The Hope Bar & Hangout Review

The rebirth of Peckham is in full swing; The Bussey Building is now a hot bed of pop up screens and street food activity, whilst new bars are being born on the vibrant Rye Lane. It was only right we checked out one of the town’s newest food and drink hot-spots.

Adjacent to Peckham Library and the Peckham Pulse Leisure Centre and tucked away in the quirkily named Melon Road sits The Hope – a bar-cum-pub-cum-hangout.

Opened in 2014 by the pub collective Antic, it has become somewhat of a meeting place for Peckham types young and old.

A quirky little number, theres a whole wall of books and funky, vintage wall art – a staple of the Antic collective. The atmosphere was buzzing for the time of day – we arrived just after 7.30 – and the tables in the intimate but lively restaurant/bar area were near capacity. We happenes to be there on Vinyl Night, which curated a perfect soundtrack for the night.

To get things started, our chirpy bartender recommended for our first tipple, the Champagne Cocktail – a usually bitter taste but this was surprisingly subtle and not overpowering. We were also lucky enough to preview a carvial inspired cocktail created by the Hope crew – Wray N Ting, a double shot of Wray & Nephew rum, grapefruit bitter and a drop of Ting!. Seriously fruity but seriously strong, we are certain it will become a bar fave when it drops soon.

The night continued with a trip to Venezuela via pop-up Petare, a popular street-food pop up and the latest in the Hope’s pop-up kitchen series.

We were not ready.

The flavours unleashed in our stuffed Arayas and traditional sides were SERIOUSLY something else. We gorged on the ‘El Trio’ a triple helping of taster portions of each of the Araya’s on offer, our fave being the ‘El Pabellion’: slow-cooked shredded beef brisket with black beans, plantain and cheddar cheese aka Platanitos Fritos. SO good. We were already lovers of platain but the cheddar cheese twist really took it to a next level.

The pop-up really complimented the Peckham Hope vibe, and there’ll be more tastiness to come this week from another popular street food vendor. Food is served on Thurs – Saturday from 6pm until 10pm.

Get the full pop-up listing here: http://peckhamhope.com/food-drink/

We’d definitely recommend this Peckham hangout for a birthday, meet-up or a quiet drink; the staff make great conversation and are super-friendly. There are weekly events including DJ’s, and themed events. We’ve also heard the Quiz Night is always a packed house too. Additionally you can sip on locally and regionally sourced ales, draught and bottle lagers, craft beer, fine wines and spirits. With it’s living room feel, it’s definitly going to be a popular and cosy Autumn/Winter Hangout.

General opening times are from 4pm-12pm.

Info:

3 Melon Road, London SE15 5QW
www.PeckhamHope.com
@PeckhamHope

02077010113