Ink Rooms, Batterseaback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
"On the site of the microbar there still remains a bar with one of the best bottle ranges in London, and most likely THE best bottle range in south london."
If burough counts as South (it's south of the river) then The Rake takes that honour with 130 beers.
I'm not much of a fan of the decor and music in the Ink Rooms, but to each his own, right?
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Me and my girlfriend wandered into here last Friday and ended up staying all night. The first thing that grabbed me was the music. They had a dj playing some really obscure, upbeat soul stuff which had the place jumping. The music moved on to indie and back, but I can honestly say he didn't pick an average tune all night. Granted, it was loud, but it was Friday night and you can't argue with people dancing on their seats! The bar staff all seemed friendly and seemed to be enjoying the night as much as the punters, which is always a good sign.
Not sure what it would be like during the day, maybe a little dark and not enough seats, but for a lively night out it gets 10/10. Especially if you like your music (Clapham is otherwise a no-go area). Definately be going back there in the near future. A rare find in an otherwise dull part of town.
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Ink Rooms...all things to no people!
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it is nice to have a classy distraction,i have been in a couple times and find it very relaxing and informal,the staff are very helpful bordering on delightful especially alex the rock chic, very top bar
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Having enjoyed being on both sides of the bar in the ink rooms former and present incarnations I'd like to throw in what I hope to be a calming 2 cents to this maddening furor. I for one like the new interior. There I said it. It's cool, it's interesting, it looks like what I'd imagine an american style bar to look like. The downstairs area is a particularly nice feature, as are the new toilets. The idea of live music is also a good one and will hopefully go down well with the regulars who still frequent the bar. Yes regulars, because there are locals who do not feel betrayed and I can tell you why. One reason: the beer. Though the bottle count has dropped from the mind boggling 160 to a more reasonable 60 beers the favourites are still available Belgian, German and American beers of renown are show cased here. Your Goose Island, Left Hand, Brooklyn, Jever, Augustiner. Andechs, St. Bernardus, Orval and fruit beers as well as many other delicacies can be found here. On the site of the microbar there still remains a bar with one of the best bottle ranges in London, and most likely THE best bottle range in south london. I won't put a rating in because as part of the bar staff I have a vested interest, but I can safely say it's a bar I would happily drink in, because I do drink in it. I hope this has cleared the otherwise muddied water for some of you.
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As one of the bitter minority I would ask of those who think this is such a great new bar why not simply take on another premises on Lavender Hill as there are many going if the new owners are such enterprising business men instead of feeling the need to take on a going concern.
As for a final word on this bar, its bitter ex locals and luddites, a test for you, try going to a pub / bar for a number of years then been told at a public meeting that the name wouldn't change and that the changes would be minor and a general tarting up of the bar (which to be far it needed) and try not been in the least bit annoyed, bitter, hacked off etc when the complete opposite occurs and the name is changed and the whole bar and its associated character changed. I suspect like me you will also be found severely wanting in this regard.
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duplicate incomplete review I have asked to be removed.
offensive - crossing the line and not a review has been reported for removal
this is not an area for such cruel slanging matches - it is for commenting on a bar/pub and not for personal abuse and as an ex local I am very offended by associations made by the perpetrator
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blimey! It seems I have started a war of words. In response to Shame and Strangebrew13 it seems I have touched a raw nerve. I do apologise upsetting you so much you felt the need to insult my choice of drinks on a night out. . But seriously do you not feel that you are being slightly snobbish and childish about the ink rooms. Where would we be with out change? in the dark ages thats where. So it's aimed at a younger audience. get over it and move on. There must be loads of old codger pubs around where you can stare at your pint glass wishing you didnt have to return home to your wife, whilst flies gather round the weaping eye of a dog thats about to die.
Stop knocking young business men that are trying to bring something new and exciting to the area. HAving chatted to them at length the other weekeknd they seem like really sound guys who just want to bring a lively atmospheric bar to the people of Lavender Hill. I think it's really rotten that the comments on this site for the Ink Rooms are from bitter minority. Surely we all benifit from business successes in the area. You never know they might even open a bar called the "ludites rest."
