A modern re-imagining of a classic social club from the owners of former Cutlery Works faves Slick Chicks has now opened in Neepsend – and it looks amazing.
Neepsend Social Club and Canteen can be found in 92 Burton Road, next door to The Parrot Club and Peddler Market’s Warehouse, and features a bar, games area for a quick round of arrows or table fussball, and canteen style restaurant area.
The interior gives off strong Wes Anderson vibes and a good deal of care has been taken to create a modern take on a classic social club! In keeping with the aesthetic, the menu has been changed slightly from what was originally announced. Instead of an all fried chicken menu, the kitchen is now preparing British classics, all with a unique, modern twist.
Think cheese and leek rissole with Hendo’s pickled eggs, chicken in a basket with chips, gravy and coleslaw, and fish finger sarnies, they’ll even have freshly cooked sausage rolls on the bar at 5.15pm every day. Everything is prepared on site, down to the homemade sauces (we fully recommend the brown sauce!) and they will soon launch Sunday lunches, alongside a slew of other events in support of local causes.
Co-owner Tom Miller told Exposed: “We decided to switch out the chicken, to do best of British. Classic British dishes that look amazing on the plate, but is also the best sausage roll you’ve ever had, or the best scampi and chips. Kind of like the building, we want the food to be a modern twist on a classic, and that suits the aesthetic more.
“We’re going to change up the menu so that we’ll have a seasonal menu to go with the theme. We want to make sure that it’s reasonably priced, so people feel like they’re coming in and getting a nice drink and a nice plate of food that’s going to fill them up, all in a lovely atmosphere.”
The idea comes from twins and business partners Tom and Ben Miller who, after visiting Denmark around five years ago, hit upon the idea to create a new-style social club that engages with the local community and provides funding and support for local causes, as well as being a welcoming space to eat some banging scran and sink a few craft beers or cocktails.
Neepsend Social Club co-owner Tom Miller told Exposed: “We loved doing the fried chicken restaurant, but we’d always wanted to do something bigger and more involved than that.”
“The restaurant was a stepping-stone onto something bigger and when we got offered this place we thought, let’s just go for it. There’s this place in Copenhagen called Absalon, which is like a community centre, and they basically put on loads of events like community meals, yoga for the elderly, board games and ‘meet your neighbours’ kind of things.”
“They make really cool use of a relatively small space, and ever since we went there, that’s what we want to do. We want to be courageous and take the nucleus of what’s so cool about Absalon and put it into this place. We don’t want to be thought of as just a restaurant.”
The space itself is loosely split into three areas: the front section being more of a lounge vibe, the middle given over to the canteen and restaurant, leading into the back area for darts and table fussball. The aesthetic borrows from 60s era working men’s clubs, with vinyl patterned floors, red carpet tiles, maroon curtains and lots of wood cladding throughout.
“These are the kind of places my dad forced me and my brother to go to when we were kids, with the promise of naff cola, crisps and football,” explains Tom. “There’s something that’s so nostalgic for me; I just want to recreate what that is. Obviously, I can’t lean into it too hard because we’re creating something new, but we think we’ve captured that vibe.”
“That also feeds into the community element, because those places were the heart of the community, where you’d pay your subs and go and catch a turn. We will be doing things like that, and we’ll have a loyalty scheme where you can collect points, giving you offers and discounts and the opportunity to donate to the causes we support by being a club member.”
Mondays and Tuesdays will also be given over to club member events, or things like new menu item testing for members, with the venue open to anyone as a restaurant and club from Wednesday to Sunday.
As far as the drinks go, the bar has eight taps, which will see a rolling cast of craft ale from local breweries, as well as some well-known favourites, plus a small section of good cocktails.
“Very relieved to get it over the line and I’m really, really pleased with the way that it’s turned out.” says Tom, “I’m just buzzing to get people in and see it full of people. Part of the ethos is community vibe and we want this place to be a cornerstone of the local community.
Neepsend Social Club and Canteen is open now, go chuck them a follow on Insta.
