Bars & Pubs

By Ben McFarland

Equidistant between Clapham Junction choo-choo station and Battersea Arts Centre, the Sugar Cane is a bar filled with tropical tat: Polynesian statues, bamboo, wicker chairs, kitsch cocktails and whopping great tropical shrubbery. Tropical ‘riddims’ emanate from a palm-leaf-laden DJ booth Thursday to Saturday,and there’s a ‘wine and grill’ deal on Tuesdays.

Yes, it’s a hand-rippling, hip-swaying tikitastic theme bar – with a bit of an ‘Abigail’s Party’ touch. There’s a small outside space where,as long as there’s not a bus at the bus stop,you can ‘chill-ax’ and watch the sun set over Lavender Hill, amongst other Sarf Londoners who’d rather be in the Sarf Pacific.

The drinks? ‘They do Rum, Rhum, Rum, They do Rum,Rhum’. There's a 50-strong globetrotting list championing silver, gold and dark varieties from Cuba, Venezuela, Jamaica, Martinique and St Lucia. Laughinggear can be wrapped around a ‘Hairy Coconut’, one of several sugar-cane-created concoctions or, more sensibly, classics such as the dark and stormy or the intoxicating zombie.

Food-wise, they've got calamari, lamb and Mediterranean vegetables off the grill, burgers, New Zealand mussels and even fondue. Try the jerk chicken wings with the Mongozo coconut beer. If you like coconut, you’ll like it. If you don’t, you won’t.

Time Out London Issue 2011: March 5-11 2009