Adventure bar - East Dulwich (Lounged when no longer about same)

[AcedOut]

Toby - Out of interest, why the name 'Adventure'? Does this derive from positive venture?

[SCSB79]

wah wah wah. You live in London and complain about noise. Ho ho ho ho ho.

eater81 Wrote:

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> Just had a look at the "+venture bar" website.

> All I can say is this bar has the potential to be

> dreadful. Sanitised, commercial drinking marketed

> to the mass morons. If this place gives me any

> trouble with noise then I will have them shut

> down. Happily however I think their short sighted

> policy of only selling overpriced cocktails will

> be their down fall in this credit crunch era.

[local estate agent]

eater81 Wrote:

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> Just had a look at the "+venture bar" website.

> All I can say is this bar has the potential to be

> dreadful. Sanitised, commercial drinking marketed

> to the mass morons. If this place gives me any

> trouble with noise then I will have them shut

> down. Happily however I think their short sighted

> policy of only selling overpriced cocktails will

> be their down fall in this credit crunch era.

I love it...... " I will have them Shut Down"

who does this guy think he is local God!!!

[mikese22]

First review:

Fit-out - pleasant enough, lots of seats / tables

Bar - too small and too far back

Cocktails - only trace elements of alcohol detectable (but cheap so if you don't mind crushed ice and fruit juice for ?6+ then good value!)

Artwork - cheap and nasty

Accoustics - so bad they are beyond comment (or maybe I'm getting old)

Music choice - indie pop / chart - generic, pleasant in a Radio 1 daytime / Capital kind of way

Clientelle - dressed up studenty

Marks out of 10:

Achievement - 5/10

Effort - 6/10

Will I go back? - maybe on a quiet early week night, but probably not...

Overall - fabulous espresso martini (thank you Monica) in liquorish to recover from experience

[AcedOut]

I witnessed the sign today for the first time (I've had my blinkers on for the past few weeks). Boy, it's gotta be competing with the day-glow lights of foxton! Outch!

I'm still looking forward to giving the cocktails a chance though. Was going to head there tonight, but Newsnight got the better of me. Damn, turning 30 really is starting to bite!

[annaj]

What Mikese22 said....

But it think I'd put the effort mark higher. 9/10 probably - they were really trying.

And I recovered in Liquorish with a champagne classic.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Mikese22 - spot on all around. Thought I had written that for a minute

Another vote for Liqourish cocktails afterwards... Plus I got to see Monica with her hair down (briefly)

[Cassius]

Jeez - I thought it was dreadful - they'd done a good job on the conversion but not even half price drinks couldn't persuade me to stay - although I did see bottles of Peroni being drunk which was tempting - but ugh!

[VeryBerryCherry]

I think it's all summed up well by all the comments above.

I think that the East D lot are a pretty hard crowd to please, we are all so damn demanding and sure about what we want from a night out. But everyone?s ideas are different from what I have seen on the other thread about opening a new bar. So, in order to please a some, no doubt others will be p!ssed off

My one extra plus was that the staff were great and clearly working hard to make the night and the atmosphere. I have been to other opening nights where they can't tell the bottle opener from an orange. The guys there were really nice, friendly and knew what they were doing.

However, one small question: where were the female staff? Or do all cocktail bars only have barmen as some sort of testament rule from the Bar God from above. n.b. women don't spend as much money in bars as men. And attracting women to bars doesn't necessitate that men will follow.

I?m not to sure if it would be a regular haunt. However, I think it just adds another option to the mix? and well, who can complain about another establishment where they serve alcofromol to even the likes of me!

p.s. beware of the Porn Star. Nice, but a bit tangy and too sweet. I think I have lost the enamel from my front teeth.

[Mark]

Initial impression is it's so much bigger than Inside 72 and they've worked hard to scrub it up and make it look like a set from Hollyoaks. A bottle of Peroni is ?3.30. The client?le are pretty girls, who will attract pretty boys (and estate agents with hair wax) adding to the the "Hollyoaks" feel. The acoustics are terrible, you have to shout at each other over the tinny music which is XFM's playlist from a couple of months ago.

