Toy Shop Bar - Byron - Lost & Co - Bricklayer's Arms - Dr.Ink of Fulham - White Horse

Wednesday 2nd October - Way back in June, Team List tried to go to the opening night of Toy Shop Bar in Putney.  It turned out to be a friends and family only night, so we wandered off and went to a couple of reliable boozers in the area instead.  We finally returned last week and made it inside this time!

They now have an incredibly generous Happy Hour from 5-8 Monday-Thursday which was the perfect excuse for us to work our way through their cocktail menu.  It was pretty empty when we arrived, but I'm sure it will get busier once Putney locals get wind of the discounts!  It apparently gets a bit crazy at the weekends so take your pick.

Most drinks have ridiculous names and an even sillier list of ingredients.  I started with "Newton's Cradle Old Fashioned Tipple" - Toy Shop Dried Fruit Infused Malt Blend, Absinthe Mist, Rosehip Tincture, Aged Cardamom Dark Cacao, Vanilla Extract, No 1. Bitter Blend Marinated 8x, Coated Fruits.  Lauren went for "Clubland a la Polly Pocket" which was served in a bizarre conical glass on ice, with sherbert, chocolate cigarettes, and lollies.

Clubland a la Polly Pocket, Professor's Negroni and Slinky Margarita

Natalie's "Professor's Negroni" (see above and below) was amusingly presented, with a nectarine blossom sphere inside slowly melting, letting the Negroni drip into the bottom of the glass gradually whilst infusing it with a different flavour.  It also had a pipette on top for a bit of extra D.I.Y bitterness.  I was also fond of my "Elmo's (tickle me) Grog" served in a bottle wrapped in scented newspaper.  The whole place has a Willy Wonka feel to it, so it is no surprise that the drinks are on the sweet side and fairly theatrical.  This suited Mary & Lauren down to the ground, but there were still a couple of bitter options to keep Natalie and I happy.

If cocktails aren't your thing, then you might want to go for the Prosecco on tap, or the Toy Shop Beer which is a lager created for them by Shepherd's Neame.  You might not be able to resist the bonkers sharing cocktails if you are in a large group.  "The King of the Castle" pictured  below (coming in at £100) is the most impressive, but I would opt for the cheaper option of "Ralph the Robot" (£35) which lights up and lets of a lot of smoke.  Some will complain that it's all show, but I appreciate that they are serving up bonkers concoctions that you couldn't ever recreate at home.  This isn't some Mahiki style attempt making a killing on sharing drinks, they are just going for fun all round.

The sharing food is also well worth a look.  We only had the Goat's Cheese Lollipops, but there are plenty of tempting offerings on the menu.  If you want to go for the whole Toy Shop experience, get yourself a ticket to one of their Sunday Roast parties which they describe as a kids party for adults - roast dinner, unlimited prosecco and beer, DJs, balloon modelling and more!

King of the Castle - Cocktails - Sunday Roast Party

"What about the toilets?", I hear you cry. Don't worry - Team List did a recce.  The ladies room has barbies stuck to the walls ("Now I know that barbies don't have nipples" - Lauren) whilst the gents has brightly coloured urinals to aim at.  Both rooms also have glittery walls which create a disco ball effect in the room. We eventually asked for the bill, which was accompanied by some tasty chocolate lego men.  Thumbs up all round - go along with a group of friends for fun evening of food and cocktails that won't break the bank (unless you order that castle!).

We decided to pop next door to Byron for a late night burger.  I wouldn't normally mention a chain, but Byron are right up there with the very best on the London burger scene.  They are constantly doing special one off burgers, and also have the Byron Van out on the streets - read about my Wholey Cow experience here.  I particularly like the fact that they adapt the décor to suit every location, rather than going for one colour scheme.  Other chains would do well to copy this model.  They also have one of the best bottled beer lists (short but superb) for a food joint - go for Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA.

They are currently serving "Le Smokey" burger (until 31st October) in tribute to the growing Parisian burger scene.  I did have one at National Burger Day, but I don't remember there being a smoked chilli BBQ sauce last time.  It's got a bit of a kick to it, but most people should be able to withstand the heat.  Well worth a look before it disappears at the end of the month.

The evening ended with Byron, but I'll mention some other watering holes in the area just in case you want to make a day of it!  I'll start with the couple of places that we went when we were first turned away from The Toy Shop Bar back in June.  

You don't have to go very far out of Putney mainline station to make it in to Lost & Co, a neighbourhood bar and restaurant from Lost Group.  The other Lost Group property on The List is Ales & Tails out in Twickenham, where they have 20 beers on keg and cask.  Lost & Co was previously Citizen Smith (same owners) and it has kept the excellent range of beers (including their own Lost Brewing beer).  The food and cocktails are also worth turning up for, and there are often 2 for 1 offers and special events - head there for Day of the Dead on November 1st for £5 tequila cocktails all night long.  

