Le cool Londres in Brixton
Style tourists in search of le cool Londres might wish to take note of a hip new venture that has sprung up in a converted railway arch directly below thundering Eurostars.
Flanked by two exotic butchers' shops, Brixton Bar & Grill is set to beef up SW9's exotic social stew.
A pared-down interior - neutral tones, banquette, oak tables and obligatory chandelier - is unlikely to upstage the Good Eye-Candy Crew.
What might take them aback is the staff, so refreshingly sweet and dinky that I wanted to adopt them as flatmates. Drink prices are equally appealing, but the short list of Courvoisier and Mumm-based cocktails is a bit too flouncy for major bloke appeal.
Fortunately, the barmen are equally at home with the classics and, besides, most Brixton dudes will be playing it straight with a Bitburger beer or any of the several unusual bottled lagers on offer.
I'd mistakenly fancied the Grill menu might include fatboy burgers and big slabs of meat, but imaginative 'world tapas' are the trendy thang here, with nary a patata brava in sight. Chunky chorizo and kumara, succulent pork belly in a calvados jus, spicy aubergine pesto and red pepper stack, and fresh figs with goat's cheese stuffing and Parma ham were all winners.
An adventurous wine list and DJs transforming a second room into a funky makeshift dance hall provide further incentive to take a butcher's at BB&G.
Brixton Bar & Grill
15 Atlantic Road, London, SW9 8HX
