The Deptford bar that gives EastEnders a starring role
Emma Bogue took time off from her BA Journalism studies to commune with lovers of a long-running British TV soap
Deptford local Tristan Scutt founded Little Nan’s in honour of his late grandma JoJo, who shared his obsession with the long-running British TV soap opera EastEnders.
Twelve years on, the cocktail bar has expanded and Scutt now has an empire that stretches across two buildings, complete with nine event spaces.
Hidden away beneath Deptford’s Victorian railway arches, Little Nan’s spoils Londoners seven days a week with boozy afternoon teas and fish finger sarnies, all inspired by EastEnders’ diva Pat Butcher.
“My Nan used to love EastEnders and so do I,” Scutt told Eastlondonlines. “It’s a proper obsession. Pat Butcher is the queen around Little Nan’s, from the big earrings, to the leopard print and the comebacks, she’s the one!”
Scutt says his “driving force” still remains JoJo, who passed away in 2010 in her 104th year. “I used all her ornaments, furniture and crockery”.
The bar is also inspired by the way he and his Nan lived. “I was born in the 80s and brought up in the 90s, so it’s all about childhood nostalgia for me, and this obsession rubs off on the decor which I create.”
Little Nan’s is kitschy and camp. It has ornate porcelain and leopard print walls. Late 1990s’ British iconography is in every room. Sweet and sour candy-topped cocktails are served in teapots and vases.
Scutt told ELL about the “best day ever” when legendary actress Celia Imrie booked in for afternoon tea with Pam St Clement, the actress who played Pat Butcher in EastEnders.
“It was amazing. We had a load of customers in the bar who were just losing themselves with excitement,” Scutt recalled.
“They both were chatting to customers, having selfies, and then just like that, they were gone in a black cab, as if it was one of the Duff Duffs in EastEnders,” he added, in a reference to the drum beats used to signify a cliffhanger at episode end.
As the first cocktail bar to open in Deptford back in 2013, Little Nan’s was unusual for the area. At the time, “Deptford was a very different place,” says Scutts, “there were not many places to go, pubs were closing down all the time”.
He says,”I wanted to open up something for my mates to go to. People often ask me why I chose Deptford to launch the bar, and for me it was obvious. It’s where I’m from, it’s where I love.”
News of the bar spread “quite quickly” and Little Nan’s soon had a crowd.
In the years since, Scutt has hosted everything from weddings to children’s birthday parties at Little Nan’s.
The bar has won several awards, including from Grazia and The Sunday Times. In 2018, it won the Time Out Love Awards as “most loved local bar or pub”.
Other than running his two bars, Scutt rents out a holiday home in Weymouth on AirBnB. Like the Deptford venues, it rejoices in its individuality and has been described as “the UK’s most over-the-top AirBnB” by The Times.
This post was originally published in Eastlondonlines
Email: thegoldstandard1@substack.com