It inevitably draws a big crowd as it is close to the station, but there is enough quality on show here to make it worth it.  Alternatively, head there early in the morning for some Death Wish coffee from 8-11am, Monday-Friday. 

Putney's real hidden gem is The Bricklayer's Arms, a fantastic little pub tucked away down a side street off Upper Richmond Road.  It regularly wins pub awards, which it deserves for its dedication to serving well kept real ales and hosting beer festivals in their cosy beer garden.  There is plenty to enjoy for non-beer fans as well here, with old fashioned bar games such as Shove Ha'penny and Bar Skittles set up to play.  This is place to spend a whole day in with board games.  Pay it a visit if you haven't already - it's in my Top 5 London pubs.

Just over the river on Fulham Palace Road (10 mins walk from Putney Bridge / Parsons Green) is one of my pre-List favourites, Dr.Ink of Fulham.  It is a bottled beer shop with a twist - you can open the beers on site and drink them outside in their front garden until they close at around 8pm (check site for times as it isn't always open).  The range is awesome and constantly changing, and you get to drink them at shop prices rather than pub prices.  There are often tastings and meet the brewer events going on in the shop, so check the website for details.

It's not just about the beer though.  They also specialise in fresh Indian curry pastes, made to order while you wait.  Indian snacks are available to enjoy with your beers in the shop, including samosas, ondhwo, dokhra, daal wada and pattis.  They also run a special supper club called Flavour Experience hosted by beer sommelier Alex Barlow - 4 courses of Gujarat cuisine are matched with 10 beers to taste.  This has been on my to do list for far too long!

When Dr.Ink of Fulham closes, the best place to go is The White Horse (affectionately known as the Sloaney Pony).  I often link the two together, lugging all of my newly bought bottled beers to Parson's Green. Sure, it is packed full of Made in Chelsea lookalikes but this is all part of the fun.  This is one of the best places to drink beer in London, and the local clientele always keep me entertained.  There are often beer festivals to take advantage of.  In summer months, the beer garden looking on to the green is packed, and the BBQ is fired up.  In winter everyone huddles inside - it is worth booking ahead if you know you are heading that way.  The pub food is better than your average fare - I have never looked past the excellent fish and chips. 

I also popped in to Amuse Bouche Champagne Bar (opposite Parsons Green tube) the other day for a friends birthday.  If bubbles are your thing then this is the place for you - I survived on a healthy diet of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  There was a lively pianist when we arrived singing some jazzy pop covers.  There is delicious food upstairs in Claude's Kitchen, some of which is also available downstairs. Head there early when it is pleasant before the unbearable crowds descend late doors and ruin the atmosphere!

Loading Café/Bar - Galeto - Garlic and Shots - El Cantara Shisha Terrace - Chukka at Archer Street

Friday 7th June - Last Friday was meant to be a quiet night.  It had been a long week and I had some teaching to do early the next morning so me and my friend Mary decided to meet for a quick drink or two in a couple of new places in Soho at 18.15.  Six hours later, I found myself back in the queue for some Gelupo gelato with Mary and List Leader Natalie (I blame her), having tried out 5 places that were new to us.  Hopefully some self control will kick in soon before I stop being able to pay my rent.

N.B. Loading Bar has now moved to London Game Space at 97 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston, N16 8BX

Our first stop was a gamer's paradise called Loading Café/Bar that has set up shop very sneakily in the back of the crazy mango café Madd (Mango + Addiction = Madd).  Skip ahead a couple of paragraphs if video games don't do it for you!  Spread over two small rooms, they have squeezed in as many TVs, consoles and arcade machines as possible.  There are also excellent board games on offer (eg. Settlers of Catan, Battlestar Galactica, Carcassonne) though these may have already been there courtesy of Madd.  The arcade machines have loads of games loaded on the system to choose from, plus there are a couple of gaming tabletops to play on too.  Best of all, the gaming is free - I guess there is no easy way for them to charge (entry/membership?) and there are probably issues about charging people to play computer games that they have bought.  There are some comical gaming themed cocktails (eg. Earthworm Gin, Ocarina of Lime and Deus Ex on the Beach) and Shot challenges (single or two player?).  Bear in mind the prices shown below and on their website are for their Falmouth based bar.  The Soho prices are predictably but not unreasonably higher.

