Porkys Wine Bar – or should that be swine bar? – is more a party spot than a refined drinking establishment with Caribbean nights and edgy south London DJs.

The Venue
Porkys Wine Bar isn’t the most appealing of spots from the outset, with its simple exterior blending into the street and only the bright pink neon sign making it stand out. Classy. However, this isn’t the kind of place that’s setting out to be a sophisticated wine bar – despite its name stating otherwise. Instead, this is more a club than a bar with most of the space given over to a dance floor. In terms of design, a few leather sofas complete with a few flashes of exposed brick in places is about your lot. Porkys is all about the music, not fancy, overly glamorous decor.

The Atmosphere
Porkys Wine Bar can veer towards being a bit intimidating for first timers unaware of exactly what this bar is all about, but actually it’s a down to earth party spot for locals looking for Caribbean sounds from South London DJs, innit. This is a place that’s all about the events going on inside and the people that party here really go for it.

The Music
Regular music nights include Cheezy Thursdays, The Big Party Night (on Saturdays, naturally) and events like the Caribbean Renaissance. The sounds are big on bass and include bashment, reggae, old school party tunes and soul classics, and the crowd has high expectations of the DJs.

The Drink
The drink at Porkys Wine Bar is, well, not necessarily what you’d expect from a place with ‘wine bar’ in its name. Instead, the drink seems to be secondary to the atmosphere and the music with a few bottles of wine on offer, some rather uninspiring high street beers and seemingly their best business is in spirits and mixers. However, the prices here are very reasonable and in line with this area of Streatham. A small round could even cost you less than a tenner. Bargain.

The Last Word
It’s easy to see why Porkys Wine Bar is such a hit with regulars – the kind of people who love nothing more than to grind away on the dance floor to pumping tunes. If they changed their name to Porkys Party Bar then they’d be spot on.

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