The Tooting Tram & Social, Tooting, SW17

This is clearly a night-time venue venue, that's open until late (or early morning, depends on which way you look at it). But I was in at about 6.30 PM which is early doors for this place, and there was only me and one other punter in there, plus the bloke fixing the pinball machine. There's no significant change since the previous reviewer's visit about four years ago. There are indeed some seats in the central area when there's no live entertainment as speculated by PSM below. There's a cloakroom on the left just as you enter, which says it's a couple of quid to leave your coat. It was obviously unmanned when I was in. There's a pinball machine on the right as you enter, and when the mechanic had finished fixing it he played it for a good while (perk of the job I guess), and it seemed to be playing perfectly. There was a table football game next to the pinball. This is still an Antic pub, so you can rest assured that no money has been spent on tarting it up, and it was clear that no TLC had been applied, nor any decorative input. But unusually for an Antic pub it doesn't do real ale - a half of Dead Pony Club set me back £2.60; not too bad I suppose. Even though it was virtually empty I didn't find it very relaxing. But I don't suppose for one minute that their target customer is the discerning drinker who wants a quiet pint. It's really a night club. A one-off visit I think.

Official site of The Tooting Tram & Social - tootingtramandsocial.co.uk

Official site of The Tooting Tram & Social - tootingtramandsocial.co.uk

Previously known as The Tramshed before becoming one of the Antic chain's earliest pubs, this place was indeed used to house trams back in the days when the line ran from here all the way into Westminster. I visited here to watch a band perform, which meant that it was ticketholders only on the doors and obviously the layout had been reshuffled to allow a large crowd in. It is of course, a fairly vast interior with the servery running down the right hand wall, a big 'dancefloor' area in the middle (which I assume would normally have a few tables and chairs on it) and a small, low stage to the rear. The place is bare boarded with white tiled walls on three sides and all manner of piping and ducting clearly visible. A small space in the front right corner had some button backed sofas and chairs and the entire left hand side of the room is raised from the dancefloor level and offers plenty more seating. This space has been decorated with typical Antic oddities, including antlers and various unrelated pictures whilst a TV screen was also hung at one end. The ceiling is very high and is made up of a large skylight with various chandeliers suspended from it. Balcony seating looks down from the left and rear end into the main bar area and there is mostly comfortable looking lounge style furniture up there. A tiled archway at the far end of the bar seems to lead into a second room, but the crowd prevented me from getting round to exploring. As a music venue, I felt it was flawed. The stage is very low, which meant I couldn't see anything from even halfway back, and as it is positioned under a balcony, there is no prospect of raising it. Another issue is that the toilets are directly next to the stage, so it can be a real slog fighting your way through the crowd to get to them. A strange scenario met me at the bar, with signs explaining that all draught products are taken off on gig nights. This left me resorting to drinking bottles of Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted and Robinson's Trooper from plastic glasses. The implication seemed to be that draught products would be available on non gig nights, but CAMRA have noted that the pub is refurbishing its cellars and that real ale won't be available until the New Year, so don't be surprised if choice is restricted if you visit this year. I quite liked the way they've used this unusual old building to create something a little bit different and I would be keen to see how it functions as a pub, rather than as a live music venue. It's not without its faults but I would be happy to give it another go. Make sure you check there are no ticketed events on if you plan to visit in the evening.

This is the sort of bar you expect to find in gentrified Hackney, rather than tucked away in the corner of a high street in suburban Tooting. Its, as the name suggests, a converted Tram Shed, and has a large, open plan ground floor and a mezzanine level upstairs which overlooks the cavernous ground floor. There's a corner for bands/DJs and a bar that takes up one side of the square floorplate. Purity Mad Goose and UBU are available alongside Adnams Broadside (£3). It has a young, trend-setting feel but at the same time doesn't feel overly pretentious somehow. This is my 'local' so I reckon I'll be back over the coming months. An interesting place

Randomness Guide to London - Tooting Tram And Social entry