Mary and I went straight for the Snes for some Mario Kart - it took us a while to remember to point the controllers at the actual console.  I also returned the next day with Sam after Soho Food Feast to kill some time with some Fifa - we ended up playing against two randomers for an hour or so, proof that video games are sociable!  Loading Bar haven't had much time to announce their arrival in Soho as they spent this week hosting ETOO (nothing to do with Samuel Eto'o), an alternative to the massive E3 gaming conference that was on at the same time.  Now that is over, they will be able to focus on getting some more publicity.  Get in there soon before it is discovered by more people!  Alternatively, head to Meltdown on Caledonian Road that has also just opened.

Mary trying out Puppeteer demo on PS3

Natalie arrived as we were finishing our drinks, so we decided to head off to the recently opened colourful Brazilian restaurant/bar called Galeto for some food. NB It looks like Galeto has now closed. Mary is obsessed with Nandos so she was pretty delighted to find that the main thing on the menu is 1/2 chicken, marinated in house for 24 hours served with chips and a choice of sauces.  We all went for it with the fruity barbecue sauce, plus beers and wine on the side.  We were all very impressed, not least because it is extremely affordable considering that it is right in the middle of Dean Street.  Caipirinhas are £6, all desserts are under £4 and so on - cheap cheap cheap!  I might need to go for the Rump Cup Burger next time if I can tear myself away from the chicken.  Street artist Milo Tchais has done a great job decorating it too:

Our next stop was very brief indeed though not because it was terrible.  Garlic and Shots is a mad little restaurant/bar (with a beer garden) that does what it says on the tin.  There are other versions (set up by the Olsson Bros) in Palma and Stockholm.  Here's what they say about the food - "No dishes are served without garlic.  You can always order extra garlic, but never less.  As you leave the restaurant, you should feel like you have been garlic marinated.  That is our mission from God".  As a certain Mr.Rascal might say - bonkers.  Downstairs is a little bar that serves 101 different shots to a death metal soundtrack, and looks like something out of Buffy.  Get there early to nab the cool cave table at the back.  I had the signature Bloodshot (Vodka, tomato, garlic, chilli and spices) whilst Natalie had Garlic Honey Dark Rum and Mary had Chilli Tequila, all from pre-prepared bottles.  I was expecting it to be vile, but it was actually delicious and the garlic totally worked.  Had it been a big night out, we would definitely have stayed for some more, but we stopped at one shot each and moved on to our next place.

"Phones and Chainsaws turned off at all times"

A few doors down the road is El Cantara - a Spanish/Moroccan restaurant with a secluded outdoor shisha terrace bar two floors up that I would definitely never have found pre-blog.  It's a tiny space that they pack full of people (all seated, just about) with a fantastic relaxed atmosphere.  Most of their fancy Shisha options were off so we fell back on reliable apple, alongside some Casablanca beers and Bellinis.  The meze food being brought out to neighbouring tables looked incredibly tasty.  We were briefly entertained by a guitarist and a flamenco dancer, which was an unexpected bonus.  This place will be perfect for hot summer evenings (if they still exist).

The drinks were starting to take hold by this point and that always leads Natalie to say the same thing - "I want to go dancing!".  Normally, I just mock her Northern accent by repeating her in the style of Orville the duck, finishing with "I wish that I could, but I can't!", but this time we decided to actually go for a quick boogie in Archer Street on Archer Street - surely they could have come up with another name?  Our aim was to try out the Polo-themed Chukka bar/club downstairs so we sidled up to the bouncer who was busy doing 1 in 1 out (there was no queue).  We were pleasantly surprised to find that there was no door charge, and even better no cloakroom charge either, and we were in within a minute - not bad for a Friday night.  An important looking member of staff did however give us a good look up and down before letting us in, which made us slightly worried about what/who we were about to encounter.

The décor is really impressive for a club, and I would imagine it works just as well as a bar before it gets busy.  The music was awesome - from funky Earth, Wind and Fire type stuff to Mysterious Girl, the DJ kept the young crowd very happy, and made us stay for an unplanned second (expensive) drink.  Occasionally an (extremely talented) Archer Street singer in a polkadot dress stood on a table and sang along to a backing track with a microphone, which really made it feel like more of a party.  The clientele were on the whole what we expected, elbow pads and big teeth all round, but we couldn't complain since we had invaded their realm, and they are pretty entertaining to watch after a few drinks.  I eventually managed to drag the girls out with the threat of Gelupo closing, and we finished off our night with some yummy ice cream which is becoming a dangerous habit at the moment.

Chukka Bar regular, James William Bottomtooth III

5 Team List points go to Mary, giving her a much needed boost up the leaderboard, whilst Natalie finally makes it past 50 points, over 20 clear of everyone else!