Of course, as you might expect from people dedicated to bars, cocktails are our thing. Beer has been a bit of a mystery to us… especially those real ales beloved of your original beardy CAMRA types who proudly sported the hirsute look long before hipsters stole their whole vibe.

But when you’re taking out Uncle Rory – whose love of beards and chunky sweaters is only matched by his capacity for sinking ‘proper’ beer – you have to find a bar that gives you the best of all worlds. Which is why we found ourselves at the Draft House on Northcote Road in Clapham’s ‘Nappy Valley’.

The Draft House is one of a small chain of pubs dedicated to, as the name suggests, real beers. Some of these are so good they are more like “witchcraft” rather than craft. They certainly had the power to alter reality. The staff were helpful and knowledgeable about their wares which range from beers, stouts and lager on draught to a wide variety of bottled beers from Britain and around the world. I mean where else would you find a powerful bottle of beer that delights under the name of Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter?

I tried a delicious stout called Camden Ink which made a welcome change from the ubiquitous Guinness. Uncle Rory supped on local Wandle Ale. Also on offer was a very interesting little gin shot called an Up and Under – made by the Draft House Crew in honour of the 6 nations and infused with botanicals representing each of the competitor nations. It had the faint aroma of bubble bath – no doubt due to the herbal essences in it, but tasted delicious.

Beer is filling, but real food sometimes needs to be taken on board too. So it is fortunate that the Draft House has a fully functioning restaurant serving up a variety of hearty food. We dined on chilli hot dogs, ably accompanied with chips and delicious ‘foot-long pork scratchings’. All in all, a warmly welcoming and thoroughly enjoyable destination that even us fancy bar lovers love.

The Draft House, Clapham
94 Northcote Road,
London
SW11 6QW

www.drafthouse.co.uk

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They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But they didn’t take into account the poor souls who haven’t managed to drag themselves up in time for it. And that’s quite a lot of us come the weekend.

So, step forward brunch, the most important meal of the weekend. And possibly the whole week. One that combines the very best comforting food with the opportunity to drink restorative libations.

Which is why we found ourselves late on a Sunday morning at Powder Keg Diplomacy, a well loved local bar and restaurant on St Johns Hill near Clapham Junction. Here they have concocted the perfect recipe for a popular local hangout… warm, welcoming and stylish with just the right dash of Victorian colonial eccentricity. We turned up with kids in tow and were all welcomed in by the fun and friendly staff who were dealing with Sunday in a much more positive frame of mind than we were.

The bar is split into three areas, there’s a comfortable lounging around area at the front, a well stocked bar with booths lining the wall opposite, and then beyond the bar towards the back, a Victorian style conservatory area dotted with period tables and chairs. Seated in a comfortable booth we could see local denizens of all ages arrive for a combination of coffees, cocktails, beers, brunches and lunches.

Crispy bacon rolls wee ordered and devoured quickly. The ever-helpful staff. much to the kids delight, were also able to provide a couple of enormous Yorkshire puddings for them. Whilst they gorged themselves we spent our time perusing the many variations on a Bloody Mary that were on offer. If Bloody Mary’s are not to your taste then a wide selection of restorative cocktails were also on offer. The Espresso Martini, made with rum, coffee liqueur and fresh espresso was irresistibly tempting and suitable stimulating.

Brunch turned to lunch, during which large amount of roast beef disappeared, quickly washed down with craft beer. If the younger members of the party hadn’t needed exercising we may have even stayed longer… perhaps for my new invention which merges lunch with tea and which I have christened ‘Lafternoon’.

We left fully restored with firm intentions to return, not just for brunch, but to enjoy an evening of food, cocktails and colonial extravagance.

The Powder Keg Diplomacy is at 
147 St Johns Hill
SW11 1TQ

www.powderkegdiplomacy.co.uk

Tags: bar reviews, bars in Clapham, bars in st Johns hill, bars in SW11, Bars London, Best Bars London

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