Great place to hire for an event! We had my Nan's 60th there and it was a blast, everyone was having a nice time, staff were laughing with us and gave my Nan a free cocktail as she was the birthday girl ;) great location, Battersea is very classy and the Alchemist is no exception! My aunt especially had a great time and met her future husband there! Bit of a mix up as he didn't know we'd hired out the venue and was a bit bothered. He was saying that he was a regular customer (reassuring, I know!) and was desperate for a drink. The friendly staff politely told him that we'd hired it and managed to diffuse the situation, but my aunt was smitten and invited him to join us. It was a wonderful night and every time I walk past I smile fondly at the memories.

I visited Alchemist this weekend,its was a friends birthday. The bar is very classy, cocktails were good 2 for 1 until 10pm on a Saturday, fab.

The DJ ' Dj Top Notch' really knew how to get the crowd dancing, the staff friendly and very helpful, not overcrowded like some of the other bars nearer the station well worth the 5 minute walk from clapham junction. I'll be back for my birthday next month. Fully recommended.

This place is completely uninviting - boarded up and broken windows, tatty building, dead plants etc. Shame as its in an otherwise nice part of St Johns Hill.

I went to this bar with six friends last Friday, following the booking earlier in the week. When I placed the booking I specifically asked for a place in the back garden, as it looked nice in all the photos I found online. When we arrived, at 6.30pm, we were told that the nice back garden closes at 7pm every night, as the neighbours complain about the noise, and offered a table in the outside space looking onto the busy main road. After I asked why we were not till the garden closes at 7pm at the time of booking, the simple answer was "I don't know". Another weird thing was that, even though this was a Friday, from 6.30 till 8.30 we were the only guests in the whole place. We then decided to move on. Aside from this, the waitress was nice and friendly, the wine was good value for money and the bar food was reasonably good, but nothing extraordinary. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with the place, but nothing amazing either, so I don't think I'd go there again.

This place is a safe bet if you want to chill, drink and enjoy yourself after a long day. Staff is friendly, prices are reasonable and the atmosphere can get fun.

Fantastic venue with great drinks. When we went, they had a brilliant comedy night on a Wednesday hosted by Aatif Nawaz from TV. Great Comedy. Recommended!

This is a really nice place. the staff is very friendly been there several times. the only problem is the music.

The don't have a resident DJ and because of that they have different dj's all the time and the music is not that good. if you are looking for a good dance this is not the place to go.

I was there on 03/10/09 and the new dj was rude and nasty he had no clue about music.. La bamba? Guns n'roses?

i dont think so, maybe if this was a rock bar then sure. I think because if this they are losing clientele... shame.

i thought this was a very nice bar a little out of the way but worth the effort

Reserved an area for my 30th Birthday at the Alchemist and had a perfect night!

Everyone had such a good time, DJ Tiff played all of our favorite tunes on request and we were up dancing untill the lights came on!

Their was one other party in there and by the end of the night we were all dancing together and doing the conga round the bar! Big thanks to Carole and her team for making it a great night!

I went there on a saturday evening, and even without many people inside youi could still see the place has character. The cocktail menu is good and the staff extremelly friendly. The decor is quite simple, but when you are there near the bar, the only thing you wanna look is the way this little french bartender prepares the drinks.

Went back on a Sunday and found that its now a gangsta style bar lots of moody guys with hoods. Not my cup of tea I am afraid

We booked a reserved area for our engagement party last weekend and we had a perfect night.

We ordered delicious canapes and a champagne reception. There was no hire charge and all our guests were made very welcome. And all had a great time- some a bit too much fun!

Just want to say a big thank you to all the tem at Alchemist for making it such a wonderful evening.

Jules x

We booked a reserved area for our engagement party last weekend and we had a perfect night.

We ordered delicious canapes and a champagne reception. There was no hire charge and all our guests were made very welcome. And all had a great time- some a bit too much fun!

Just want to say a big thank you to all the tem at Alchemist for making it such a wonderful evening.

Jules x

We received an invitation to a complimentary BBQ at Alchemist this Saturday from the new owners and I thought I should let everybody out there know what a wonderful place it is.

The garden has been done up nicely, the food was beautiful and everybody friendly and welcoming.

Alchemist is great fixture on St Johns Hill.

We received an invitation to a complimentary BBQ at Alchemist this Saturday from the new owners and I thought I should let everybody out there know what a wonderful place it is.

The garden has been done up nicely, the food was beautiful and everybody friendly and welcoming.

