A minimalist continental style bar that plays music that is now inspiring a new generation, Swell is a blues-soaked soul shack.

The Venue
Swell was set up by a couple of guys in Ireland where they have a couple of bars, but this is their first venture on this side of the sea. It's almost continental cafe style in its bareness. It has a patio outside with chairs and tables and inside it’s functional with stone flooring, red and yellow walls and a few tables at the back as well as a dimly lit red, mirrored booth.

The eating and drinking is generally done to the beat of American black music from the 50s onwards. There's everything from Fats Waller, Solomon Burke and BB King to Otis, Aretha, Stevie and Marvin. Upstairs there are pale floorboards alongside dark wood panelled walls adorned with framed pictures of soul, blues and jazz greats.

The People
Playing jazz and blues means that Swell attracts a mixed range of ages. There are original mods and 40-something guys from the mod revival era plus a whole new generation discovering the musical heroes who inspired Duffy, Amy and Adele. Live music, all with a blues and soul slant, is on Thursday, Friday and Saturday although finding out exactly what's on can be tricky.

The Food and Drink
On draught there’s Carling, Tuborg, Tetley’s, Guinness, and in bottles there’s Magners, Beck’s, Corona, Holsten Pils and Budweiser. There is a nine-strong cocktail list, all for £4.95, including White Russian, Tanqueray Mojito and Moscow Mule, although that’s set to expand soon. The soul food menu includes burgers, sandwiches, salads and mains all for around £9 to £12, such as jerk chicken, Cajun chicken burger, mumbo gumbo and spiced fishcakes with a remoulade sauce.

The Last Word
Put on a pair of old trainers, jeans, a jacket and some shades and head down to Swell for some chilled out blues.