The downside to this trendy Battersea boozer? It’s impossible to describe to your mates without it sounding like some kind of wanky hipster hangout. They’ve got their own micro-brewery. They distill their own gin. They keep an escape game in the basement. There’s even a retro gaming room upstairs that lets you project ‘Street Fighter 2’ across an entire wall. ‘Jesus Christ!’ your pals will probably exclaim: ‘What’s it called? “The Artisanal Sourdough?”’
It is, however, a brilliantly down-to-earth place to spend a night. It’s a beautifully refurbed Victorian palace that’s full of wall-mounted taxidermy, scuffed wooden floors and pretty vintage tiling. Aside from their own-distilled gin, the 45 gins they offer – alongside a range of more exotic tonics than a Chinese medicine shop – means there’s plenty for spirit hounds to explore.
And the games room? We defy you to find a more fun night out in Balham. It’s packed with ping-pong, table football, old arcade games and a totally nutso racing game. Booze and racing? Jeremy Clarkson would approve. Don’t let that put you off, though.