Ariadne's Nectar, W10

Dating from at least the late 19th century, this was originally a pub called the Volunteer (later British Volunteer), still with two original signs with the name altered to Winking Volunteer, despite having closed in 1988 to become a Greek bar of sorts. The place also boasts that the likes of The Gorillaz, The Clash and Blur have recorded here. An attempted first in here the other night, to this isolated backstreet location, prompted not by the fact that it’s no longer a traditional pub, rather that it is apparently something of a local must-visit, to see what is described as being famed for its eccentricity, but also is at great threat of closing. Indeed, no trace of the pub’s original interior exists and it’s eccentric indeed, with walls covered with amateur portraits and pictures, looking for all the world like it had been squatted by art students who had then been roughly evicted; furniture is completely mismatched and very tatty along with equally tatty objet d’art. The area to the bar is a complete mess, with a till which looked broken, the open drawer displaying cash, a pile of small change on the bar presumably from tips, all to the accompaniment of what sounded like loud Brazilian calypso music. At just short of 8.00 pm yesterday evening, there were just a trio of customers on the pavement, seemingly about to leave, then a couple under the awning and another two inside, just about visible in the gloom; what was also visible, was the lack of anyone behind the bar, which displayed two chrome founts dispensing the likes of Guinness, Pravha and Blue Moon. I thought a woman seated at a table using a laptop might be the barmaid, but on seeing me, she got up and wandered into a back room, only to return to her seat. Moments later, I could see shadows playing off the walls to this room and waited a few more minutes in the expectation that someone might arrive to serve me, but no. I left, to stand on the pavement and plot the route to my next venue. As I sauntered off, a bell was rung for last orders at just 7.55 pm – no wonder this place is at risk of closing.

Official site of Ariadne's Nectar - www.ariadnesnectar.com

Official site of Ariadne's Nectar - www.ariadnesnectar.com