Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Random news of the day with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Effra Social, Brixton, SW2
SW2
SW2 1DF
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about Effra Social
You could easily walk past this place oblivious to the presence of a pub semi-concealed behind trees and with the blue sign declaring "Effra Social" being the only and unconvincing clue on the front wall. Not the easiest pub to photograph either being shrouded by branches. There is a scruffy outside seating area at the front under the trees.
This is the former Effra Conservative Club, once inside the previous use is clearly evident. A small front bar has the club trademark shutters down although a TV showed muted sport, the corridor is lined with club posters and old correspondence from the club days one in particular of amusement as it suggests a dispute over loss of membership for "inappropriate behaviour" regarding another member's wife.
The main bar is in a former function room/dance hall to the rear which has a stage at the far end. A sign leads you beyond to a restaurant but I didn't venture that far. The bar runs along a section of a side wall, small tables fill the central space with more comfortable options along the opposite side. There is a curved open ceiling, wood block flooring and timber boarded walls. A bar football table and pinball machine sit side by side at the end of the bar. Board games are in a cabinet and the old club noticeboard now lists events such as live music and quiz nights. A decent lively background soundtrack was playing.
Seven handpumps, five were in use, Titanic Plum Porter, Oakham Citra, Fallen Brewing Grapevine (£4.50) plus two ciders, Old Rosie and Hazy Rays. Food served, a short but interesting looking menu of snacks, sharing plates and mains.
This is an unusual and very different spot well worth seeking out and a lot more laid back than some of the busy and boisterous places in central Brixton.
On 17th September 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Effra Social
Scruffy-looking place, with a large and carelessly-made sign by the road and a right jumble of wooden picnic benches in the front yard. Once up the steps and past the hand-written opening hours notice, you find the original club bar with two handpumps and old-fashioned furniture / decor (although this turned out to be booked for a private function). The main bar is housed back down some stairs at the rear in the former hall (which features a small stage at the far end being used by a DJ setting up when I called in). The counter is located to the right-hand side, with handpumps for five beers - including the ultra-local Effra Ale from Brixton Brewery (£4.00) - and two ciders. Odd place, giving the impression of a temporary pop-up bar rather than an established pub.
On 14th December 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about Effra Social
Well described by Pub signman.Little bar as you enter was closed but they had football on a tv in there.Large main hall with table tennis In front of the stage.Only 3 handpumps in use with Doombar,hophead and a fantastic Brixton-electric ipa 6.5.not cheap at £4.50 but worth it.But what a minger of a pub or is it a club open to the public.Dull,characterless,grotty,tatty and those are the good points.Without the great pint I would score it as a one.
On 11th September 2014
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Effra Social
This doesn’t look much like a pub from the outside, with no signage other than the word “Social” on the outside wall. If there was anything else I missed it, which is not good for enticing in any passing trade. In fact it didn’t look much like a pub inside when I visited on Saturday afternoon. There was a lot of activity, but unfortunately none of it was beer related. The front door was open which was a good sign, but the first room on the right seemed to have someone in it just moving furniture and the like. Undeterred we passed along the corridor, past the sign saying that subscriptions are now due; down a few stairs into what used to be snooker room and where there were a number of handpumps on the counter. Here there were people laying out food on the tables, and as everyone ignored us we had a good look round. We felt like we had blundered into preparations for a private Christmas party – perhaps we had. It was nothing like the Antic pub we had expected.
If I am down this way again during the pub’s advertised opening hours then I’ll drop in again, in the hope of encountering somewhere more like a pub.
On 15th December 2013
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Effra Social
This is Antic’s second Brixton pub, a ten minute walk south from the tube and train station. The pub is set in a former Conservative Club and retains that unmistakable working men’s club feel. A passage entrance takes you initially past a smartly apportioned front lounge with button backed armchairs and a rather debonair feel that makes you want to slip on a smoking jacket and break out the port and cigars. There is a bar in here, but the shutters were down on my visit, so I proceeded along the corridor to the main bar. This large room has wood block flooring, panelled walls and the servery running along the right hand wall. Standard tables and chairs flank both sides of the room with smaller, low tables arranged down the middle, which are particularly uncomfortable to sit at, as it’s almost impossible to get your legs under them. A stage is clearly set up at the back of the room, but curtains kept it from full view. Some board games are stacked up next to the bar and a few snooker/pool cues are held in a rack nearby, perhaps a reference to the room’s former use as a snooker hall. A restaurant can seemingly be found through the rear curtains, but I didn’t bother to explore this far. This pub doesn’t have so much of the usual quirky Antic decor, although some bunting and sheet music (!) hung from the ceiling between some nice period lamp shades. Al fresco drinking takes place out the front of the building, where a spacious, if rather bland, car-park type space has been furnished with a few picnic benches. A decent soundtrack played throughout my stay, but I didn’t spot any TV screens or signs advertising live sport or the like.
Seven hand pumps offered Tiny Rebel Fubar, Adnams Ghost Ship, Moor Illusion and Weston’s Old Rosie cider with one turned badge and two more unclipped pumps. Keg options included beers from the likes of Meantime and Lagunitas. I gave the Illusion a try and thought it was a great pint in particularly good condition. The barman, who must have been a good ten years my junior, asked me for ID, which thankfully I happened to have on me. This was always a great annoyance aged 18-19, but is just plain ridiculous and unnecessary 16 years later.
Despite this, I enjoyed the place very much. I really liked the building and the way Antic have resisted the urge to completely revamp it, keeping the essence of an old working man’s club. This is head and shoulders above the other Antic pub in Brixton, the Dogstar, and further enhances the area’s growing reputation for good pubs and beer.
On 6th October 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Effra Social
Situated about 6/7 minute's walk from the main shopping area, the Effra Social is the latest addition to Brixton’s gradually improving pub scene. Now part of the Antic chain’s expanding empire, this late Victorian building was previously the Conservative Club until they vacated the premises in November 2012.
The building is set back from the road with a large, functional but nondescript concrete front garden containing a few benches that I’d like to think will be made into something with a bit more character in due course.
Internally the building is divided into 2 bars with a corridor linking everything together containing a few relics and trinkets from its previous incarnation as well as a patriotic picture of the Queen. The small carpeted front lounge bar has a handsome retro brick arched fireplace and its own bar with a couple of hand pumps this wasn’t in use during my visit suggesting thta this is probably more for private functions. The main bar is at the rear of the building, housed in the former dance hall and snooker room that was a later addition to the building. It probably hasn’t changed much since it was built and has a bit of a 60’s/70's vibe about it. The furnishings are cheap and cheerful and at the far end is a stage that was being set up for some live entertainment. Pages of sheet music dangle from ropes across the slightly angled ceiling and the retro feel even stretches to the gents loos where some gents knitwear adverts are displayed.
5 of the 7 hand pumps were operational with Adnams Ghost Ship, Atlantic Southerly Elderberry Blonde, Harveys Best, ELB Pale and Moor Raw being the choices available on my visit. Quality was fine although purists may feel that the ales were a tad on the chilled side. A selection of craft beers were also on offer and included a Meantime brace (Pale and Lager) and London Fields Wheat Beer among a few of the more regular options. Ale prices were around £3.40/£3.50 which is about par for the area. A smallish food menu showed 6 main courses priced between £8 and £15.
Being away from the central attractions of Brixton means that is a good option if you want to avoid the transient Academy crowds and market shoppers. Overall, along with the newly opened Craft Beer Co, this is a welcome addition to the area and I’ll certainly be making further use of it.
On 14th May 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]