The Dogstar

It isn't too often you get the chance to drink in a 'Surrealist Boudoir,' but according to the owners of The Dogstar this is one way to describe the refit of this Brixton institution. The three-floor DJ bar, unintentionally sharing its name with the former band of actor Keanu Reeves, now has drapes on the ceiling of the main room, with a cornucopia of pictures and objet d'art adorning the walls. This includes a huge print of a dog, which wouldn't look out of place on one of those limited edition' plates advertised in the weekend magazines that come free with your newspaper. Your impression of The Dogstar may really rest on what music they're playing, with nights catering for anything from disco to dub, hip hop to house, rock or reggae. Latecomers may be charged for entry on certain nights, but with the option of staying until 4am at the weekend you should be able to get your money's worth. The staff were friendly on our visit and provided table service for ordering from the Mexican menu. We'll admit to being too chicken (or pollo) to try the extra hot salsa, probably better for all concerned the day after.

And so the legend continues. On our last visit here we were urged by a wide-eyed sweaty bloke in a tie-dyed tee to ‘Feel the vibe! Feel the vibe! Yeah!’ as we leapt up and down together in a throng of BO. Not much has changed here on Walton Mountain: this is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how much you believe in stuff that ain’t broke not being fixed. There’s a DJ shake-up in the pipeline which means there could be life in the old dog yet.

Downstairs, this long-running local institution has a cavernous DJ bar, always mobbed with a young South London crowd. The main bar is as casual as you'd expect from a converted pub - comfortable sofas, big wooden tables - so dressing to kill is not imperative.