Sloe, Victoria, SW1

Buried deep inside Victoria by platforms 14 and 15, this actually quite a civilised spot for a station bar. However, let down by a poor beer selection with no real ale. John Smiths £3.30 (or £2.64 with a BITE card 20% discount).

I agree with the comments below about this café bar being ideally located for the Southern trains into Sussex and the south coast as the seating by the windows have a view of the departures board which is great for grabbing a sneaky pint before boarding the train. I found the interior to be very pleasant and the barman was very friendly. I didn’t get the drinks in when I visited on Sunday afternoon so I do not know what the prices are like, but the Guinness was well served. There is no real ale, but a reasonable standard draught selection is available alongside Amstel. Stone baked pizzas are apparently prepared on the premises and I’d imagine the usual café fayre is available. There are a couple of fruit machines for the gamblers amongst us and the plasma screen was off with no hint of Sky Sports, but some low background music was playing. Being a smoker I was happy to find an exit from the station a thirty second walk away and if I’d known the toilets were free I wouldn’t have paid thirty pence to use the station bog. I’ll certainly find myself in here again as I travel on Southern Rail quite a bit.

Small bar at platform level. No real ale. Gets busy with passengers coming in & out. Friendly staff. Diasable access. To use the toilets, the staff have to push a button behind the bar to unlock the door, don't leave it too late at busy times, you may have trouble attracting their attention and standing at the bar with your legs crossed may not be the most flattering pose.