Quaint vintage furniture, relaxed staff and music topped with hearty home-cooked meals make a visit to this new pub near Clapham Junction feel as welcoming and comfortable as a trip to your grandparents’ house – only much more fun.

The Venue
This sizeable pub tucked away on a side street off busy Lavender Hill is bursting with character. Packed to the brim with an eclectic assortment of vintage knick-knacks, the venue has been given a complete makeover from its days as part of The Walkabout chain of Australian pubs. The eye-catching polished dark-wood bar is the centrepiece of the front of the venue, where candles in vintage china teacups provide light from the low tables. Mismatched light fittings, including large jewel chandeliers and retro white fabric and lace lamp shades, provide a little more delicate lighting, and loads of old books, vintage perfume bottles, worn leather luggage and sewing machines are scattered throughout.

The Atmosphere
Relaxed and friendly, dimly lit and full of quirky charm, this hidden gem is unlikely to stay a secret for long. The interesting vintage furniture will no doubt catch your attention, while subtle background music and laid-back staff help you to unwind. Combine this with the sensational smells wafting from the open kitchen and you’d be forgiven for feeling as comfortable as you do in your own home.

The Food
The dinner menu, available only in the dining area at the back of the venue, is mouth-watering. While the range of options is not huge, the quality of the ingredients and care that goes into preparing the meals is impressive. The broccoli and stilton soup (£5) is a hearty starter. Smelling almost as good as it tastes, the freshly made soup comes with thick cumin seed-crusted wholemeal toast. It arrives with 50p coin-sized chunks of strong stilton cheese floating on top, and they quickly melt into the steaming hot soup to create a creamy texture. The strong stilton can be tasted in every mouthful, but it manages to avoid overpowering the broccoli’s delicate flavour. For the main, the corn-fed chicken supreme with confit celeriac, baby onions and pancetta (£12.75) offers an enjoyable combination of rich flavours. The crispy salt and pepper-infused skin of the chicken breast is a tingling treat for the tastebuds, while the little cubes of intense pancetta enhance the salty chicken’s tones. The only grumble, and it’s a tiny one, is that the chicken is a little dry. Sticky toffee pudding with sweet almond milk ice-cream (£4) finishes the dining experience off perfectly. Drizzled with tasty sticky toffee sauce, the warm muffin-sized cake succeeds in being dense but still quite fluffy. Hints of spice and the subtle nutty taste in the ice-cream complement the sweet toffee flavours of the pudding exquisitely.

The Drink
As part of the Antic group of pubs, this Battersea watering hole prides itself on real ales. The bar offers a rotating variety of up to eight ales on tap at a time; priced from £2.50 a pint for the regulars (Doom Bar and Light House) and up to £3.20 for the guest varieties. Lagers on tap include Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel, while a rotating variety of ciders, one a perry, the other a cloudy, round out the draught options. Despite its self-proclaimed love of real ales, the selection of wines is worth checking out. The house red is a 2010 Spanish Abilius Tinto and comes highly recommended. Priced at the low-end of the scale (£12.95 a bottle or £2.25 for a 175ml glass), ripe fruit aromas and a hint of spice make this a very smooth, easy-to-drink drop. Other red varieties include a French Domaine Bergon Merlot (£16.50 a bottle, £3 for 175ml). French wines also feature prominently among the white wines, including the priciest drop, the Vincent Sauvestre Chablis, only available by the bottle for £29.

The Last Word
Mouth-watering, wholesome food, impressive wines and ales and quirky unique charm – this hidden gem is unlikely to remain a secret for long.

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