165-167 St Johns Hill,
Clapham Junction,
London,
SW11 1TQ
0872 148 4273
The ViewLondon Review
The Boom Bar is placed at the upper end of St John’s Hill along with a swathe of other spots – both good and bad.
Happily the Boom Bar is very far from bad indeed – in fact I would go so far as to say that it’s a lovely spot. No doubt you’ll all want to know why…
For a start it’s a nice looking venue – that always helps – the décor is precisely the correct dark shade (chocolately) to apply a touch of calm to the place. This rather warm and soothing effect finds a nice counterpoint in a fair bit of exposed stone (with the bar itself having a comely shingle effect on its frontage) and some well-aimed blue lighting reflected off a faux wall made of thick glass blocks. All in all quite classy.
Secondly there’s the ever important subject of seating. Admittedly there are more than a few of those (very annoying for a short bloke like me) tall barstools round equally tall tables. However, there are also a couple of other, far more comfy, options open. There are, for instance, a series of deeply inviting leather sofas – enough of the blighters to make sure that there’s a good chance you can park on one even on a busy night. There are also a series of eminently comfortable and rather secluded booths running up one side of the room – just in case you want to get a bit of privacy.
So, it’s comfy and good-looking. What else? Well, the drinks prices aren’t too steep – they aren’t cheap but they aren’t jaw-droppingly wallet harming either and that’s a big bonus in the city these days! Related to that is the fact that the barstaff are attentive, quick and generally friendly – no Shoreditch attitude here my friends (and that’s worth an awful lot in my book).
For those of you who like your retro gaming there is a solitary vintage Space Invaders game sitting, hidden almost out of sight, around a corner near the back of the bar – you pass it on the way to the toilets. And, since I haven’t seen a Japanese import that old since I was last in Fluid that gets them another big tick.
Ultimately, then, the bar is not so much a trend-setter (it really isn’t trying to do anything too flashy and “look at me”) as a sturdy and satisfying example of a stylish bar done well – that, as far as I’m concerned, marks it out as deserving of praise.
Boom Bar has been reviewed by 5 users