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Wouldn't worry shame as I would be very dubious about trusting the opinion of someone who has a blackberry cider followed by an orange beer, especially where taste is concerned!
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I think it is a little harsh of "lebigham" to blame all the bad reviews on the locals ... the one thing the microbar did so well was create a local welcoming atmosphere - although the staff at the inkrooms remain mostly friendly the vibe has undoubtely changed - surely this can not be disputed. What was to be a refurb of a local has turned out to be a full revamp/ sell-out and it surely cant be suprising that the local people are worried about how the bar can recoup the money spent on this revamp without having to ram it ful of idiots.
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WHAT A FIND!
We stubbled on the ink rooms on a night out (passed it in the day thought it was a new tattoo place) The friendly staff made the evening for us all. We were planning on going else where but got stuck in the ink rooms simply having an amazing time. The Staff make you feel like your not only a valued customers but guests of honour at their party. This is a really hard thing to do in my opinion. Its hard to have a full and busy bar and yet make everyone in there feel like they have walked into their favourite pub back home to be greeting by old friends. The Ink room pulls this off. There is a massive selection of drinks to choose from. Everytime you go to the bar you can discover your new favourate drink. ANd the staff certainly now their stuff. But watch out you could end up mixing your drinks. I had blackberry cider followed by orange beer. Amazing.!!! We were so impressed we returned the next day to find the Ink Room chaps rustling up a bbq. the perfect cure for the self inflicted joys of the night before.
The place certainly has a different feel to it. It remainds me of some of the cool bars you can find abroad. especially bars I have been to in Brooklyn, Berlin and VAncouver. Its great to have a piece of world wide cool on our door step south of the river.
The garden could be a bit bigger and the tunes could be a bit cooler on an Afternoon. Maybe Kid loco style chilled beats or Northern soul Norman J style? But its a small critism.
I think the reviews posted on here seem a little unfair, I can only assume they are from an older crowd with slightly outdated tastes (they also seem a littel bitter, ex locals?) And why does one poster refrence leicester as a place to be associated with all that is shite ha ha. A tad harsh one might say. Especially as my gran came from Hull and I can assure you that place is rubbish.
Perhaps its time to hand over this brilliant drinking den to a younger generation. Sorry chaps.
Well worth a look at on a night out.
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Let me start by been up front and stating that I had an emotional attachment to the Microbar having been a regular of 8 years. By the looks of some of the positive posts to date I suspect some of them have not been so up front and have a financial attachment to the Ink Rooms.
If you want a brief review of the Ink Rooms it is frankly a pile of pretentious, wannabe, twaddle which would be more suited to the high street of a provincial town for upmarket chavs, lads and laddettes, possible somewhere the likes of say Leicester.
So on to the bar itself. The d�cor is that more becoming of a tattoo parlour and it speaks volumes that the new owners feel the need to include the word bar on the street fa�ade just in case you were confused as the d�cor appears to be.
The upstairs section now looks like a bar in Soho and has none of the quirk soul of before. The bar has been shortened and stools removed thus removing some of the pleasure of sitting at the bar and meeting people and actually chatting to people, fancy that. I suspect that this has been done so as to not encourage locals and to churn through the drinkers on a Friday and Saturday night.
The seating booths at both the front and downstairs are a welcome attention although felt a bit cheap and will no doubt age badly. On the up side the reformat of the toilets and the exposed brickwork were steps in the right direction however sadly a wrong turn was taken at some point as blocking up the window and the curtains at the front make the bar unnecessarily dark.
Call me Bitter and Twisted but sadly great beers such as this and other foreign delights have gone been replaced by bland things like Meantime K�lner. No offence to the Meantime boys but what happened to having a proper K�lsch I mean the Germans have been brewing it for 90 odd years. Sadly a place know for its foreign beers has dumbed down to the extent that Belgos looks appealing and that the staff think Tennants Purple Tin constitutes a foreign beer
The new owners who had drunk it the Microbar said that they got it. Sadly they didn�t get it and have got it very wrong and like most theme bars it will enjoy a brief flurry of interest followed by a dip of in business come autumn and winter when I expect that the place will be empty mid week due to its darkness and lack of locals and it will be luck to the see next summer. Just reward for ruining a good bar.
