devoured the ZOMBIES, we couldn't articulate.

A fantastic atmosphere that seemed to grow as the night wore on, with hip staff who seriously know their stuff, Chameleon is a far cry from the 1960's so called retro bars that adorn the city.

They also do a 'STOCK EXCHANGE' night on Thursday from 8pm til 2am which consists of the novel idea that they start selling drinks at 80p and depending on what they are selling during the night the price rises and falls on big screens. Expect a massive rush to the bar when it plunges to just 20p!

Chamleon bar is open from 6pm until 3.30am every Fri/Sat/Sun.

I throughly recommend 'blending' in at CHAMELEON BAR. If not for the cocktails, then certainly for the cool, retro atmosphere.

9/10

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