Tooting Tram & Social, Tooting  

From the people who brought you the Balham Bowls Club, here's another arresting makeover. Once upon a time this was indeed a tramshed, and until recently the space was filled by a Scream pub. The new bar is a long, long way from that Scream bar, and does its best to fill the rather cavernous space in a creative way. It feels not unlike an art installation: a chilly Victorian industrial space, dotted with artfully arranged kitsch - something akin to Tate Modern's turbine hall housing the later sections of the Geffrye Museum. Perhaps remarkably though, we didn't find the décor overbearing, nor did it get in the way of an enjoyable few drinks. Things were helped along by a rather idiosyncratic music policy (Tom Waits, Richard Hawley and Sparks all being aired on our visit) and a relaxed bunch of fellow drinkers. A couple of screens for the sport are squeezed in and a mezzanine level for diners appears to have been added (we took a while to notice it, what with the rather large chandeliers in our eyeline). As long as the rather rickety chairs hold together, this one should do fine.

reviewed:
22/03/2008

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