Not so grim up North

A friend of mine recently purchased a sorry excuse for a flat near Clapham North railway station.

He's surprisingly optimistic, given that he now owns a debt on a hovel, to the point that he's now telling everyone he lives in the upandcoming bit of Clapham (that's Stockwell, to you and me, in the borough of Lambeth - I've seen the letters from the council), and that its steeply aspirational status is confirmed now that, to use his words, 'a trendy bar has opened on my doorstep'.

The old Bedford Arms, never a very pretty pub, held pride of place at the junction of Clapham Road and Bedford Road.

It was a raffish, workaday resting point, popular with local vigilantes and ne'er-do-wells, but gentrification waits for no social laggard and the Clapham North (directly opposite the entrance to Clapham North Tube station), a new gastro with live music and sports bar opened last month and is already attracting a healthy number of Stockwell's nouveau riche.

The enormous interior has been given a contemporary new look - brown and cream decor, high-backed leather settees, squashy leather sofas, Sixties-style plastic chairs, the ubiquitous, enormous floral display at the end of the bar, and a faux-log fireplace.

This is the style we've become accustomed to in London's urban villages, and one which for the most part works well, but a large music console, powerful-looking speakers and plasma screen TVs suggest that this place might be trying to be all things to all people (jazz music and Premiership soccer matches don't necessarily make the best bedfellows).

But when I first visited, on a rainswept Tuesday evening, this candle lit venue was packed - never a bad sign on a Tuesday evening - and buzzing with enthusiastic twenty- and thirtysomethings enjoying the food and drinks on offer.

And somehow the plasma screens and football fans, conveniently positioned at one end of the bar, failed to spoil the atmosphere for those chilling out in the rest of the premises.

On the drinks front, the Clapham North is offering all things to all people, with draught beers (Caffrey's, Guinness, Leffe Blonde and Hoegaarden), bottled beers (Tiger, Budweiser, Nastro Azzuro, Corona and Magners cider) and a decent enough, reasonably priced wine list (an Argentine Torino Malbec costs £15.50).

Cocktails are the biggest surprise, though, and although the list is short, the Martinis are well-made, wellbalanced drinks, and at £4.95-6.95 represent terrific value for money. My Cosmopolitan was made perfectly (including the burning of the orange zest across the top of the drink), and the fruit Martinis (passion fruit, kiwi, raspberry) are well worth a punt.

Judging by the number of 'reserved' cards sitting on tables, the food is going to do a roaring trade here. You can get anything from club sandwiches and salads (from £5.95), to mains of rib-eye steak (£13.95), burgers (£8.50), fillet of salmon (£9.95) and a chicken breast with char-grilled vegetables (£7.95). The bar might not win any culinary awards, but this no-nonsense, sensible food is the perfect menu for the Stockwell market.

I reckon the Clapham North will rid the area of the stench of urban decay and could be the harbinger for a new wave of venues in this part of town. What they do, they do well, and this comes from not overestimating the needs of the local community. I, for one, will be happy to go back again.