please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A dreadfully overpriced pub , ridiculous really (r they in central London), God paid less for a beer in the Savoy bar! Awful ripoff of a place. A very lazy pub with idle staff. Shame really as nice location. Have to agree with others i'd stretch myself to beat 0/10, a real ripoff and staff r so poor. Company summer party seeks location??? This place is a big NONO!! Rubbish place
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Oh Shame - trying to be different but boring, people are lack lustre and prices are expensive in a recession, think twice - avoid!
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Afraid i didn't enjoy this. A cocktail bar which means a lack of beer and spending ages waiting for a drink whilst they mix some colourful concoction for half a dozen screeching maidens. A place for the pretentious and nouvo riche. Not a pub I think I'll visit again soon. sorry.
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The Harrow MuckedUp! Frequented by the type of people who think a "Slug and Lettuce" is cool. Maybe I am just mgetting old?
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A bar for people who think they are beautiful.
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I agree with Locale Drinker....the service in this place is rather second rate and there is no ale to be sought or bought; there are a variety of much more suitable venues to supp at nearby; most prominently The Farriers. Mokoko is for young poseurs who enjoy wasting hard earned on cocktails and designer lager that probably tastes as bad as their disgusting aftershave.
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My first visit to Mokoko since it changed from The Harrow. Unfortunately no real ale on sale. Waited 7 mins at the bar, but couldnt get served. The new management is clearly doing something right for the place to be so crowded. But it seems to have nothing to offer to the local beer drinker
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I see that the post below is vocoder33's only post ever on this site. I wonder if this is in any way related to the content of his post which sound rather like an advertisement for the place?
Mother and baby coffee mornings FFS!
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It saddens me that some people look for the negative in 'new' projects in this city , We have a fairly diverse community and a growingbut struggling nightlife in St Albans that is up against some pretty archaic laws and rules.
When a tired half empty pub is taken over and changed , it is a big gamble and risk for the new owner , there are so many factors to consider , not least the 'snobbery' of the "it'll never work" brigade !
Mokoko has battled against these cynics and won ! it has also battled against a local difficult resident who opposed the garden area of the bar due to chatting crowd noise levels.
How someone who CHOSE to move within a close distance to a PUB can have grounds for complaint i'll never know , but i guess it's another one of those negative people.
From reading local press i am delighted to discover that Mokoko won the case against them and I for one will continue to patronise this funky , stylish and high quality bar ...
Arfa Dailey is absolutely right ! Mokoko is taking undeserved flak!
As far as the 'negative gang ' are concerned , yes , the Harrow may well have been a 'decent' pub ... but St Albans has 'decent' pubs all over the city . Mokoko has provided us with a new exciting venue that gives back to the community , mother and baby coffee mornings , speed dating and wine/ champagne tasting with guest speakers ... Viva Mokoko ! Lets give these new ventures a chance please ,you negative people out there !
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Another one bites the dust. The Harrow was a decent pub; Mokoko is a failed experiment. "richerthanyou" was right on the money with his chip shop suggestion. I'll stop by for a pickled onion on my way to The Farriers and The Verulam Arms, (the latter illustrating, by contrast, that change can be a positive thing if intelligent and restrained).
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do you mean lager...?case closed.
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larger, lager, lager,,,,,,,shouting!
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Can't believe the flak Mokoko's is taking!
Basically it's a quite stlylish bar (not traditional pub). It has wide selection of spirits inc lots of rum and rare whiskeys. The staff are helpfull and knowledgable and don't look down on you for explaining the difference between them all... They knock out great cocktails at mid price range. Good selection of larger and very limited selection of bitter. Stylish furniture and good DJ's at the weekend.
However, it's definately more of an evening place, a 'going out' venue rather than mid week comfy boozer. When it's empty it can feel pretty souless and there's never any locals...
To summarise - 'Horses for courses' venue: much needed as St Albans was crying out for a place to have a stylish pre-dinner drink with your other half, or somewhere to go with your mates to make the night feel a bit better than sitting in your local doing the same old thing every Friday... lets face it there are no other bars in St Albans (apart from the bland Slug n Lettuce) so why the moaning???
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might buy this place and turn it into a chip shop....
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This place has its uses. If you live in St Albans, have young kids and need to dodge the rain on a Saturday afternoon, this really works! Very child friendly when quiet in the daytime.
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the no entry sign at the side of the building is there for a reason.....don't do it!
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Oh Please! I'm stunned at the reviews for this place. It's a great bar that offers something different from the rest of the places in St Albans. I'm all up for a good old fashioned pub but it's nice to have an alternative to this. We've been to Mokokos many times before and have found the cocktails excellent, the bartenders very knowledgable (they'll recommend or even make up a cocktail for you if you ask them!) and the place very ambient. They even hold special nights (I think once a month or so) for champagne tasting, port tasting etc. So please do not listen to these reviews.. If you want a pint then go to one of the MANY pubs in St Albans, if you want something a bit different try Mokokos.
