Even though I haven’t played darts for decades, Oche grabbed my attention, because it promised an insight into the new era of so-called gastro-gaming. An oche, in case you don’t know, is the line behind which you have to stand when throwing darts, and this new, rather chic, central London venue with about 30 electronic dartboards also has oysters, ceviche and sliders on the menu. The decor is heavy on the pinks and peaches, and features a rhapsody of fake succulents and neon “Live Laugh Love”-style signs, so it’s a bit like a wealthy teenager’s Instagram content studio. Oche may well be a darts bar, but while you’re chucking arrows, Valrhona chocolate desserts are being delivered from the open kitchen under cloches and billowing smoke. Meanwhile, on the screen above the dartboard, your victories, or embarrassments, are broadcast for all to see. Darts purists will sneer to find that Oche offers one game that counts down from 201, and three others with a fantasy vibe featuring swords, shields and axemen.
The term gastro-gaming, which features large on Oche’s PR material, intrigues me, because many of its investors clearly sense that this is the future. Yes, several bars focusing on darts, ball pits and crazy golf have opened in recent years, but Oche is much sleeker and, well, grown-up. There’s no attempt at a pub darts vibe, and I’d hazard that no one playing on the Saturday we went would get the significance of Jim Bowen’s Bullseye or staying “out of the black and into the red, nothing in this game for two in a bed”. The gastro-gaming landscape is for a demographic who missed out on sticky-floored pubs , and who want a venue with an activity where they can eat Korean-inspired bao buns alongside their pornstar martinis.
