The Rookery, Clapham Common, 17/20*

Location: A road away from the Common, opposite The Windmill

Website: http://www.therookeryclapham.co.uk/

Visit: Several times both afternoon and evening

To Note? If going on a Sunday book ahead, their roasts are very popular...oh and you'll not want to go anywhere else

Scores

Ambience 4/5

Design 4/5

Drinks 4/5

Staff 5/5

Extra LBS star: Yes, because these guys have brought a much needed touch of class to the C.South to C.Common stretch

I like The Rookery. I liked it when their family and friends launch night turned into a welcoming come-one-come-all affair. I liked it as I sat on their large decked outdoor space with a Gin & Tonic on a sunny Sunday afternoon and watched the sun go down over the common. I liked it when I went back recently for a quiet Tuesday night dinner.

We chose a table directly in front of the fire as the limited indoor space left only a table by the kitchen or a table rather too close to our neighbours for comfort. Their comfort that is with the evening being somewhat of a celebration.

Starting drinks were a clementine and clove prosecco cocktail and a ginger beer. The ginger beer was Fentiman’s so ticked the boxes although this somewhat strange cocktail was not as Christmas-y as it sounded. They have a short yet complete wine list but do look to try some of their small craft beers. Starters (at around £4 to £7) were eschewed for freshly baked bread and salted butter. At £1.50 it was generous and delicious. And thank goodness we opted to go straight for the main course! The confit duck leg came from one hell of a size bird and sat on perfectly cooked red cabbage and crispy potatoes. Manfully as I struggled I had to leave some of that crisply delicious dish on my plate by the end. The other half tackled a hanger steak and chips with supreme watercress sauce with gusto yet he too admitted defeat some time later. With both of these around the £14 we felt like we got more than value for money. A few more drinks were ordered but unfortunately we could not even contemplate dessert; I think it’s clear that the food was a resounding success though.

The (realistic) gas fire helped create a cosy atmosphere with chunky slightly rickety wooden tables and chairs lining the back half of the space and high stools around the bar and front for those just passing through. The rest of the bar is simple, with a New York loft feel and a spiral staircase leading to downstairs toilets and -----. Menus are a combination of daily changing print outs and regular cocktails and specials chalked up to tempt you as you relax. The staff are exceedingly friendly, accommodating yet far from intrusive and the jazzy background music adds a nice buzz.

Clapham is definitely in luck with this little gem – previously an average Thai pub set up called Firefly – and as much as I want to shout about it I rather think I may keep this little gem to myself a while longer. Their unobtrusive attentiveness to detail has given us great food, seriously well priced cocktails and a comfortable get away from the louder Clapham thoroughfare it sits beside. None of this is surprising considering the big names that are behind this (a few Michelin stars for the chef alone) and I am just grateful they chose to be a 10 minute walk from my house!

Many thanks to Ben Carpenter for the photos! http://www.bencarpenterphotography.com/

Venn Street Records, Clapham Common 17/20

Location: Venn Street, 10 seconds from Clapham Common

Website: http://www.vennstreetrecords.com/

Visit: Sunday afternoon

To Note? Kitchen is due to open very shortly with the promise of excellent pizzas

Scores

Ambiance 5/5

Design 4/5

Drinks 3/5

Staff 4/5

Extra LBS star: Not this time, but maybe after 2nd Oct...

Venn Street Records opens at 5pm on a Sunday. We were allowed in at 6.05. That is a full 65 minutes of happy hour missed - I have had better starts to bars that I am going to review. Saying that, we were obviously not the only ones waiting as within half an hour most tables were packed and the atmosphere was buzzing.

We based ourselves at the bar where we talked to both the barmen (thanks Aaron!) and the locals whilst they ordered - we even had a Will Ferrell look-alike pass by. The only difficulty was hearing my friend as the music was pumping out from every corner and as good as it was - and yes, records are their hallmark - at times it seemed like I would be waking up with a sore throat. Thank goodness we left before the live music got started in that small space.

We worked our way through a Strawberry Mule, Venn Street Manhattan, Sour Record and Stairs Julep. These were all good, and were sweetened up or down on request with generous portions of alcohol too. My question is can these guys really go off the menu? I am not sure...perhaps it was too busy a night to fairly judge.

The bar was all brick walls, neon lights and stacks of vinyl. It worked, and it was refreshing following the endless vintage bars of the East End. We all love a speakeasy but sometimes we just want a bar that is a bar. So it does not make it to the "special LBS star", but it is a good venue for cocktails in an area that specialises in substance over style.

And the mysterious reference to the 2nd October - a 16-piece big band is stopping by for the evening, where are they going to put them? Hang them from the ceiling? I don't know but I am definitely going along to find out!