It will be interesting to see how it's going to entertain the daytime punters as it's definitely an evening venue. It's not my sort of place but then neither is a creche and they're popular and busy round here so I can't see it struggling. Give it some time to get worn in, loose its Chester sheen, get some soul and it'll be fine.

Added: I'll second that about the staff, they were friendly, knowledgeable and very hard working.

[edited once]

[SeanMacGabhann]

She broke my heart ....

I hear where Cassius is coming from- but I'm trying to be fair to the bar itself rather than answer "is it for me?"

I think it will do well - but it ain't for me - esp. on a busy night. But then that is true of all the bars on LL

[Keef]

Wasn't too impressed for the 10 minutes I was in there, but come on, nothing is worse than Liqourish, by far the most naff place in the area!

[Brendan]

It was already rammed packed when I walked by on the way home from work (about 7ish) and looked in. The door troll gave me a dirty look so I walked on. Surprising as I was still in my monkey suit. It's normally only after I've been home and changed into my natural state of disrepair that bouncers give me dirty looks.

I'm still going to give it a go some time though.

[Help-Ma-Boab]

I like my peeve, thought the cocktails were strong enough. Very busy but staff doing a good job to please. Happy hours 7 days a week from 5 till 8, so thats a good time to apply a cheap enough base coat before moving on to other places for me.

[Cassius]

I'm obviously far too old for it and its extremely loud music, however if it makes other people happy then who am I to whinge!

[suzilucy]

rubbish. too loud. too expensive. too many pretty boys. too many tarted up girls.

fair play to the barmen though - they were doing a sterling job serving non alcoholic alcoholic cocktails.

back to the Gowlett it is then.

[Brendan]

I?ve said this before but ED has higher percentage people with a slightly more alternative outlook on life than areas like Clapham and Balham do. I?m not talking skinny jeans and pink hair ?alternative? but a lot of people are the sorts who actually chose for themselves where they would like to live rather than just flock to where everyone else is. There is a certain psychology involved in that and it is evident in the character of the area. If a place like +venture wants to attract them they will have to take a slightly different approach to what they do in places like Clapham.

This is a generalisation though and whichever way this bar goes I think it will have customers.

They may be of the tarted-up or house selling persuasion but everyone needs somewhere to drink.

[Jeremy]

I didn't go last night, but going on the descriptions... where did all these "pretty boys" and "tarted up girls" come from all of a sudden on the first night of opening?

[Brendan]

Jeremy I think it just means ?had a wash?. Unlike the traditional East Dulwich, not brushed his hair for 3 days or covered in baby puke looks

[TillieTrotter]

Stayed for a couple of watered down Mojitos, not really my scene to be honest but good luck to them.

[AcedOut]

suzilucy - pretty boys and girls? Do I detect bitter envy there!?

Blimey, it's nice to see people making an effort to look good when they go out. Bring it on I say! Let's hope it can attract even more pretty ladeeeeeeeees! ;)

[TheePope]

Brendan Wrote:

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> I?ve said this before but ED has higher percentage

> people with a slightly more alternative outlook on

> life than areas like Clapham and Balham do. I?m

> not talking skinny jeans and pink hair

> ?alternative? but a lot of people are the sorts

> who actually chose for themselves where they would

> like to live rather than just flock to where

> everyone else is. There is a certain psychology

> involved in that and it is evident in the

> character of the area. If a place like +venture

> wants to attract them they will have to take a

> slightly different approach to what they do in

> places like Clapham.

>

Not convinced by that - I think this forum has a higher proportion of the type you describe.

The bar sounds like my idea of hell but I'm sure it will do well.

[AcedOut]

The last Mojito I suffered was made with mint cordial! Nothing will ever come close to that...

[Brendan]

TheePope Wrote:

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> Not convinced by that - I think this forum has a

> higher proportion of the type you describe.

Workshy alcoholics?

[James]

Unfortunately this place looks destined to attract even more mindless suburbanites with thumb rings and gelled hair from places like Bromley. Ugh.

It's not a patch on Inside 72