After a month subsisting like Junior Soprano under house-arrest we were all really looking forward to opening again on December 3rd. Last week, this seemed workable, the guidance was thin (no surprises) and we tentatively teamed up with Yard Sale to re-think our spot as a subsidiary pizza parlour.

However, over the weekend, we did a lot of soul-searching and came to the sad conclusion that we won’t be able to open under Tier 2 restrictions.

And so it was — the bar on the Narrow Way is closed again for the next 4 weeks at least. This is a fuzzy little pic I took last night of our ticket spike. On it is every order that’s gone out since the curfew was called; at which point, we genuinely felt that’d be curtains for us! No support on offer and four plus years of stats showing that 80% of our trade occurred after 10pm.

For Halloween this weekend we’ll be open Thursday through to SUNDAY.

We've always preferred the notion of Aperitivo over the bastardised Happy Hour. Stealing from Italian bar/cafe culture, why not while away a whole afternoon and evening up to dinner with lower ABV drinks and good, neighbourly conversation? It's communal and life-affirming.

The shifting sands of the dune-scape that is COVID Britain 2020 have forced us to tweak our quarterly/seasonal menu programme. One of the biggest challenges has been to draw up a reactive weekly offering (see what we got a lot of and make it into something) to best manage back-of-house operations. Because, when you live in constant fear of being closed again, the last thing you want is a load of literal liquid assets.

In response to yesterdays’ briefing from Downing Street, here’s our statement on where we go from here (again)…

Now following the Rule of Six.

We’ve gone bonkers for bubbles of late, with our new carbonation rig purring away behind the scenes and range of Hard Seltzers flying out the door. Here’s a little Bubble 101 laying down the science to the the zing in your drink!

#HardSeltzerSummer is here, an empirical ‘White Claw’ shaped tidal wave is rolling across the Atlantic; we’ve got a toe in the water, so here’s a little pocket guide to your new go to RTD.

July 4th - the pubs are open! A Nation Rejoices! Throw up the bunting! Re-coronate the queen!

Not quite.

feat special guest Michael Kill

Norm was supposed to play the bar this month but due to obvious reasons we had to reschedule a later date.
As a consolation he's been kind enough to record and send over a vinyl only set full of summer heaters and some air tight mixing.

Episode 2 of our minted, (seminal), bar-talk podcast: If These Walls Could Talk!

In this edition Alex dialled up Paul Hayes of VIVIR tequila for a chat about launching and importing his fantastic range of tequilas. The conversation covers the full arc from inception to trading in the current COVID-quashed climate, Paul’s personal odyssey with agave, and how his and his team’s integrity, patience and passion can proof a business against seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Tune in, turn on and sip on VIVIR ;)

Full time family, part time bottle shop

Back in 2015 I was caught between trying to move out of teaching and back into hospitality. Frustrated in London, I took a work placement in Los Angeles for 5 months at the start of the year with a half-a-mind to extend it further. Behind This Wall had run its course as a club residency in London with the closure of Plastic People, but we’d always dallied a little in making up drinks and running peripatetic bars & sound-systems in unloved spaces.

To help you through homebound entertainment procedures, and to accompany our new bottled Mixed Drink range (plug* DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR *gulp), we’ve added a Mixtape Jukebox to our HIFI page. Bringing something of the BTW experience to you in lockdown and beyond.

Episode 1 of our brand new podcast, ‘If These Walls Could Talk’! At some point last year, whenever that was, Alex sat down with Byron Knight: he of the bar Off Broadway, co-founder at Beavertown, current brain behind the Deviant & Dandy brewery and fellow poké pioneer.

Our basement bar is closed until further notice, in keeping with the government mandate on delaying the spread of coronavirus.

Stay at home, stay safe and support our wonderful NHS wherever you can.

COVID-19: Please read, copy and share! Our hospitality industry needs you.

One of our most beloved residencies at the bar happens every first Thursday of the month when Richard Greenan of Kit Records takes control of the hifi for the evening. To those familiar with the label and longstanding NTS show, you will know the cosmic polymath pulling the strings. We sat down with the man himself for a candid chat about his projects, beginnings and inspirations.