please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
an awesome bar, top decor and some good tunes. that just makes my feedback even more disappointing. We, me and three friends, hired out the top floor for our birthday party at the back end of last year.
We explained we were expecting at least a hundred people so imagine how we felt when we arrived and found that instead of having the whole of the floor we had... a sofa. Yes, one sofa. To make things worse they had booked in not one, but two, more parties. It gets worse... when booking they asked us if we wanted to provide our own music or would like them to arrange it. We agreed it was OK for them to do it. Well, the 18th birthday party they had booked in with us didn't feel the same and wanted to bring their own entertainment. Which they did. So loudly that noone could hear a word anyone said. None of our friends were able to speak with anyone else and many left early because of the sheer volume. I'm assuming cheesy disco teenage tunes had something to do with it too!!!! And then they ran out of glasses so the rest of the night was spent drinking from plastics.
A 29th birthday party for over 100 people to the dlucid tones of "kung fu fighting", sitting on one sofa drinking warm beer from a plastic cup!! Thanks living, you're all heart and really professional.
No surprise they ommitted to give us these details when we booked. Great bar for a weekend night but NEVER hold a party there, regardless of what the website says they don't encourage them because it creates a great atmosphere, its because its an easy way to fleece a load of money from several different people in one night.
Hopefully everyone reading this can appreciate my feeling of being cheated... we emailed the bar only to be ignored. They didn't even bother to acknowledge the note, says it all really.
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Everyone was having a great time at living last Saturday, superb music and the
Environment is quite funky but nice, I�ll love to come back next week. Also is not expensive and the bar close till 4!!!
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Good wholesome fun - rarely go there and have a bad time. Bit of a Brixton institution. By two its usually packed to the rafters so not to everyones taste, although it does make for a good night if people are up for it. Its not my favourite place in the world but I would choose this bar over many of the others in Brixton including the over-rated Dogstar!
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Good to see it hasn't changed and still has a certain charm about it that you can't really explain. Everyone was havning a good time when we went friday. This is apart from the barstaff (upstairs) who never seem to smile. Maybe its just me.
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Despite the location. This is actually a really nice bar. Decent staff, good music and friendly customers. Seriously!
Brixton is a great place to drink, it's just the streets outside which are rather grotty.
Still, I'd choose Brixton anyday of the week rather than, say, Elephant & Castle or... Hounslow.
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Was once good, but seem to have replaced the decent DJ (nervous Stephen) with useless beardy-weadry guy and with it the place seems to have lost all its old atmosphere. Doesn't help that the people on the door are very rude and dissmisive (as they are in their sister bar in Clapham). I'd avoid it like the dealers on Coldharbour Lane and go to Plan B (or even God forbid, somewhere in Clapham) instead.
anonymous - 26 Mar 2006 03:10 |
Another of those bars catering for gullible trendies, who seem to able to convince themselves that spending a fortune to be squashed into an old pub given a lick of paint and a DJ booth is the height of happening cool.
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I've been going to Living for a couple of years now, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays. The DJs always play great tunes and I always have a laugh in the relaxed, non pretentious environment. I'd always recommend this bar as it's reliably consistent with its tunes, staff and clientele!
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OK Sunday through Wednesday, but pants on the weekend. The price of a pint used to go up after 11, don't know if that still happens, but it sucked. Interesting range of lagers, but not interesting enough to entice me there after 7pm on a Friday or Saturday.
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Seemed perfectly nice to me (although it was a Tuesday). Later licence than other places and gave away free smarties on the tables.
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Spent New Year in this bar. It's the worst in London, I swear. Despite having pre-booked tickets, people were queuing for over an hour to get in by which time the "free" champagne was gone. The staff cannot read the alphabet, the organisation was embarassing, the effort for New Year was pathetic and the prices were a disgrace in return for lousy service. Never, ever go to this bar. It must be run by school children or cartoon characters. I'm not trying to be amusing - it was the worst spent �20 of my life. The end.
anonymous - 4 Jan 2005 17:39 |
went to a party there last week. bouncer was incredibly rude, staff cold- not impressed at all. it has so much potential.
amelia - 9 Sep 2004 11:21 |
Transforms miraculously from pub to pub with dance floor around 10 pm when staff surreptitiously start moving chairs and tables at head height. Music is funky if not a bit handbaggy, but on the whole everyone was having a laugh. If you like it banging don't bother.
mike - 11 Aug 2004 16:19 |
I thought it was fab!
