Met up with some friends for a few drinks and a night out.
Started out in Be@one bar in Balham.
http://www.beatone.co.uk/cocktail-bar/balham
I love this chain and it is a lifetime ambition to visit every bar they have. The problem is that they keep expanding since I added this to my bucket list! Well, I suppose it’s not a problem really 😉
They make a huge variety of good cocktails, the atmosphere and staff are always upbeat.
Last night was good but a little quiet – not sure if that’s because Balham is not the hippest party spot or perhaps 8.30 was too early. We stayed for a few rounds then decided to head somewhere with a dance floor.
Someone on google came up with Hootanannys in Brixton:
http://www.hootanannybrixton.co.uk
I hadn’t been there before and the name sounded familiar. The six of us jumped in a cab and headed over.
There was a £4 cover charge and it was pretty busy bustling when we arrived. There was seating indoors and out, as well as some food stands. Great!! The DJ was good, but sadly the live music that came on after was not. The accordion playing band in drag would have been good if it was just a few songs, but their set was SO long… After hoping they would go away soon and sitting outside in the cold for a while to get away, we decided to check out the bar we’d passed on the way.
Effra social
http://effrasocial.com
Not quite sure how to describe this place. It was part pub and part bar with a dance floor. Nice crowd, good music, it seemed pretty down to earth. We drank and squeezed in a bit of dancing before they closed at 1am.
Yes, 1am in London. This is a very frustrating thing about going out in LondonI! Clearly too early to end a night out.
So, back to Hootanannys that would close at 3am. We didn’t stay for long though, the accordion drag band had gone but we weren’t a fan of whoever the new act was.
Had a good night out catching up with friends. All venues were worth a visit. I’d be happy to give Hootanannys another try some time. I usually enjoy random music although it wasn’t quite what I was looking for last night!
TWO SHOES TRAVEL 