New London Bar: The Four Quarters

In a melting pot of butchers, phone accessory shops and knock-off bag stores, you’ll find a new bar with a unique take on socialising. Combining arcade games with craft beer and minimalist furnishings is The Four Quarters, a new London bar on Peckham’s buzzing Rye Lane.

It takes inspiration from America, where you can play Ms Pac Man with a cold draught beer in your hand – or rather, on the table behind you while you keep your fingers free for the buttons and nozzles. It resides inside an old butcher’s (you can still see the rust marks on the floor and the brackets for the meat hooks on the walls) and has basic furniture like classroom stools and beer barrel tables. There’s a shelf of cult films like ‘Withnail & I’, ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘The Thing’ alongside ‘Spice Girls Live’ and ‘The Simpsons’, and every single one is VHS – you won’t find any DVDs here. The walls are scarcely decorated with film and band posters, transporting you back to your uni days spent in the student union. Beer mats give it more of a relaxed pub feel, but you can tell that the temperature cranks up from the chalk scoreboard for those that take gaming seriously. The bar itself is small, almost hiding away in the far right corner, but is lit up by a Tetris lamp that made us seriously jealous, and beckons you over to try the drinks on offer.

Craft beer comes in the way of Camden Hells/Pale/Ink and Meantime Californian Pale, but the bottles of Bacardi, Bombay Sapphire and Jack Daniel’s swiftly remind you that there’s plenty for those that aren’t so partial to a pint. There are also cocktails on the horizon and food, which, according to the bartender, is probably whatever you imagine it might be. We’re thinking hot dogs and burgers for easy eating and continuing with the American theme.

It’s stressed that The Four Quarters is a bar first and a games room second, but it really is a haven for gamers. There’s Pac Man, Street Fighter, Space Invaders, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Star Wars and more to while away the hours, plus an upstairs private-hire room with a projector screen, Nintendo and gamer sofas so close to the ground you may as well be sitting on the floor. With music, a bar and plenty of chat among patrons, this place manages to achieve the impossible and makes gaming sociable. You almost feel as if you’re in the back room of someone’s mansion, but everyone’s welcome.

There’s no escaping the fact that The Four Quarters is nothing like the Peckham we know. Step inside and it’s full of nerdy, pale 20-somethings that only five years ago would have been seriously uncool. It’s a refreshing addition to the area, much like the beers are to your tastebuds, and doesn’t try to be anything it’s not.

You can find this cool and fun new London bar at 187 Rye Lane, Peckham and discover more at www.facebook.com/fourquartersbar

By Charlotte Mellor