Balham Bowls Club, Balham  

Well, you can't fault this one on originality. The name says it all: once the Clubhouse for the local bowls club, when the club closed down, the property was bought up and reopened as a bar. The fixtures and fittings were pretty much left in situ, with minor adjustments in keeping with the building's past: scorecards still adorn the walls and you expect a prize giving for the year's champion bowler to take place any minute. It's quite a setting - we can think of few other London pubs with a full size snooker table in them - and probably a few fashion shoots will book the space as time goes by, but as a place to drink in, it's an odd one. When we popped by the place seemed rather quiet (particularly in comparison to the nearby bars) but perhaps this was a good thing given the bar describes itself as being "a working men's club for men and women into hedge funds and rolling news channels". The drink is decent enough and the food - in keeping with the surroundings - was along the lines of sausage rolls and pasties. However, we just couldn't warm to this one and felt there was something just too knowing and arch at work, which resulted in us just not enjoying it as much we thought we would. Perhaps a harsh verdict, but we'll certainly be down to give this one another look again soon. A one off, we'll give it that.

reviewed:
22/03/2008

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Sky and Setanta

outdoor seating

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