Clapton Craft, E17

Visited 20/04/26 No cask. Keg offering of Clapton Helles, Flemsburger Pils, Crafty Apple cider, the Flightless IPA from Track, the Nae AF pale from Newbarns, the GF pale from Pretty Decent, the Faraway Town IPA from Time & Tide, the Kodiak West Coast IPA from Two Flints (collab with Clapton Craft), the Cloudy Lemonade Sour from Vault City, the London Black nitro porter from Anspach & Hobday and the Upper Crust Red IPA from Howling Hops. Shop fronted venue with concrete flooring. Shelving down the left-hand wall housing bottles with the bar counter in the rear left-hand corner. There is a ledge with tall stool seating in the window, with tall tables with tall stools in the line behind that before a line of regular tables and chairs near the rear wall. There is a row of booth tables beyond the right-hand edge of the bar counter into the rear of the venue. Beer fridges along the rear wall to the right of the bar counter and in the rear part of the right-hand wall. No screens and a Brit pop soundtrack on my visit. Found the place to be a bit soulless and there are better examples in their own chain than this their flagship venue.

A spacious bar-sized offshoot of the Clapton Craft bottle shop chain, set in a former retail unit near Wood Street station. The space is simple but well laid-out, with large front windows, concrete floors, and plain white walls. A long counter sits at the rear left, with a small beer board to one side and taps mounted on the bar back. Above is a beam lined with keg badges. The left wall holds shelves packed with wine bottles, while the rear right corner is home to fridges full of craft beer cans and bottles. Seating includes a high ledge with stools by the window, two long communal tables behind, and more tables and chairs throughout. A passageway leads to a few booths, a merch rail, and the cold store. Eclectic music was playing and the general vibe felt lively, although the bar staff came across as a little aloof. They had seven craft keg beers on the go – a wider range than you would find in one of their bottle shops - plus one cider, one alcohol-free beer and two lagers. I tried the Time and Tide Session IPA (£6.80 a pint), which was good but undeniably expensive. I’m not a massive fan of drinking in bottle shops, so I think it’s a good idea that this chain has branched out into something a bit more comfortable like this. The wider range and improved seating options mean that this is somewhere I could envisage spending more time in than their regular outlets, although the steep prices effectively wipe out that gain and would be the main reason to make me think twice about a return visit. Date of visit: 22nd March 2025

Facebook page of Clapton Craft - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Clapton Craft - www.facebook.com

Official site of Clapton Craft - www.claptoncraft.co.uk

Official site of Clapton Craft - www.claptoncraft.co.uk