Effra Hall Tavern

Four-pint pitchers of Red Stripe, ska turned up nice and loud, tip-top Guinness, jerk chicken and rice, unfeasibly friendly bar staff, two pull-down screens for sports – this is a real home from home for many Brixtonians, with more of an Afro-Caribbean community feel than many other watering holes found in the neighbourhood.

Touches of old-school pubbery – framed collections of cigarette cards (footballers, fops, racehorses), a horseshoe bar, globe-shaped light fittings – combine with more modern, stripped-back decorative touches to nice effect; smokers occupy the outdoor space at the back, done out like a garden centre.

Dominoes and the football provide diversions during the day; after dark, the Effra draws a younger crowd, some here to dine in the rear space near the garden with others showing up for the often excellent jazz.