The Secret Bar, Tooting, SW17

Blackthorn _ left this review about The Secret Bar

A small bar located at one end of Tooting Market, it seems to be a joint venue with the Portuguese restaurant opposite, and the pub itself had something of a Portuguese theme to it, at least in terms of the beer choice.

Internally it’s just one relatively small room, but they seem to have made a decent effort to make it feel a lot more traditional than might be expected from something located in a market. There are black wooden boards on the floor, black beams on the celling, and a bar counter clad in distressed wooden boards, as well as a few bits of foliage that had been draped around. There was some exposed brickwork in paces, whilst the rest of the walls were clad with wooden boards which customers had (presumably) been encouraged to write chalk messages on. Seating was limited to high chairs at the bar, and a few small tables and stools. A TV screen at one end was showing the rugby, but the volume was off so this was not too intrusive.

Unfortunately there were no real ales on tap, or any beer at all come to that, with just two or three lager options including the Portuguese Super Bock. Overall, whilst not a traditional pub by any means, it had a chilled out atmosphere and friendly barmaid, and it made a useful pit stop whilst browsing the market.

On 5^th November 2023 - rating: 5
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