Brixton's futuristic edge

Coldharbour Lane, Electric Avenue and Atlantic Road - an enclave recognised by friend and foe alike as the frontline in the battleground that Brixton once was. The area's colourful past and workaday present seemed to be its trump card against gentrification, but this hitherto safely immobile neighbourhood is bracing itself now that a vision of the future has arrived.

Set in a row of international butchers' shops blasting out an eclectic mix of world music, the Brixton Bar & Grill is this lustrous, somewhat incongruous fancy in the vaulted railway arches of Atlantic Road.

The main bar at the front has two rows of leather banquette seating at either side, and one long oak table running down the middle of the room. The room at the back of the bar, sparsely furnished and with an industrial design of exposed brickwork, is where the DJs spin their stuff late into the evening.

The team responsible for both the Rapscallion and Sequel bars, both in Clapham's Venn Street, is managing the bar, so my expectations were stratospherically high. But like most new bars, the team had forgotten to compile a drinks list, and we had to make do with a badly typed, hastily produced list that included some unfathomable abbreviations.

I pressed on. And although the short list of girlie-style cocktails seemed reasonably priced at around £6 a throw, I wasn't exactly sure what I was ordering. The results, therefore, were disappointing, and anything you pay for that you don't like has to be considered an expensive gamble. Still, given time and a decent typewriter, I suspect they'll sort out these peccadillos.

I was able to read through the mistakes on the rest of the drinks list, which left me fairly confident that I knew what I was ordering. Draught beers include Stella Artois and Bitburger, and they have a proud parade of bottled beers such as Orval, Anchor Steam Beer, Duckstein Lager, Liefmans Cherry Kriek and St Peter's Organic Best Bitter. Bottled prices start at £3.50.

The wine list, although somewhat ambitiously priced, is an innovative collection of international offerings, with eight available by the glass. We had a bottle of the Hochar Pere et Fils (£20), an award-winning wine from the Lebanon and produced at Chateau Musar in the Bekaa Valley. It's a thunderingly good wine, meant to be drunk young (our vintage was 2000), and sports many of the rich, complex characteristics of a quality Bordeaux.

A short tapas menu is divided into five sections: snacks, seafood, vegetarian, meat and sweet'n'savoury. We had chorizo sausages (£3), char-grilled asparagus (£3.50), duck breast with plum sauce (£5.50) and (two) medallions of beef (£6) - all cooked to perfection, nicely presented and flavoursome.

Did I mention the staff? A more enthusiastic, amiable and able team of youngsters would be hard to find, and I am reliably informed that they keep their cheer into the wee small hours, a time when I am safely tucked up in bed. At the moment, the venue is closed all day Monday and closes at 12.30am on other days, but they are awaiting their late licence, which should become effective within a month and will see the bar open until 1am Mon-Thur & Sun and 3am Fri-Sat.

I will go back, because there's a job needs doing sorting out their cocktail list. But is this the vision for the future of Brixton? Perhaps it's ahead of its time, as I reckon it might be just a little overly ambitious for your average Brixton punter and their pockets.

Brixton Bar & Grill
15 Atlantic Road, London, SW9 8HX