Josh Barrie On the Sauce at SideChick, Brixton

Where in London can you play pool for free? Hardly anywhere. And I am loath to share this information because currently the pool table I’ve discovered is more dormant than it should be: a white-edged, blue carpeted affair, situated against gaping glass windows that look out onto Coldharbour Lane in Brixton. 

Here we have SideChick, the restaurateur April Jackson’s latest project, where the focus is on cocktails and the vibe is homely. The pool table is upstairs: a continuation of a place to drink and, if needed, sample snacks that reference America's deep south. Boneless fried chicken wings and cubes of deep-fried mac and cheese, that sort of thing.

You might have heard of Jackson. She’s a former Miss Jamaica, once an Apprentice star; she's said to have dated Usain Bolt for a time. These days Jackson is building something of an unassuming empire in the postcode, where she already operates Wood and Water, a ‘modern British restaurant with a Jamaican soul,’ and ABV, a cocktail bar in the shipping container world of Pop Brixton.

SideChick might be more upmarket and styled. The name, she says, comes from a friend who mentioned he had a “five-year side chick.” Hardly good news for the main event in question. But the place itself is, with its convalescent list of agreeable cocktails. 

I find it difficult to deviate from the Penicillin, which blends Scotch, honey, ginger and lemon and was conceived by the Australian bartender Sam Ross while he was mixing purposefully in New York. The name, unsurprisingly, is a nod to the drug, given its medicinal properties and penchant for combatting — or so some, my mother included, would have you believe — the debilitating effects of a cold. 

Whatever, it does the job on the inebriation front, and it is joined by a list of daiquiris, martinis and less charted creations that some might like and others may dismiss. The “Portmore” sees rum matched with coffee and coconut, while the “Floradora” is a careful combination of gin, lime, raspberry and ginger ale. The drinks, I believe, will change from time-to-time. Right now the list is largely refreshing and fun — nothing is earnest or cloying, rather the makings of a bar to jump into and whimsically enjoy.

The décor? Velvet seating sits atop an untouched pebble-stone floor. There are feathers, tassels, and pearls about the place. I really like it: a bar without a dominant (see: over-reaching) concept. Just a bar. One where if you need the classics, they will mostly be fulfilled, and if you need something to eat, the snacks are agreeable.

Yes, SideChick is a good use of a former eel and pie shop. There is an ever-present conversation in London. One of gentrification, fabrication, evolution. I do not know the complexities of the capital’s shapeshifting, but I do know that SideChick has the makings of a happy arena in one of its best neighbourhoods. A dose of Penicillin and a game or two of pool is hard to beat, after all.

426 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, SW9 8LF. For more information, visit: @sidechickbar