The Horse bar is located slap bang in the middle of Lambeth, overlooking a busy Westminster Road but offers a surprisingly relaxed drinking environment.

The Venue
A nicely laid out bar, when you enter take a moment to digest the amount of spirits on sale, especially for a bar such as this, which you may expect to be dominated by lager drinkers. The sheer volume is huge, offering over five different flavours of vodka alone.

The worn wooden flooring with a few knots and bumps adds to the character of the Horse bar and the comfortable leather chairs are great for relaxing in but still formal enough to use whilst wearing a suit. The bar is kept very clean throughout the day with a rotation of regular glass collectors to make sure things are kept to this high standard. The Horse also benefits from an old winding staircase that creates an eye catching centrepiece leading up to the function room.

The function room looks like a traditional 1940s ballroom, complete with its own bar - you almost expect to see Humphrey Bogart in the corner smoking a cigarillo, drinking a martini. The winding staircase leads directly up in the middle of this extravagant room, so during busy functions expect to make your entrance to the party in style.

The Atmosphere
The Horse is a nice choice for locals and office workers located nearby, providing a relaxing place for an after work drink. As such, expect to see post-work drinkers unwinding and relaxing at the end of the day. The bar staff are genuinely friendly, which is reflected in the punters who seem to use the Horse bar as a shelter from their busy lives.

Another string to their bow are the weekly salsa and rueda classes held every Monday upstairs in the function room, which adds a pleasant Latino slant to your drinking experience. Newcomers are always welcome to join this friendly informal dance class, which is surprisingly entertaining even for first timers.

The Food
The food is comparable in price to similar establishments, although it’s a pretty basic grub. Service starts from 12pm with full table service and goes on till 10pm. The selection is good and you can make your choice between salad and sandwiches to steak. The Caesar salad costs around £6.50 and mains around £8.50. The Chicken noodles are slightly greasy and chewy and for £8.50 leave you slightly disappointed. Service is prompt and polite, however, and is decent enough to fill a hole when on a night out drinking.

The Drink
The drink is definitely the main draw of the Horse bar. A vast bar display makes the most of the available space, squeezing as many bottles as possible from around the world. The cocktail menu is small but to the point, Horse doesn’t waste time providing a massive cocktail menu that nobody will order from, just the old classics that we have all grown to know and love. Choose from Cosmos, mojitos and Mai Tais at £8.50 each, which is a little steep for the area.

However, where the Horse really throws a curve ball is with its offering of a staggeringly large wine list, selling bottles from all over the world. Red, white and rose house bottles start at £11, which is a nice entry level price for a nice, easy-going red wine, and rise up to a still very reasonable £20.

The Last Word
Horse is definitely worth a trip for the salsa classes every Monday, if you need some Dutch courage arrive early after work and order from the vast wine list. Although not a destination venue in its own right, if you’re a local then it’s worth popping in for a quick drink.

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