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Let me start by been up front and stating that I had an emotional attachment to the Microbar having been a regular of 8 years. By the looks of some of the positive posts to date I suspect some of them have not been so up front and have a financial attachment to the Ink Rooms.
If you want a brief review of the Ink Rooms it is frankly a pile of pretentious, wannabe, twaddle which would be more suited to the high street of a provincial town for upmarket chavs, lads and laddettes, possible somewhere the likes of say Leicester.
So on to the bar itself. The d�cor is that more becoming of a tattoo parlour and it speaks volumes that the new owners feel the need to include the word bar on the street fa�ade just in case you were confused as the d�cor appears to be.
The upstairs section now looks like a bar in Soho and has none of the quirk soul of before. The bar has been shortened and stools removed thus removing some of the pleasure of sitting at the bar and meeting people and actually chatting to people, fancy that. I suspect that this has been done so as to not encourage locals and to churn through the drinkers on a Friday and Saturday nite.
The seating booths at both the front and downstairs are a welcome attention although felt a bit cheap and will no doubt age badly. On the up side the reformat of the toilets and the exposed brickwork were steps in the right direction however sadly a wrong turn was taken at some point as blocking up the window and the curtains at the front make the
Call me Bitter and Twisted but sadly great beers such as this and other foreign delights have gone been replaced by bland things like Meantime K�lner. No offence to the Meantime boys but what happened to having a proper K�lsch I mean the Germans have been brewing it for 90 odd years. Sadly a place know for its foreign beers has dumbed down to the extent that Belgos looks appealing and that the staff think Tennants Purple Tin constitutes a foreign beer
The new owners who had drunk it the Microbar said that they got it. Sadly they didn�t get it and have got it very wrong and like most theme bars it will enjoy a brief flurry of interest followed by a dip of in business come autumn and winter when I expect that the place will be empty mid week due to its darkness and locals and it will be luck to the see next summer. Just reward for ruining a good bar.
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I wasn't really sure what to expect when the Ink Rooms opened as all you could see from the street was two very dodgy tattoos painted on the walls.
First the good, it was lovely to see some friendly faces behind the bar and the garden is still one of the best in the local area, but with that now closing at 8/9pm, there's not a lot of post work sitting outside time to be had so this isn't going to be much of a selling point. Putting in access to the toilets from the garden is definitely a good thing however!
It all goes wrong upstairs, wierd tattoos on the walls which will lose their novelty quickly, dark, cold, music too loud (on a busy weekend night yes, a quiet week day with a couple of groups in chatting, why?) and tacky decor.
And in answer to Masteradamo - 'some people's idea of ribaldry is what others consider having a good time' - there are many 'good time' bars in the area and they do it better. The bar is too cold for it to have any atmosphere.
So, go for the garden, friendly staff and good beer but don't bother on a cold or wet day!
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The good 'ol Micro Bar certainly needed a revamp not many people could disagree with that, however, if you were a fan of the old style then you probably will not like the new and far from improved eccentric camp meets 80's disco look (check out the silver cow's skulls wearing hospital masks above the bar, very strange). Does remind me of the old mish mash (a stones throw away location wise which has moved to a better and brighter location) in the sense that now they have blocked the back window up there is a dark kind of feel to the place, probably the reasoning behind this was to give out a more intimate vibe which unfortunately they don't seem to have pulled it off due to the loudness of the music (espesh on the weekends) and some of the strange style seating they have built in. Definately worth checking out if you are wanting to get into the industry and see what NOT to do to a pub style wise, still there must be some method to one's madness!
Fortunately, they have kept a very very good beer selection and the ones on tap seem to be cheaper, this can be both a good and a bad thing, as yes it will save you dosh but at the expense of probably getting more of the 'wrong types' in looking for nothing more than cheap beer (with which trouble usually follows) on the weekends. Once the novelty/trend wears off as concept style bars so frequently have happen to them, will then be interesting to see how/if it survives in such a location that has taken so many bars/pubs in the past.
The great thing about the 'ol Micro was that it seemed to be a warm bar with a soul of its own, now though, it seems the ink rooms has gone for a sterile/cold feel (maybe to detract locals? who knows). Each to their own i guess, i know which one i prefer...
