Southside Bar (ex-George IV), Brixton  

Farewell then, to the George IV: an after-party haunt with pumping techno and goggle eyed punters. After a pretty radical refit it's now the Southside Bar, a venue which aims to square that particular 21st century circle of straddling the club / bar divide. If that wasn't hard enough, it's up against two similar bars on Brixton Hill, The Telegraph and The White Horse. What's different about this one? Well, for the moment, the choices on the menu are cooked on the barbecue out front (we assume a standard kitchen will come to the fore in the colder months). Aside from that, the fairly large interior boasts a couple of leather sofas to kick back in and a blinged up back room for its club nights. There's also a slight South African air to the proceedings, noticeable from the menu and also from the fact that packets of biltong hang behind the bar where you expect the Walkers crisps to be. The drinks on offer rather disappointed though: the usual lager suspects and - perhaps more surprising for a bar - nothing too remarkable in the way of spirits or cocktails. As ever with new venues, this one may take a while to settle down and bed in, but we do wonder if it's done enough to set itself apart from the local competition. We'll come back in a couple of months and find out.

reviewed:
01/09/2007

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