64th & Social

Edited:
This place is super weird. Loud Club bar atmosphere… Good value yummy Steak
Atmosphere:
Immediately strange atmosphere. The walls are black the waitresses are few. There is loud music blaring making conversation hard. So its sort of like a club meets a high end restaurant. Its not the kind of place that is intimate, nor is it airy, at one point we thought we could hear each other and then music went up again. As a club bar this would be great — but the food was too good to pass up, so weird for a restaurant.
Food:
The menu is simple. Steak or chicken you also get two sides and wine for fifteen quid. now I’m expecting a really bad steak… But no… This was top.notch. Cooked well the sides were loved too. I had green beans and palmetto and roasted tomatoes and ricotta. A surprising experience of joy! I’m excited to go back, incredible food — steal cooked perfectly to order.
The staff were really friendly but very clearly under staffed, doing their best to be overun, and we had to wait over an acceptable amount of time to be served… the cocktails were Yummy but getting them was work.
Its just club/​bar meet gorgeous steakhouse… Bizaare. It had a dance floor.
Oh the toilets were clean. And it didn’t have a sticky floor.
I’d say if you want good food, are patient and not bothered about atmosphere — then go here its for you.
If you want a relaxed meal and quick service and its going to wind you up — and you want to hear your company — try somewhere else.
I will go again, the food was that good!

So I was appalled by service here whilst I entertained the Royal Military– my drink which was half empty was emptied and then told ‘oh it was empty’ by the bartender was unacceptable. Shame on you for taking advantage!

I had been recommended this bar as a good place to go on Clapham High Street, and ventured there on a catch-​up evening to drink with some old friends. Our initial order was for off-​menu Mojitos which came out well, but my pint of beer (Sam Adams) came in a glass of questionable pint quantity (hence the low rating). It was in fact the same size as the cocktails — approximately ²⁄₃ pint. This was naturally very disappointing.
Where this place does in fact shine is the cocktails, which are both strong and flavoursome (if a little too sugary). Having gone off-​menu we ventured back on piste for a rhum rhapsody — very good — and served in a handled jamjar.
There wasn’t really ambiance, and the bar seemed fairly empty, particularly for a Friday night. In some ways this worked to our favour and we managed to get a table swiftly, but dancing was limited.
As someone not knowing the area well, I would have found what 64^th and Social provided us acceptable, aside from feeling short changed on the beer front — but there must surely be better places in Clapham High Street? –1 star for beer.

Popped in last night for a couple of cocktails and was very impressed! Although at first it seemed quite small and crowded, we discovered that there was a small downstairs area leading into an upstairs area where we were lucky enough to grab some seats. I had a «Grape Escape» (strange name as it had no grape in it… it was OK but not as nice as it sounded in the menu), but my companion had the «Breaking Bad» and wow, I will be back for that!!! A bright blue cocktail consisting of Amaretto, Blue Caracao and fresh lemon and cranberry juices. It tasted SO GOOD but the best bit was the little bag speared into the drink with a plastic shard, made to seem like drug samples but really, popping candy. Such a fun idea, and a really tasty cocktail.
The music they were playing was great, it’s a shame that theire isn’t really a dancefloor, but overall the atmosphere was good and I think I will have to go back and try the food one day.
One more thing, we had just found out about an app called «Spleat» which you can use to pay in some restaurants and bars (they’re quite new!). 64^th accept this so you just open a tab, and when you’re ready to pay go to the bar and hit pay — no problem! This also got us an unexpected 10% off the bill which was a nice surprise!

Surprised how positive other reviews are… this place is ok. I went around 11 on a Saturday night: maybe 5 booths in the main bar area and unless you’ve snagged one, there’s no where to stand or put your drink down. As you walk to the back it splits levels with both areas having low lounge type tables.
Over the time I was there seems to be a lot of coming and going, so it would oscillate between full and empty. I get the feeling no one spends the whole night here.
The cocktails are definitely not «classic» — lots a fruit mixers so most err on the sugary side. But they are 8.50 so that’s a little redeeming

A preamble: Until February 2014, 64^th and Social used to deliver amazing steak. I’m talking £16 for steak. Oh, and two sides [Great sides. Macaroni and Cheese/​Chipotle, Pan Roasted French Beans/​Chorizo, Baked Potato (!!)]. Oh, and a wine. Or or beer. And a sauce. A creamy, peppercorn-​y, bourbon, roquefort butter sauce. They had friendly mixology types, and a cocktail list with quirky and unique additions, including some imagined-​up by their own staff but award-​winning at Flair bartending comps the world over.
64^th and Social is no longer like this. At all.
We’d phoned to book a booth, but were told we couldn’t book a booth for Fridays. We’d be alright, they said, if we just turned up. So we did, a dedicated trip to Clapham which we’d been anticipating for weeks. When we arrived, the booths were half-​empty. Because they were all booked. They remained empty well past our grumpy departure.
We could sit downstairs, they said. Downstairs is akin to a bedraggled univeristy hall. It’s grim, with peeling paint, two worn sofas and the atmosphere of a dentist’s waiting room. If you were the only one sitting in the dentist waiting room. And it was dark and needed a good sweep. We turned to the menu, knowing the food would overcome our disappointment. The once brilliant and diverse steak/​sides menu has been replaced with — wait for it — steak, chips and salad for a tenner. If we wanted steak, chips, and salad for a tenner, we would have gone to our local old person’s home. The cocktail list has been savaged, reduced to seven or eight uninspiring boozes. We went to the bar to order, and were told to return to the table, where orders would be taken. Couldn’t even order a sub-​par cocktail or house wine to keep us going.
So we returned to the junior common room — I mean, downstairs area — and waited. And waited. Staff walked back and forth, through their half-​empty bar and restaurant, and no-​one came to take our order.
Luckily, in a way, because we left after 20 minutes and went to Honky Tonk up the road, where staff went out of their way to be accommodating, there was sparky atmosphere and amazing food. Suggest you do the same.
* Also lost points for the spelling of «your» [sic] on the front of the menu. Website is out of date as it still links to the old (delicious) menu. Get it together.

Despite the fact that I generally meet up with friends here on a weekly basis, it’s sadly not as good as it used to be. Why do I still go then? I’m really not sure. Perhaps it’s because my friends are creatures of habit. Perhaps I need new friends .
But anyways, back to 64^th and Social. With a recent menu change, it went from heaps of side and starch options (you could choose 1 of each) to now only 6 side options (of which you can choose 2). I generally would applaud such a thing as I am horrible with making decisions but none of them are particularly great so choosing is not an issue. As for the steak, quality seems to be dwindling but it’s a pretty good for the price. Having it cooked to your liking is generally not an issue.
Although the staff are friendly, the service is not the greatest. Don’t get me wrong, it is by no means horrid, but slow and confused is the general story.
I am not saying don’t go here, but perhaps don’t go here weekly? If you are in the area and looking for some steak and a drink or two then pop on by. Otherwise, you aren’t really missing anything.