The Effra Hall, Brixton, SW2

Sporting a gold Courage cockerel to a sign bracket, the Effra Hall Tavern as was, came into existence in the late 19th century, the name commemorating Brixton’s Effra Hall, a nearby centuries-old mansion, later advertised as a home '…for the care & recovery of nervous, epileptic & insane ladies.’, demolished around the time of the pub’s construction; it’s also on CAMRA’s inventory of pubs with historic interiors, holding *. With some bullseye glass to lattice panes, the heritage bits take the form of an elaborate bar back, divider – all now sadly painted white – and some etched glass, all visible on CAMRA’s website. The floor’s bare boarded then a dark grey and white colour scheme with little décor, the ensemble looking a little austere. Furniture is mixed, some items still a little Brutalist and to the rear is a fairly capacious room, where live music plays four days a week, a jazz/Ska band playing on my Thursday 9.45pm visit, well attended by a mixed crowd, though mainly young trendy Brixtonites and no obvious insane women, making for a good atmosphere, though with poor acoustics. There’s now no cask and a rather poor cooking lager lineup (think Tadcaster’s finest: Madri), so it was a pint of Sambrook’s Block IPA, £5.80 and as is the way with cask, freezing cold though not too bad once warmed up. Making for something different, this isn’t a bad place but whilst there’s plenty of buzz, there’s too much fizz.

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There was just the single real ale on in here - Sambrook's Battersea Rye (£4.50 a pint), which was in fine shape. I didn't see any sign of food when I was in at early doors (soon after 4.00 PM) on a Monday. This is a delightful old pub - Victorian by the look of it - with several original features remaining. You can get a clear picture of the original layout by the doors to the street, and the surviving screening between the room on the right and the rest of the pub. The bar back's original, as is some (but not all) of the bar counter, and there's also a fair bit of etched and cut glass remaining, including by the side of the internal screening behind the counter, which looks to be in situ. It all looks very attractive indeed. I too like the windows to the outside world, being attractive small lattice panes. Furnishings are a combination tall tables/tall stools, and hard wooden block stool and some standard tables and chairs. The block stools look incredibly hard and uncomfortable, but maybe some people prefer to sit on hard lumps of wood rather than chairs. But i guess they're in there because someone thinks they look good, rather than consideration for patrons' comfort. Here we have a clash of elegant Victorian craftmanship and modern brutalist furniture. Guess which I prefer? But overall I gave this pub the thumbs up because of the surviving original features, and the excellent pint of Sambrook's Battersea Rye. This is a decent pub just far enough away from the hustle and bustle of Brixton High Street.

Official site of Effra Hall - theeffra.com

Official site of Effra Hall - theeffra.com

A bit hidden away in the side streets, but stands out at night due to illumination by strings of lightbulbs at several levels, Otherwise, it looks a typical corner pub. Fairly basic furniture and decor, with the appearnce not enhanced by being somewhat over-lit. A few interesting features, including the period windows with numerous small panes, and there is a gantry over part of counter. Large screen to one side of the 'U'-shaped bar created when the layout was opened out at some stage. Beer garden mentioned on the signage (not visited). Just Doom Bar (£3.60) available from the two handpumps.

This Jazz influenced Victorian corner pub can be found in the back streets but just a few minutes walk from the main Brixton drag. The interior consists of a central walkaround bar and has a bit of a battered and scruffy look with bare floors containing remnants of some mosaics, paneled windows with heavy draped curtains and part of an old divide between what would have separated the original bars. The lower walls in particular look like they were stripped ready for a coat of paint but never finished. A collection of water jugs dangle from a beam and there are also collections of old cigarette cards and, at the rear, a photographic homage to a few jazz musicians. Some of the furnishings look to be quite new but it still doesn’t take away the basic and lived in appearance of the pub. At the rear is a small but tidy and functional patio with a few benches. There is occasional live jazz and a couple of flat screen TV’s with both Sky and ESPN advertised. Also, if it takes your fancy, you can attend salsa classes. My previous visit found no ales but a single unused hand pump was evident so I was keen to see that they have now introduced a couple of ales, Harveys Best and Courage Directors (on one of thiose hand pulls that looks like a keg pump). The Harveys was pretty expensive at £3.50 but quality decent enough. The rest of the choice is fairly standard lagers, kegs etc. Food appeared to be limited to half a dozen or so options listed on the blackboards with courses around £8-10. The blackboards also indicate that this was presumably a Youngs pub at some stage. The place has always appeared welcoming enough although it has never been particularly busy on my early evening visits when it most likely isn’t at its peak. It is the sort of place that stays unnoticed unless you know about it and, given some of the other choices in the vicinity, is well worth the few minutes walk to drop in, especially now they have improved on the ale side of things.