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charmless pub come bar thing, has lack of identity apart from loud brash music and no real ale, one to avoid and left to the nightclubbing bedwetters.
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Having previously queried the purpose of Mokoko, I'm enlightened by this week's Herts Advertiser. Mokoko, it says, is a "specialist cocktail and style bar". So there we are. All sit down again.
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Vastly different to the old Harrow pub, all chrome and cocktails, piped music and subdued lighting, a tad pretentious and unwelcoming. I quite liked the old Harrow, for all it�s drabness, and normally the passing of such a pub would lead to feelings of outrage and sadness. However St Albans has so many good pubs, some in the immediate area, that I guess this is more a case of natural selection. It balances the pub/bar ratio up a bit more and the Mokoko no doubt has its band of dedicated patrons. I�ll not be one of them though, and I expect they�ll be grateful for it
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The nice garden I praised in a previous post is useless because only 2 people at a time are allowed out there after 9pm (this is policed by an over zealous bouncer with a school teachers tone). And the furniture looks and feels like it was bought in Homebase (all garden furniture).
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Is it a pub? Is it a bar? Is it a diner? I'm still not sure. They are definitely after customers with money, and since I only wanted a pint of Becks the barman served me with maximum condescension and irritation. Meanwhile a snooty couple who were eating were fawned over by all and sundry. I left quickly, unimpressed. Nice decor, but so what?
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A bit souless. It has a great terraced patio garden which should work well with the smoking ban. Someone needs to go out and buy some decent seats, they have these 1 foot high plastic things that look like mushrooms, you get cramp in your legs sitting on them (and a sore backside). Expensive, I think they want people to drink bottles (various draught lagers off when i visit).
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Hey, what is it with St Albans and the 1980s? Visited Mokoko at the weekend and it seems to be vying with Harry Smiths up the road for mega-tripping on 80s Nostalgia. The differences are that Mokoko has a younger crowd, more girls, more cocktails, NO Sky Sports (houurah!) and more space - so I guess it's the better option. But there's still Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet etc playing in the background, the words "Wine bar" were spoken several times and everyone talks about money the WHOLE time. Very odd.
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I'd agree with it being a bar, but it's somewhere different to go for a drink and bite to eat. Good food, a menu that changes with the times and cocktails that have obviously been designed by someone with a good palate.
As St A's a historic town it's nice to have one bar the under 30's can go for a drink without an 18yr old coming on to you or the odd grandad eyeing you up!
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surely this place is a bar not a pub, so it shouldnt be even compared?
anonymous - 17 Oct 2006 23:59 |
I think that there are evenings when a girl wants a few fancy cocktails and a night out with her friends. And St Albans does not have many of these kind of places so i welcome this bar to the city. I agree its not in the same league as some of the local pubs but if you want that then go somewhere else and have a beer with your flat cap and paper. Leave the seats for the rest of us who like a change occasionally
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Granted: the old Harrow needed a kick up the arse but this place does not qualify as a pub at all. Fizz & cocktails for those who need the light to hide their shadow.
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I was never that keen on The Harrow, but I couldn't face even going into this place for a look - the exterior tells you everything you need to know. Dreadful.
Spot the none too subtle advert/spam for it in the comments below.
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dire dire dire. Hype hype hype.. almost as bad a lloyds as a place to go for a good night. Souless and pretentious and full of people you don't want to spend more than five minutes in their company. A sad part of the St Albans pub history story. Steer well clear
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What a shame, that people can live in a city of wonderful pubs and want to come to something like this.
anonymous - 17 Jul 2006 21:14 |
Nothing wrong with this place as such but for those who'll understand.............I was in there on a Sunday recently watching the Test Match. I was the only customer. The bar man proceeded to turn off the cricket and show the Grand Prix. See what I mean?
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great place!!! just opened, already best cocktail-bar in town! drinks are gorgeous, staff very professional and friendly, music and atmosphere very relaxing, superbe garden and the decoration is nicely designed (philippe stark'stuffs!). definitly a place to watch...
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Someone has spent a heck of a lot of money converting the clapped-out old "Harrow" pub into this trendy new bar. I just hope it pays off for them.
The brown decor sounds like a bad idea, but is actually quite tasteful and works well! Food is available and there are wines, lagers and cocktails to drink. (No real ale.)
I've only been there once so far, and was easily the oldest person there. (In the "Harrow" I was often the youngest.) Ideally you need a mix of customers, not just young yuppy-types or middle-aged dilettantes flaunting their mistresses and toyboys. All I can say at this stage is that "Mokoko" needs time to settle and gain an established customer base. The people running this place are clearly professionals and know what they're doing. What will happen? Watch this space...
anonymous - 24 May 2006 08:12 |
Previously the Harrow. Refurbishment is almost complete, and Mokoko is due to open this Saturday, 22nd April.
anonymous - 21 Apr 2006 09:02 |
