Count ’em up – 13 taps shine brightly in a row behind a very small and ramshackle bar within Broadway Market Tooting. From them pour beer, cider, wine and pre-batched cocktails. The bar not only hopes to keep marketgoers well fuelled but it aims to generate zero waste in the process.
It’s a compact and stripped-back space with stools facing the taps and a few seats the other side of a pathway reserved for market footfall. As such, you’d expect Tap 13 to struggle to make its own atmosphere – but it almost felt like its sole bartender was overcompensating when we made a midweek visit. His chat was practically non-stop (and mostly entertaining) and he blared out emo hits from the noughties to plug any lulls in conversation. It may be a bit invasive if you’re hoping for a quiet catch-up, but we appreciated this old-school approach to bartending.
The four beers were from Tulse Hill’s Bullfinch Brewery, with pints of lager and pale ale for £5. Wine by the glass cost the same and included a very drinkable French red – that’s if you’re not instantly drawn to prosecco on tap (which is, let’s face it, the holy grail). The bartender let me try all three cocktails (the beauty of a tap bar) before I settled on a rhubarb and rosé spritz with plenty of fizz and sweet vanilla notes. And I thought 13 was meant to be unlucky.