Mother Kelly's SE1, Vauxhall, SE1

Part of the small Mother Kelly's chain, this is a railway arch bar located about three minutes from the exit of Vauxhall station, with entrances at either end of the arch. The room has bare floorboards throughout, with metal cladding on the sides of the arch, some painted over with bright murals, leaving the brick vaulted top of the arch still visible. A couple of ugly, boxed off spaces at either end detract from an otherwise pleasant space, one being used for back room staff stuff, the other housing the toilets. Lots of long backless benches and upturned barrels with high stools fill the space, and there are a couple of drinking ledges too, but there's not much in the way of comfy seating to be found. The bar has a plain counter with all of the keg taps in very long row across the minimalist bar back. The room has been fitted out with industrial style light fittings and a few beer themed posters on the walls, but otherwise it's all a bit characterless, which is disappointing from an established chain like this. A very busy Thursday night, post-work crowd created a lot of noise so that the R&B soundtrack could barely be heard, despite having been turned up to a loud volume. Beer menus listed around 30 craft keg and cider options from all the hip micro breweries you'd expect from this chain. The selection covered a wide range of styles, strengths and of course, prices, and I ended up trying the Lost and Grounded Wanna To Go to The Sun at £6.50 a pint. The staff seemed reasonably friendly and the big crowd helped generate a lively, if overwhelmingly noisy, atmosphere. I wanted to like this place, but as with other branches I've visited, the place doesn't feel fully formed and was lacking in character as a result. The main draw is the extensive craft beer range, but with the usual prohibitive pricing, those wanting to try a few beers will either have to whittle the range down to the few affordable options or else be prepared to splash out. Date of visit - 12th September 2024

This bar is part of a craft beer chain of bars with this one located in a lengthy railway arch not far from Vauxhall station and underneath the tracks going into Waterloo. There is a lengthy bar with taps behind the bar and toilets opposite. There are doors at both the western and eastern ends, with most of the bench seating towards the eastern end, including an outdoor drinking area facing Goding Street. As you would expect for a crafty bar, it's not particularly cheap. But there is a wide range of beer styles with different strengths. On our Friday lunchtime visit, the beers included Siren Lumina & The Night Market, Boxcar Native Place, Lost & Grounded Wanna Go To The Sun, Crossover XO 2023 & Morillon, Allkin Sabbatical, Ideal Day Ideal Plough, Arbor Talus In Wonderland, Glasshouse Petrichor DIPA, Yonder Loop, Boosh & Raspberry Gose, Drop Project Voyage, Soar & Crack, Double-Barrelled Parka & Whippet, Marble Tawny & Anspach & Hobday London Black. Ciders were Newton Court Yarlington Mill, Dunkerton Organic, Hunt's Raspberry Cider & Sandford Orchards Devon Mist. The bar was very quiet for our visit. I guess it gets much busier in the evening. Staff were friendly and were happy to put the Cheltenham Gold Cup on a big screen for us.

Set in a very large low lit railway arch it has 30 taps of beer and Cider choice behind the bar. A small Pizza kitchen resides in one corner.A decent though not cheap craft setup and ideal for dodging the ensuing thunderstorm.

Large one room under the railway line. Bar to left side when entering from the main road. Massive amount of craft beers on the wall. Outside seating at the rear. Not the worst place for a drink.

Double-sided, single arch 'bottle shop and tap room' underneath the approach to Waterloo station so much larger inside than one might expect because of the number of railway tracks above. Mostly canteen-style tables inside but there are a few wooden picnic benches on the grass at the west end and some fold-up patio ones at the other. A bit too hip to have any handpumps, but selection of craft beers and a few ciders from 27 of the 33 keg taps is tremendously varied (although far from cheap), and I was has happy to settle for the 'house' pale ale collaboration with North Brewing (£5.20).

Official site of Mother Kelly's SE1 - motherkellys.co.uk

Official site of Mother Kelly's SE1 - motherkellys.co.uk