Alchemist is great fixture on St Johns Hill.

I had a birthday party at the Alchemist 2 weeks ago and a good time was had by all, The music was pretty good as the DJ played for everone as there was also another party of people. I had a nice surprise when the manager brought out complimentary champage it went down a treat, Great night.

My boyfreind (with a lot of help from my friends) organised a surprise birthday party for me at Alchemist at the weekend and it was the most special birthday I have ever had.

I thought that we were going for a quiet drink and then dinner with my brother in law and his wife (I was less than impressed).

Instead when we arrived at Alchemist to the chords of Stevie Wonder 'Happy Birthday' we were met with glass on Champagne and so many of my friends.

We had Champagne served continuously all night, delicious canapes being brought around throughout and even a birthday cake dished out to us all.

The music was fantastic. A mix of 80's, 90's, some recent stuff too, everybody was dancing. The DJ was happy to take requests ans it seemed there was nothing he didn't have.

In short everybody at Alchemist looked after us so well and all me friends have since told me how much fun they had. I would just like to thank the manager Chris and all the staff at Alchemist who looked after us all so well. So much better than dinner with my brother in law!

Went to Alchemist for the first time to celebrate my birthday and was pleasantly suprised. Haven't been in since it was the Common Rooms and wow! what a difference. We booked an area online. No problems, nice sized area. Potent cocktails and great music (from what I remember). Will be back as it's just at the end of my road which is rather handy. Highly recommended!

Me and two friends booked a cordoned off area at Alchemist last Saturday for our joint 30th birthdays and we had a blast. For a small deposit we were given half the venue which had it's own bar and toilets. So although there were other parties booked it on the night it did feel private. The management made a real effort to look after us which made the night special for us all. The complimentary Champagne was a great touch!

We emailed and phoned the management prior to the birthday party to specifically ask for a table and chairs so that we could eat for between 15-20 people. However, when we got there, we had a small table with a reserved sign placed on it, right next to the front door, with only TWO seats for the whole group. This meant that none of us could eat, or sit down or relax at all. It was incredibly uncomfortable and it ruined the birthday party. The group was incredibly disappointed and I was furious at this after having called specifically to arrange for this. Also, it is advertised that the back yard and beer garden is available, but there is NO mention on the site or anywhere that this in fact closes at 7pm with no access to it after this. What a let down.

Do not book The Alchemist Bar for a birthday! My friend reserved an area in The Alchemist Bar last night for her birthday and - surprise surprise - they had double booked and did not have an area for us.



About 30 of us had to sit/stand outside - it's lucky it was a warm night or the party would have been ruined. I haven't got a good thing to say about the venue - they also ran out of draught lager/beer by about 9pm! What bar runs out of draught on a Saturday night?!



Please do not book The Alchemist Bar - I wish I had seen the reviews below before my friend booked as it is definitely not a one off - don't believe the management if they say things have changed as they have not.

If you're thinking of having a birthday party at the Alchemist bar, don't. I booked my 30th birthday there - I booked a private area, spoke with the bar manager in the bar, we discussed the booking, I then confirmed it with a senior member of staff, it was all confirmed. I had concerns the bar had bad reviews and was assured that it was all to do with a previous employee.



I turned up on my birthday and had been given a table in the corner not big enough to swing a cat in, not a private area at all or the one discussed and booked.



The bar manager was useless and said there was nothing she could do. I spent an hour asking her to do something about it, I then called the senior member of staff who I booked the bar through and he ignored my call and I've never heard from him since.



I left the bar early, crying my eyes out having had the worst birthday ever and wishing that I had read and taken note of others reviews because it's shocking they just don't care, it's just a booking for them.



I wouldn't even give them one star, and strongly advise anyone thinking of booking the Alchemist bar for a birthday party not to. If you do, be prepared to be disappointed, you have been warned. I just wish I had taken everyone's advice and not listened to the bar when booking.

There appears to be something inherently nasty about this bar with regard to hire for parties. I'd booked and paid a £50 deposit for a "reserved area" for a special birthday party two months in advance, only to find it was not as reserved as I would like, ie. it was right next to the DJ booth and dance area and was only available until 11pm.



I subsequently read some horrific reviews of this bar, particularly with regard to provision made (or not made) for reserved areas for parties, and so decided to cancel my booking.



My line of thinking was: if I give them enough notice, ie nearly eight weeks, they cannot argue about it being a last-minute cancellation, and, really, there should be a chance of getting my deposit returned.



