Le Boudoir in Central bar review: bland cocktails, poor service and a questionable revamp – but at least the classics are done well
Street artist Szabotage’s overhaul of Le Boudoir misses the mark, which might not be so bad if the service and drinks were up to par – but only the classics stood out
The vibe: Le Boudoir recently underwent what was touted as a major revamp by well-known street artist Szabotage, who is originally from Shoreditch in London and is now based in Hong Kong.
Curiously, instead of changing the decor completely, the bar’s trademark baroque-style flock wallpaper, chandeliers and framed pictures are still there – only now they’re covered with splashes of paint, scrawled graffiti and bands of tape.
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This is supposed to be edgy and hip, but it just feels like being in an old-fashioned restaurant that somebody has vandalised.
Reached by descending a flight of red carpeted steps that lead from an unmarked doorway next to the Pastis restaurant on Wyndham Street, Le Boudoir is known as a place to party late at night and on weekends. On this weekday evening, however, the place was dead – and being served by a waiter who clearly had zero interest in his job didn’t help.
A second waiter who took over was more polite yet just as uninterested – if your customers leave their first round of drinks almost untouched, you would expect the staff to at least ask what the problem was.