N1 Bar Elephant & Castle, Elephant & Castle, SE1

This is the latest incarnation in Antic's ever changing and unpredictable pub empire, although this one isn't really what I would call a pub. It's opposite the main Elephant & Castle shopping centre, housed on the ground floor of a modern block. As you would expect it's modern inside, with two-tone modern parquet style wooden flooring, mostly fairly comfortable whicker chairs, fixed bench seating and normal tables, but with the centre of the room dominated by a tall table accompanied by a couple of uncomfortable looking solid wood backless benches. The ceiling seems to be concrete or unadorned plaster with some metal supports that look as if the should be supporting some ducting but aren't. Typical Antic. There's no real ale, just a couple of keg "craft" beers from Villages Brewery - Pilsner at 4.4%, and Whistle Stop IPA at 4.6%. This place surprised me with another first, being somewhere with draught beer that doesn't sell it in either pint or halfpint measures. The only measure they sell it in is two-thirds, and I had the fortune to buy two-thirds for the price of a pint with the Whistle Stop at £4 for two-thirds. As you would expect it's a very cold and very hoppy gassy beer. I don't know if they are doing food yet - there were no menus on any of the tables. Advertised as opening at 4.00 PM, I arrived at 3.45 PM and sat outside at one of their tables reading my paper when after about 5 minutes one of the bar staff came out and asked if I was looking for a drink. Nice touch, maybe he would have brought my drink out to me? But of course I went inside to purchase my drink in the traditional way. It seems the opening times are flexible. Even so, it really isn't my sort of place and I can't see a return visit on the horizon.