The Pipeline

Just adrift of the City proper, The Pipeline offers R&R for stressed suits. Its stripped-down interior, pinball machines, darts, pool tables, rock-chick imagery & vintage jukebox pumping out an appropriately black-leather, biker-jacket soundtrack, suggest a frat boy’s den circa Happy Days. If you crave a super-chic fashionista cocktail lounge, look elsewhere. That said, for £7, the bartenders will happily make you a tequila sunrise, Lynchburg lemonade or mojito, with a ‘sweet gorgeous’ (Midori, Malibu, pineapple juice & soda) for your lady, & dangerously named shots to follow (‘safety pins in leopard skin’, anyone?). Eats include pubby standbys including curry, veggie risotto, fish & chips, meatballs, tagliatelle arrabbiata & a trio of puds. The Pipeline’s owner is Swedish, so the look is more Roxette than Roxy Music glam-rock.