Powder Keg Diplomacy, Wandsworth

Powder Keg Diplomacy: the name conjures up a governor keeping a troublesome colony in check. Sporadic summer rioting aside, are St John's Hill natives really so volatile? New from SW4’s Lost Society/ Lost Angel boys, two south London bars I dig, there’s a distinct 1900’s revisited feel to their new sister; no more so, than in a handsome wrought iron-framed Edwardian conservatory-cum-dining room. Flatteringly lit, with wind-up gramophone speakers suspended upside-down as witty trumpet lily lampshades, it's lined in period-correct frondy kentia palms. Cutting the mustard in their Phileas Fogg attire, our waiters might be out of a Hovis ad, or staff from  Downton Abbey moonlighting in the Big Smoke. Mirroring a trend at other fine bars such as Worship Street Whistling Shop and ZTH, accomplished mixology served in vintage stemware also references a time when Britannia ruled the waves and a gin and milk was yours for a penny three farthings, guv. Fine East India and Empire cocktails, and whiskey and gunpowder green tea-based Chatham Artillery Punch are the sort of superior libations the Earl of Grantham could be quaffing if he’d only bin stuffed shirt Carson for a more clued-up flunky. Good too, is the autumnal Granddad's Allotment - your five a day in a glass plus a slug of hooch for being such a good boy. Powder Keg D is also strong on British cask ales (Oakham Citra/ Innis and Gunn Oaked et al), stout and porter, 'colonial' beers and wines from £17. Delve into some good stickies such as a Canadian 'ice' dessert wine made from frozen-on-the-vine grapes. Well-judged nosh covers anything from ‘tiffin’ (game pie/ kedgeree/ Scotch egg with hollandaise) to Mrs. Beaton-style blow-outs (pork belly, celeriac mash and savoury dumplings/ roasted venison parsnip puree and stout sauce/ pan-fried gurnard, capers, cockles and spinach mash).  Prices heed the bar's station in life (that'll be Clapham Junction) and for pudding, I’m urged to try a ginger three-way.  Supply your own punchline!

147 St.John’s Hill SW11 7450 6457 http://powderkegdiplomacy.co.uk/

Peacock, Clapham Junction: Juju, Chelsea

Is my presence unsettling him? Or are launch night nerves and Red Bull making Lawrence Merrett, co-owner of new Clapham Junction haunt, The Peacock (pictured) come over like Road Runner? Larry’s Looney Tunes patter is not the least of tonight’s amusements: Kicking off regular weekend cabaret, set to feature crooners and burlesque, are a flame-haired Vivien Leigh lookalike playing peek-a-boo from behind ostrich feather fans, and a limber, leggy lovely whose eye-poppingly mercurial gyrations on a pole prompt date, stiff-kneed Tiffany, to muse ‘must stock up on fish oil capsules.’ Previously owner of the defunct Living in Brixton, Merrett has taken a clapped-out old boozer and filled it with clapped-out old furniture and cool Claphamites - well, cool by SW11 standards, I suppose. They’ll dig it for its draught Belgian fruit beers and trad cocktails at an unmissable two for £6, all night from Sunday to Thursday. With DJs playing from a recycled pulpit ‘til late and trippy 1960s projections, I dig it for its raggedy-ass charm; much like the maverick Merrett himself. Juju is the new offer from ex-soccer player Lee Chapman, better remembered by barflies for Teatro W1 and his missus, Leslie Ash’s collagen-fuelled trout pout. The former Po Na Na bar’s cosmetic makeover is less alarming: a sleek, shimmery, brown and gold lounge whose design budget likely had a few extra noughts tacked on to the sum spent by Merrett. King’s Road peacocks prefer their Cristal, designer vodkas by the bottle and steamed king crab claws with a side of glossy, leathery luxe and soft porn lighting. Prices are Chelsea average: £8.50 gets an espresso martini. It’s all a bit Frank Lampard, but worth a peek. Personally, I prefer Larry’s function up the Junction.

The Peacock Café, Bar & Club, 148 Falcon Rd SW11 7228 3130

Juju, 316 King’s Rd SW3 7351 5998

Lost Angel, Battersea: Friendly Society, Soho

Don’t let tricky transport links deter you, The Lost Angel(pictured) is a genuine find . I liked Dusk, the previous occupant of this site in a part of deepest Battersea still waiting to be discovered by Livingstone, but its Buddha Bar-lite duds have entered the Twilight Zone, replaced by the new owners’ vision in Victorian kitsch. A sister to Clapham’s Lost Society, that bar’s reputation for consistently good drinks and chilled ambience is successfully translated here. Don’t be fooled by the name, a ‘Booze’ menu - all 12 pages of it - contains creative cocktails built on superior spirit bases. Try the Proper British selection‘s Peary Mason (Godminster rhubarb voddie, pear jam, rhubarb liqueur, lemon juice and egg white), a £6.50 summer quencher, or choose from well-executed classics and contemporary stonkers. A lunch offer - two courses and cocktail for £20 - should be seized on; its anglo-continental dishes a cut above the usual sous vide gastropub norm. Staff that look like they belong inLauren Laverne’s latest hot tip band are sweethearts, swiftly changing the music when two mates moan in unison ‘anything but bleedin’ Bob Marley!’ David Soul's Silver Lady, Chuck Berry and Roger Miller’s King Of The Road are among the DJ’s turntable picks at Friendly Society, a bijou, watery, aqua-tone underworld set in a louche alley patrolled by ladies prepared to be very friendly...at a price. Campy twinks dance in a circle - a gaisy chain? - and quaff bargain shampers (£29.50), jugs of ale and cloying, lychee-based martinis. Babycham mascots, glitterballs, Barbie dolls and dangly mobiles fashioned from flash handbags once sold in 1950s shopping malls are both witty and charming as, on a good night, is formidable post-punk landlady, Maria. Confession, lest I be labelled partisan; its owners are mates which explains why it always feels like coming home whenever I descend the Friendly's steep stairs.

The Lost Angel, 339 Battersea Park Rd , SW11 7622 2112

Friendly Society, Tisbury Court, 79 Wardour St W1 7434 3805