There’s something for everyone at Effra Social

Until just 10 years ago, Effra was a conservative club. Now it aims to ‘reclaim the working mans club for the people of Brixton’ and pitches itself as a sociable hub for absolutely everyone. There’s a lot on offer there too- classic pub grub, soak up the sun in their outdoor space, see their live music performers on Thursdays, or head down every Friday and Saturday for the DJ (with free entry!). There’s also a range of events in their calendar; from wine tastings to themed bottomless brunches, painting classes to jazz performances, Effra Social really is the place for whoever, whenever.

We headed down to try out their food menu and got a real feast of delicious bites. We started off by making the most of their 3 small plates for £18, which runs Mondays to Thursdays. We got the salt and pepper squid; nicely crunchy and cooked perfectly (no hint of the dreaded overly chewy texture that can often be the case). They came with a luxurious garlic aioli to dip, and you bet we dipped. Next up were the courgette fries. Unassuming, but these might have been one of our favourite dishes of the day. Really tasty and different from the usual pub fare you’d expect, we’d highly recommend getting a portion of these. The round off the trio was a carby plate of crispy smashed potatoes which came with a cooling sour cream and chive sauce on the side. A really nice switch up to classic pub chips and every bit as moorish.

Moving to the larger plates we had The Effra Burger. A double smashed patty, cheese, pickle, burger sauce and a side of chips, this was a really, really good burger. Not fussy but executed expertly- the kind of burger you’re thinking about when you are really craving a burger. We also tried out ‘Chef George’s pastrami sandwich’, apparently the only pastrami sandwich you can find in Brixton, this one was jam packed with pastrami (chef George doesn’t hold back), mustard and pickles and we absolutely loved it. Loads of flavour and certainly a big menu highlight for us.

To help this feast down we tried out some of their wide range of local beers. The Portobello Pilsner was a refreshing accompaniment but keep an eye out for their Monday margarita deal where you can get regular, spicy, strawberry or passionfruit margs 2 for £10!

There are so many reasons to visit Effra Social. You could go any night of the week and have a great time- whether you’re after seeing some live music or just kicking back in a cosy corner with a great beer and a portion of the courgette fries, Effra Social is the place to go.