R Rahman - 11 Aug 2004 16:05 |
The worse priced red bull/ vodka I have ever come across, cost 11 quid for 2 short glasses. r u joking, one enquired. No I am not was the answer. Average music, average decor but not to bad a place. Everyone seemed like they were having a good time, worth checking out and then crossing the road for some harcore 414 !!!
anonymous - 11 Aug 2004 16:01 |
my most hated of all brixton boozers. have the owners set out to find the most objectionable staff in london, or is it just unhappy co-incidence?
simon - 30 Jul 2004 16:29 |
used to be ok, but as with others in the mini-chain (Redstar in camberwell esp.) is really shabby with a poor music policy.
Bouncers are complete idiots also
Jim - 4 Jul 2004 23:03 |
this place wasn't too bad when it first opened, but is now one to steer clear of... no atmosphere, dodgy music policy and cocktails not as strong as they should be
teecee - 18 May 2004 15:09 |
This place really is the pits.
It started off pretty good with good music and films showing(except they always ran out of draught lager) but it had just slid right down and off the scale.
Go there in the afternoon and the place if full of comatosed bodies slouching, barely able to lift their heads of the sofas. I have seen people so drunk they have passed out and the bar staff don't care.
Evenings aren't much better.
The service is bad and the atmosphere is non-existent. The place has a really grubby feeling.
The guy who runs the place has an oh-so high opinion of himself.
Run a mile rather than go in there.
Ming - 11 Mar 2004 13:56 |
I had my bag stolen while I was there. Was my fault in part as I got a bit carried away with dancing and left it unattended. But the staff were really helpful and called us the next day to say the bag had been found (minus its contents) and they sent it on to me. The music is also really good
clare - 23 Jan 2004 15:29 |
this place is far from stylish - when you walk in you get whiff of the unglamourous smell of good times past and no amount of leather sofass can hide that. added to that the bar man mixing my clumsily dropped my glass into the cocktail shaker then proceeded to give his armpit a good scratch before fishing it out. even south londoners have standards!
kc - 20 Jan 2004 22:41 |
Oh so achingly trendy. Low sofas, lower lighting, chilled decor. Full of women with their noses in the air and men in �60 t-shirts. Went there on a quiet Sunday afternoon and was left with the impression that it must be tres un-chiq for the mono-syllabic staff to smile or look happy to serve you. And for this, expect your change on a tray.
In fairness to this place, it's the only venue I've been to in Brixton. If I regularly 'do' the area - unlikely as silent packs of hooded youths in corners and parks tend to unsettle me - I may find it the best in around, so I don't know.
Having slagged it off, I did get an Irish coffee and was only charged for the shot, which was nice.
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Yeah security staff are not helpful at all, in fact quite the opposite, and we had our tables and chairs taken from us while we were sat there- we were quite miffed. Stiil, people keep going back there because they think it's stylish- it's not, just another jumped up yuppie venue with bad service and over priced drinks...!
Joanie - 8 Dec 2003 14:35 |
i was there last friday night @ the place rocked. Sure it a bit rough...you do need to watch your bags...as it is Brixton after all.
but there is no other bar in brixton going til 4am in the morning...so that helps
Martin D - 2 Dec 2003 14:27 |
Yeah, know a few people that have had stuff nicked in there. Not filled with the most interesting people. Would not recomend to anyone
Dave - 14 Aug 2003 15:20 |
watch out for mobiles, bags, coats... as the staff is not very helpful regarding these matters; I know for a fact, a friend of mine had a bad experience there regarding her bag and keys... she got her KEYS back from security staff, not her bag.. funny isnt it?
Bea Valle - 14 Aug 2003 12:41 |
full of yuppys..over rated and over priced ..men are rotten 2.
laura - 11 Jun 2003 10:05 |
Chilled out during the week, Lively at weekends with club disco downstairs, school disco type affair upstairs and more importantly a 4.00pm license ( free before 10.00pm, a fiver after that)
abro - 25 Feb 2003 15:51 |
