Experience the ultimate gaming hangout at Platform, a neon-lit oasis in the heart of Canary Wharf.

Tucked away amongst various familiar restaurants and shops is Platform with its gorgeous neon lights and funky furniture. It’s essentially a video game bar whereby you can rent out a booth – prices starting at just £13.50pp for 90 minutes – and play games on Playstation 5 or Nintendo Switch.

Just as the entrance to the bar is unassuming, the actual venue is maze like with most of it hidden downstairs. We were taken to our booth by a friendly host, through a labyrinth of walls hearing shouts and jeers as we passed. A standard size booth fits two but there are options to have bigger groups. Our host explained how everything worked, how to switch between consoles, and importantly how to get a member of staff’s attention if anything went wrong or more likely, to order food and drinks. A light switch is situated next to each sofa which turns on a light to indicate attention is needed.

We got started playing on the Nintendo Switch which featured Wii Sports, Super Mario, and everyone’s favourite, Mario Kart – ahh nostalgia. They had even done some tech wizardry and made all the old school Nintendo games available that some of you may have played on a Gameboy or Nintendo Classic. In terms of Playstation Games there’s a huge range including FIFA 23, Call of Duty, Street Fighter, Nickelodeon All Star Brawl. See the full list here.

The food and drink options are plentiful, and everything comes out relatively quickly. Each of the cocktails reflects the gaming theme in their names and descriptions – e.g., Rainbow Road, Stealth Mode, and Dante’s Inferno, and the ones we sampled were delicious. The food menu largely consists of pizzas which is handy enough to eat whilst also holding a remote controller, but there are also nachos and ice creams available.

Platform would make the perfect date spot if you fancy doing something a bit different for a few hours – plus you can suss out if your date is a sore loser or not!

Location: Platform Canary Wharf, Platform, Unit 40, 1 Crossrail Pl, London E14 5AR. Website: experienceplatform.co.uk. Instagram: @platform_exp

Words by Mollie Kate Cohen