Art & Craft SW16, Streatham, SW16

Part of a small South London chain of craft beer bars that double up as places for local artists to display their works. This is one of two identically named bars in Streatham, the other being down by Streatham Green and closed when I stopped by, with a sign suggesting I walk up the neverending High Street to this place instead, which I duly did, via a couple of other pubs. The main thing to note about this place, is that it’s insanely tiny, with just one table inside and two more out on the narrow pavement at the front. The bar is immediately to the left on entering, and has a very rustic looking, timber fronted counter and rough, bare brick bar back. The room has a skimmed floor and the back wall is lined with fridges full of bottles and cans, whilst the lone table is to the right in the only remaining space. There’s not much available wall space for the ‘Art’ part of the equation, with two small walls cramming in a small handful of modern art prints, none of which were particularly striking. The tables outside are of the small, rickety variety and are frankly an impediment to the pedestrians of Streatham, especially as one is positioned opposite a postbox, leaving the narrowest of gaps for people to squeeze through. They have four craft keg lines, one of which was dispensing a sour and another of which was for a particularly strong brew, which I thought it best to avoid. I ended up with a pint of Friendship Adventure Salisbury Charm, at the very un-Streatham price of £6.50, although it was another very nice beer from this interesting brewery. The barman was really nice and had a good laugh with me about my slog along the High Street to get here from the other branch. As with the other Art & Craft bars I’ve been to, in Croydon and West Norwood, this place is a decent source of local craft beer, albeit at top-end prices. What sets this place apart is the tiny, almost impractical, footprint of the place, which means any more than four or five people would see it rammed both inside and out. It therefore works better as a bottle shop and if you want to try decent craft beer in Streatham, you’d be better off waiting for the other branch to open.

Official site of Art & Craft SW16 - www.artandcraft.london

Official site of Art & Craft SW16 - www.artandcraft.london