A high-scoring competitive-socialising bar near Liverpool Street, bringing axes, darts and cheerful combat to the heart of the City
Boom Battle Bar at Liverpool Street posts an excellent 4.8 across nearly three thousand reviews – one of the highest scores in this survey – and belongs to the great competitive-socialising boom. Regular readers will recall the Prat met its sibling at the O2 across the water; here is the City cousin, bringing the same cheerful combat to the Square Mile.
Near Liverpool Street, the City
This Boom Battle Bar sits near Liverpool Street, in the City of London on the north bank – a geographic stray in this south-bank survey, caught by the scrape’s wide reach. We flag it plainly, as ever.
The battle in the name
As the Prat noted at the O2, “Boom Battle Bar” belongs to the modern phenomenon of competitive socialising – the bars that bolt a contest onto the drinking. Here the battle is literal and various: axe-throwing, darts, shuffleboard, crazy games of every kind, a whole armoury of ways to compete while you drink. The name is pure cheerful aggression – “Boom,” “Battle” – and it tells you exactly what you are in for. The Prat, fond of the honest name, notes again that this one promises drinks and combat, and delivers both.
The City at play
The Prat savours the setting this time. Liverpool Street sits in the heart of the City of London, the financial district where the day is all spreadsheets, meetings and buttoned-up seriousness. Into that world of grey suits and grave deals comes Boom Battle Bar, inviting the City’s workers to throw an axe at a target and cheer – to swap the boardroom battle for a literal one, the metaphorical daggers of office politics for actual thrown blades (safely supervised). There is a fine release in it: the tightly-wound City, let loose to do playful battle after hours. The near-perfect 4.8 suggests the bankers and brokers relish the chance.
The tournament night
The Prat’s editorial position on competitive socialising remains one of amused approval. There is something very human, and very old, in wanting a night out to have stakes – to keep score, to win, to hurl an axe and cheer. The pub has always had its games, from darts to dominoes; Boom Battle Bar simply turns the whole evening into the tournament. A 4.8 across three thousand reviews, on this City sibling as on its O2 cousin, says it does the job superbly. The competitive-socialising formula, it seems, travels well.
Verdict
A 4.8 across nearly three thousand reviews is one of the finest scores in the survey, and Boom Battle Bar earns it as competitive socialising at full volume – axes, darts, drinks and cheerful combat – brought this time to the buttoned-up heart of the City near Liverpool Street.
Go for the battle and the boom, throw an axe, keep score, and let the City loose after hours. The Prat met the formula at the O2 and salutes it again here: the pub has always had its games, and this one makes the whole night a tournament – and wins.
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: [email protected]
