Sounds to me like there was a reason the push New Yorker didn't get served very fast... I'm a barman and i'd probably leave them waiting too with an attitude like that... anyway...

Great place, I've been a few times now and always recommend it to people that come in to my bar. Since Venn St has been closed to traffic they have been able to extend the table area outside, which is great.

If you're looking for somewhere cool and relaxed with good live music, look no further.. however it can get busy, and drinks are a bit pricey (the old Double as standard trick again grrrrrr) but this doesn't take away from the fact its a great little place...

But please guys, sort out the gents toilets... i was there in the early evening and the bog seat was already ripped off and the whole place covered in p*ss and other 'stuff'

Not sure where the pushy New Yorker went but I had a great time there. Friendly staff who were chatty and attentive, good drinks - if a little pricey - and live music. Maybe stick to CBGB's - like you've ever been...

Randomly found this place through a Twitter recommendation. Went in with my girlfriend for a quiet drink on a Wednesday and the place was great. Had a long chat with the waitress who was really friendly and seemed to be very enthusiastic about the bar, drinks were great and the service quick and friendly - highly recommended.

Born and raised in the heart of New York, I grew up with rock & roll swimming in my blood. To this day, I live blocks away from the legendary CBGB's and frequent true rock & roll clubs and bars. (I'm only 31 years old, so don't write me off yet as an old geezer!)

I have a girlfriend in London who heard about a new rock-esque bar opening and, although she'd never been there, suggested my husband and I check out Venn Street Records while on a business trip in London a couple weeks ago.
Well, I must say, my husband and I were NOT fans of this faux rocker style venue.

Upon our arrival I was immediately annoyed by the number of drunk, young looking hipsters and the "holier than thou" atmosphere lurking the air of the entire place. The staff was not so much blatantly rude as they were beyond ostentatious. It was so in your face!

It took ages to order a drink at the bar and it's not because I wasn't pushy enough. I'm a New Yorker! I know pushy! The staff seemed to merely have a different agenda flirting and chatting away with each other and other customers who'd been served their drinks minutes before.

The decor was just okay - a bit overkill and trying too hard, if I'm honest. But my concern isn't with the decor so much.
My concern is simply with the unacceptable staffing, unbearable crowd, overpriced drinks and shifty atmosphere.

Not to mention, the music wasn't "my cup of tea."
Again, I think the selection of rock was too predictable and mainstream. Where are the authentic rock tracks?

I don't know the background of the owner, but I think he/she/they have much to learn because I sense a serious lack of experience with this venue.

I would not recommend this venue and I will certainly not be visiting again at any time soon.

I wont be going here again - the staff were extremely rude and pretentious! I thought the drinks were really overpriced and the girls in the group I was with said the cocktails were cheap tasting and poorly mixed.

Atmosphere was also awful, I fail to see what they are trying to achieve with this place. I had high hopes as I love indie type bars, but to me it seems to be a complete paradox of styles.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

I was organising a meet for about 30 people prior to a screening at the Clapham Picturehouse and I chose to hold the meet at Venn Street Records. It was the best decision I ever made! It is a fabulous venue and Tom, The Director, and all of his wonderful bar staff looked after us really well. They gave us a whole section all to ourselves and ensured that we had a night to remember. Everyone had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I couldn't recommend the venue highly enough! Ps The cocktails are to die for! A huge big thank you to tom and his team!

Great bars don't come around often, and its about god dam time we got a Venn St Records in Clapham! I'm so sick of run of the mill wannabee cocktail bars under-performing, and don't get me started on pretentious speakeasies either!

Venn St makes great drinks at a GREAT price. They nailed my gin martini, and produced a great Punch for my girlfriend who was blown away by the fun design, especially the neon. Its hard to find bars that you can have fun and relax in, supported by an amazing drink, its the only bar I'll be drinking in south of the river!

I met the team who where embracing and down to earth. So unless you act like an idiot (Billy no mates) then I'm sure you wont be treated like one.

Great work guys, I wish you all the luck in the world.

Something tells me Billy 2010 that it is just your type who is more than catered for in the p*sspoor chain establishments within the vicinity that Venn St Records has tried so hard to distinguish itself from. So pipe down and go to Bison and Bird, I'm sure you will be happy there. I would second the other reviewers. This is a great bar, which has a slightly cool and quirky edge but without having unrealistic pretensions to East London cool (which would probably go down like a lead balloon in this area). I have been here for a friend's birthday and New Year and each time the management have been lovely, ensuring that we had an area secured (even though we arrived a bit late on New Year's Eve to take it up). I have not had a cocktail there (yet) so couldn't comment on that aspect. However, I did not spend ridiculous amounts , so consider the drinks reasonably priced and I even got given a free shot by the very lovely barman as I waited at the very busy New Year bar he was tending.

The music mix is varied and well chosen and I look forward to seeing some live acts in the future.

Although Clapham High Street does not bristle with competition, this is definitely my favourite bar in this area and I very much hope the team there make a success of it. The outlook looks good though!

A group of us were here on Sunday bkholiday. It was really busy and quite a small bar for my liking but the atmosphere was awesome with the live band playing. Barman told me that live music nights are regular events here (which made the night really) even though getting a drink was slightly slow at times.

the place was full of drunks and the manager with a complect w>>>ker i will not go there again the only good thing is it wont be there long i think avoid at all cost there are pleny of nice bar in our area than that with a lot cheaper priced drinks

This is a new place that I went to for the first time the other night and really liked it. I turned up about 6.30pm on a Saturday night and was quite surprised to find it empty apart from my group, but people soon came in and the atmosphere was great - relaxed and classy with a retro American feel. Some good cocktails and music, and it was actually really nice that it wasn't hugely packed like lots of other places in Clapham on Saturday. As I live very near by I'll definitely be going there again.