Wc Wine & Charcuterie Bar

Turning old toilets into quirky new hangouts is the new black.

In this disused public toilet underneath Clapham Common tube you’ll find WC, lovingly restored by locals Andy Bell and Jayke Mangion into a killer wine bar and perfect date place to add to your black book. Leaving the junction of scurrying commuters upstairs you quickly forget you’re in Clapham as you’re welcomed into the dark, candlelit bustle of the bar with all it’s Victorian charm and restored quirks beneath. Enter via steps leading down to the old WC sign and into a shabby little space with lots of the original features – don’t panic, they’ve had a good clean – the tables were once the original cubicle doors and the old attendant’s box is now the framework of the bar.

The menu couldn’t be more suited for a first date. They have a limited but sexy, well priced wine list and a couple of ales and a small number of cocktails on offer too. Food-wise we’re talking cheese and charcuterie, we say hit their sharing boards, pork scratchings, black pudding Scotch eggs and the oysters a steal at £2 a pop.

Smokers rejoice as they’ve got a (heated) terrace up top with – wait for it – table service! Pow. Hanging out in a dark, ancient loo has never been so chic.

This is a genuinely impressive result of two years’ hard work by two Clapham residents – who have transformed the derelict site from somewhere “not nice” into somewhere “nice” – WC’s mosaic tiling and leather banquettes are complemented by natural light from the streets above, a regularly-changing cocktail list, live music and a bar framed by what used to be the toilet attendant’s office.