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As a new bar it certainly is a unique new drinking spot - although i agree with the loud music and the need for sanctury in the garden.
However anyone who loved the vibe of the microbar would be very dissapointed. In addition the new management keeps saying that there has been no change in ownership or that it has been bought by a local - neither of which is true. They may have currently maintained some of the old bar staff but i doubt they will last.
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I used to grace the Microbar with my presence on a regular basis, and after being out of town for a while, I was astonished to see the new and not so improved 'Ink Rooms'.
Where will I go now to enjoy a quite, relaxing drink after a stressful day at work and have some friendly chit-chat with the bar staff who used to welcome you with friendly faces. Instead you are greeted by a dark cavern like area with a tattoo theme of sorts. Whats that all about? Are they trying to promote some kind of hardness and attitude all of a sudden? The music is far too loud, maybe that is to distract from the fact that the new staff I've seen don't have anything interesting to talk about?!
The only good thing is that the garden is still the same and is an escape from the rowdiness upstairs. It is a shame that the garden is only open until about 8/9pm, which defeats the object of being blessed with such a great space!! I dont fancy smoking my ciggies out front!
Not sure if I'll be back, if so I'll be taking my torch and ear plugs with me and try to give up smoking!
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Dont' go to Ink Rooms if you're expecting the old Microbar experience...
The Ink Rooms is completely different!
There's an interesting (somewhat bemusing) tattoo theme going on. (Strangely no noticable tattoos seen on staff to complement the styling! But hey!) The styling is faux 'hard' bar, a caricature of a 'rock' bar, something one might find at Disney's Paradise Island. It's sort of twenties meets mid-eighties.
It's a loud, somewhat obnoxious, in your face 'bar' experience. Not for a relaxing after work drink but try it out. There's no other place like it in Battersea/Clapham. Period!
Go for the beer. Head to the garden.
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It's true that this pub has recently changed, and some people are inevitably going to be unhappy about that (per commentary under the old Microbar listing). In fact, the layout of the pub has changed very little, and I found the new decor and furnishings to be stylish and comfortable. Moreover, the range of beers, tap and bottled, remains enticing. There was loud music and carousing on a Saturday night - some people's idea of ribaldry is what others consider having a good time. The proprietors remain the same group of friendly and involved people who seem to genuinely enjoy running a bar. Definitely worth a visit.
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Recently visited the new Ink Rooms formerly known as Microbar... I was dubious as I thought for sure that the range of beers would not be as good... Seems to be the same wonderful selection of beers both on tap and in bottles. The guy behind the bar is very knowledgeable about the beers which is great as this is often lacking... Friendly as well.
I think the new fit out is good as well - improved seating, better bathrooms, making the lower room near the garden more bar like (less like some ones dodgy garage) and access to the bathrooms from downstairs is a big bonus. The beer garden here is great as well (always has been). The new american/tattoo parlour theme is fine and as it gets more 'worn in' will feel better.
Looks like they have live music, trivia and book clubs as well... so something for everyone! Definately better then anything else on offer in the area!
Nice work guys... glad that it re-opened with much of same goodness of the Microbar.
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I'll admit right now - only been once and regular of the previous incumbent the Microbar.
The latest addition to the Battersea/Clapham scene of 'drinkin til your smashed venues' -masquerading as the trendy arty party crowd- tries too hard to 'be something to everybody' and ends up being nothing but decor- overuse of tattoo motif [and standard marketing sexism display- 'come on- we are in the noughties now -grow up chaps' this isn't the provinces].
Down to the important stuff - beer.
Pretty standard 'US/Continental beer selection aka West End meets Shoreditch- you'll find something to your liking but may get bored quickly - all is contrived but a plus point is that the bar staff are friendly enough. The garden is another plus point for smokers and you can partially escape the music which is pretty loud on the occasion I was there.
I am sure that it will pull the young male punters in, and therefore the ladettes, and it will have achieved, I assume, that which its branding style is targeting at. Myself I am old fashioned I just find it difficult to see pretty girls so wasted that they can barely stand up ; not a place for beer afficionados therefore the low rating.
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