Mother Kelly's, Tottenham Hale, N17

Part of a small chain of bars around various corners of the capital, this is a modern bar set in a gentrified, student area close to Tottenham Hale Station. Inside, you'll find a large, functional but uninteresting interior with bare boards throughout, high ceilings, big structural pillars and plain painted walls that incorporate a massive image of an unidentified singer to the rear. The servery is to the left, and has a plain counter and backlit bar back boasting a long row of taps. To establish what you want to drink, you'll first need to consult one of the beer menus lying around the bar, and then order by tap number. The room runs back a bit down this side, but there's no seating to be found - just vertical drinking space - leaving the high tables and stools down the back of the right-hand space and the bench and chair seating in between as the main options. A few upturned barrels with high stools can also be found to the front, under large windows which overlook a decent pavement seating area. Chilled dance tunes played quietly during my stay and there can't have been more than a dozen punters in on my Saturday evening visit, which doesn't seem to bode well. Thirteen keg beers were listed in the menus, plus a few cider options, although my first choice of beer was off, so I ended up with a pint of Redemption Solar for £5.90. The barmaid was quite friendly and I thought the Solar was a modest beer that didn't live up to other brews I've tried from Redemption. I was looking forward to checking this place out, but found it quite underwhelming after a day crawling around the industrial estate taprooms of Walthamstow, a stop further up the Victoria line. This place was dead by comparison, the beer was more expensive and the interior wasn't all that much more interesting either. I'll still try out some of their other venues, but this one didn't leave much of an impression. Date of visit - 4th May 2024

Having visited the Vauxhall branch of Mother Kelly's back in the spring, Saturday was my first visit to the Tottenham branch. Set on the ground floor of a block of flats, it has high ceilings and some rather massive murals on two of the walls. Bench tables are set out canteen-style and toilets are unisex. The bar is quite long and there were bar staff with a mixture of experience. I happened to get served by the one who hadn't got a clue what she was doing. I ordered beers which she entered into an iPad, but not all of them were available. I ordered replacements, but still ended up with a beer short. In all, I paid 3 separate amounts which came to a total of just shy of £40 for 5 pints. Another round had come to a similar price. So, it was probably correct, but the use of an iPad and ordering beers by numbers didn't instill me with any confidence that the total bill was correct. Clipboards on the bar listed the available beers, but quite are few weren't actually on. Clipboards could also be found on the tables, but they were even more out-of-date. From what I could work out, beers on were Verdant Track And Field, Siren Lumina, SALT Yeast Mode, Azvex Hydrostatic Equilibrium, Jidller's Tipple Everydale Pale Ale & Nobel King, Drop Project Tate Untitled #2, Anspach & Hobday London Black, Crossover Morillon 2023, Wiper & True Purple Rain, Scatterlings SunDowner, Indie Rabble Pierre, Duration/Burning Sky Fermata Friends & Hackney Billions of Peaches. All beers were keg, with no cask. Ciders were Sandford Orchards Devon Mist, Lilley's Pina Colada Cider & Snail's Bank Pig Squeal. This small chain of bars seems to be a good option if you are into craft beers. However, I thought the Vauxhall branch was marginally better than this one and make sure you're not maxed out on your credit card before you visit any of the chain.

Facebook page of Mother Kelly's - www.facebook.com

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

Facebook page of Mother Kelly's - www.facebook.com

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