Lost & Found (Bar)

Top 10 things you need to know about Lost and Found:

1) You could learn more than 10 things at Lost and Found, probably a whole degree about effective interior design on a shoestring budget.

2) On a nondescript Balham street, this cosy little cocktail bar is easy to miss. Stumbling in, you almost sense you've walked into someone's house party. The vibe is friendly, the decor is relaxed and the drinks are free-flowing.

3) Julie, the General Manager, is the glue in this house. I was three deep in the queue for the bar and without a chance to proclaim "I am from Fluid London", she was already stretching her friendly arm out with the cocktail menu. Critic or not, everyone is treated like family here.

4) Showing our youthful exuberance, we dived into their most popular cocktail, Responsibly. Clearly, any concoction with lime, ginger and honey must be good for you. For good measure, there is a healthy dose of dark rum to give it an extra kick.

5) Half the success of cocktails is in their names: depending on your mood, you can enjoy a little stripper here, take a dose of pencillin or just give daddy his hip flask.

6) If you are tired on a Friday night and indecisive, their bar staff will delightfully come up with their suggestions and go off-menu. I had forgotten to apply my anti-fatigue eye cream and Julie clearly knew what I needed: a mocha martini. In fact, two in quick succession. 

7) Four cocktails down the line, any inhibition or stage fright had disappeared rapidly. Unhelpfully, they have a guitar in their basement musical playroom. Soon, I was living my Chris Martin from Coldplay Glastonbury dream, although there was only an audience of three and they were actually queuing for the bathroom.

8) If musical instruments aren’t your forte, they do have a free jukebox as well as a giant karaoke screen.

9) They have mastered the art of upscaling to a fine level here. The wall next to the karaoke is "wallpapered" with old LPs, there's an old sewing machine above the guitar and on their bar is a vintage cash register.

10) Balham might be a trek for many people in London, but even at my best friend's house, I would not get a friendlier welcome....read more