Saturday 12 January 2008

b@1, Battersea Rise, Clapham, London


Aging public school kids cram into this small bar to drink cocktails or bottled beer and shuffle along to the loud and nostalgic music - typically anthems from the eighties and nighties mixed in with the odd catchy modern track. It tends to close at 1am, but it can get so crowded that the friendly doormen may stop letting people in after 11.30pm. b@1 usually has a happy, almost euphoric, atmosphere, but the roaming groups of men mean it can sometimes feel a bit like a pick-up joint. 7/10