Unfortunately all my phone calls went straight to an answerphone on which I left countless messages for someone to return my call. My emails bounced back. Guess what happened? When I finally got through to a real live person three weeks later, there was no chance of my deposit being returned, as I had "left it too late"... I can only chalk this up to experience.



I'm sure Alchemist has its virtues as a very local bar but I would avoid hosting a party here unless you live round the corner. It's a long way from the railway station.

I had my birthday party at The Alchemist on Saturday night. I was really looking forward to it. I had booked it two weeks in advance by phone and had confimed it twice in the week leading up to it via email. Then I confirmed the guest list again two days before. I had booked an area for 50 people.



When I arrived on Saturday night with my friends we were told to be there by 9pm and arrived at half past eight. We then serached for our area, we could not see it and asked the staff what had happened. No one would answer so we finally got to speak to the manager.



He was not very apologetic and said that there was nothing he could do and if we didn't like it then we could go else where. I felt he knew that we couldn't as I had 50 guests with me, others turning up later and the nearest bar was a bus ride back to Clapham Junction. He did give us two bottles of champagne to share with my 50 guests.



The manager said an email would have been sent, it was at half three on Saturday afternoon saying they had no contact telephone numbers which was un-true. Also if I had seen the email re-organising a party destination for over 50 people on Saturday afternoon would have been a nightmare.



There was no guest list on the door on arrival, which had been confirmed two days before. Some of my guests were made to pay and others were not. So many people were crammed inside that all night there were huge queues for the bar and toilets and I did not see a dancefloor.



Overall I ended up having a great time but that was thanks to my friends making the night. I would not recommend that people book a party at The Alchemist Bar in the future purely because of the disorganisation and the attitude when I arrived. From other reivews I have also read this seems to have happened before.

A friend and I were stuck without a place to go so we thought we'd give The Alchemist Bar a go and we were not disappointed. There was a really nice crowd who seemed full of fun and although we only stayed for a few drinks I'd definitely recommend The Alchemist Bar to you lot.

I decided to host my birthday party at The Alchemist Bar last Saturday. I booked a seated area for 7.30pm a week in advance providing a full list of guests. A few days later I was asked to confirm my booking, which I did. I was called on the Saturday two hours prior to the party by a guy who advised that the Alchemist Bar was unable to provide me with a seated area. I was quite put off by his attitude but headed to the venue anyway.


On arrival I was greeted by a friendly man who went out of his way to organise a seated area for me as well as two complementary bottles of champagne, to apologise for the double booking. The bar staff as well as the bouncer on that night were very friendly. Despite this hiccup we had a good night, but not sure I would hold a party there again.

Checked The Alchemist Bar out recently because we were bored of other bars in Clapham. I did like it. It was different to its sister bar Mish Mash in that it's smaller and more chilled with a garden. I can see the owners are trying to appeal to the classier punter.

The Alchemist Bar succeeds though as the cocktails are really nice and the interior is West End cool without being pretentious.

Wow the designer for The Alchemist Bar must have been on LSD when he/she put this one together. I cannot remember seing such rich and contrasting colours - yet somehow it works.



Super drinks and service too. There was a real party atmosphere which was just what I wanted for my birthday.



But on Saturdays you need to book for The Alchemist Bar well in advance if you want a reserved area which is a bit of a bore and also like the rest of London it is going to be showing football back to back.

I had my birthday party at The Alchemist Bar last Saturday and had a great time. We reserved an area online through their website and got all my friends in on the guestlist.



Everybody there was really helpful and friendly. The food was tasty and the cocktails were delicious! Really like what they've done to The Alchemist Bar place since it launched last week.

The Alchemist Bar were exceptionally unhelpful when I tried to book a table for a friends birthday. They said we couldn’t book a table, so we just turned up earl to find the whole place was pre-booked. The Alchemist Bar staff were most rude and we will never go again.



The next bar we went to were great and did every thing they could to accommodate us - that is real service.

We went to the launch weekend at The Alchemist Bar and had a marvelous time. We got there early to enjoy the free cocktials and canapes - both plentiful and delicious. It got very busy later on but we stayed late and had a dance.



Overall - I loved the place. The Alchemist Bar has crazy decor, fab staff and wonderful drinks. Think this will be a very popular place.

The Alchemist is so cool, I love the roccoco interior and the feel of the place. They had wicked music when I was there and apparently the food's really good too. I'll definitely be visiting The Alchemist again in the near future!