Leading up to the Bank Holiday meant a slow down in activities at BBS HQ, hence the late ‘Wrap’ as nothing much happened until I was taken by the American Lieutenant to Aqua kyoto a restaurant above the old Dickens & Jones in Regent St. A number of people have told me to go (see the previous review) as it’s very accessible and it has a rooftop bar looking over the West End. It was indeed very accessible – the cab was able to drop me right outside where there was a smooth entrance to the lift to the top floor, it’s very dark so anyone with sight problems (or not), may have an issue but there are plenty of staff to help.
I was shown straight to the restaurant (past a very ‘flash’ bar area, Aqua Spirit), and like most Japanese restaurants the table and chairs were low and put everyone seated at wheelchair height. It looked out onto the terrace where there was a bar and daylight….As I said it was very dark and more like a night-club, which of course it is, at night, but to view Aqua kyoto as such is to dismiss the excellent Japanese food.
We started with crab and a spinach with sesame salad, then followed by a beautifully fresh blackened cod. The American Lieutenant chose the suckling pork belly with eels and a wagyu beef with baby beetroots, both equally delicious, even the eels. We finished with a dessert of the ‘Forest Floor’ which was not sweet but really tasty and fresh and a lovely way to end what was a superb meal. The American Lieutenant loved it and he’s an expert in all things Japanese having worked for a Japanese Rally team!
Next door is Aqua Nueva a Spanish tapas restaurant, bar and another terrace (not as dark as Aqua kyoto, with an unusual light wood ceiling). It’s to be refurbished shortly so that it’s more a tapas bar rather than a formal restaurant, it also houses the disabled toilet which was fine but a little low for me. Access to both ‘Aquas’ is good apart from the small lip to both terraces which are covered in a decking like material that may be awkward with sticks?? Everywhere else the floors are smooth but watch out for the carpeted area by the lifts. A great dining experience and I’m sure it would provide an equally exciting night out! 2.5 BBS Ticks and nearly a max 3.
Next we went to visit AKA West End which is the first foothold in Europe for an American company specialising in ‘concierged’ residences, this one is just off Wigmore St., in the West End. They have a 24 hour concierge looking after your every need plus a well designed, fully accessible room. It’s a ‘home from home’ and is much more personal than a hotel room. The best thing is the access to the 1920’s building as they’ve invested in a Sesame Lift which to my mind is the most elegant way of tackling stairs (see it in action in the video below). Why is it that American Companies don’t spare the expense when it comes to disability – a more belligerent market I suspect, maybe we have to raise our voices more loudly for ‘European Ears’ ???
Finally, I arrived home to BBS HQ only to find there was a power cut and no lift. Panic quickly set in as I didn’t feel like sleeping in the lift lobby. I don’t know about anyone else but I always try and imagine what I’d do in a blackout and as a result my emergency mode soon set in , who could I stay with or who could lift me up 2 flights of stairs?? I needn’t have worried as my neighbours came out en masse and four of them lifted me, in my chair, up two flights of stairs. Luckily I know exactly where everything is in HQ and a torch is kept close to the door…. I was a boy scout in a previous life.
Let’s hope next week, in the words of Mary J. Blige, there’s “no more drama in my life”????