ReviewPreviously the Atlantic Hotel, this Victorian corner pub found itself at the forefront of 1981 Brixton Riots being one of the initial buildings that was targeted. After a period of closure in the mid-1990’s it reopened as the Dogstar, one of London’s first DJ pubs and that essentially is how it remains today.
The main bar is a single large open space with bare floors, a row of settles along one wall and slightly raised window seating around two sides. The bar at the rear has the DJ to the leaft and an extended area of seating off to the right. There are assorted pictures and retro movie posters on the walls and an abundance of theatre style drapes over the bar as well as large draped curtains. A pinball machine is housed in the main bar and to the rear is an additional room containing a pool table and table football game. This also leads to a small enclosed patio area. It is on the whole a little drape and dingy but some of the more psychedelic décor that I recall from my previous visit has now gone.
One major improvement is the beers. I recorded no ales on my last visit and an exceedingly expensive Guinness so it was serendipitous to find 2 Real Ales have been introduced, Doom Bar + Black Sheep albeit the latter was off. At £3 a pint the Doom Bar was a good value and decent enough quality. Food wise, there was a small pizza menu on each table with prices around £7-£8.
This is very much a place aimed at the Brixton nightlife with late night opening obviously a major draw to the clubbing fraternity. It should be noted that it doesn’t open at lunchtimes or all day on Mondays. It is certainly not without some kind of appeal although it is aimed at a certain demograph of which I am probably not one. That said, it has certainly has gone up a few notches since my initial introduction to the place.
