Located at Artworks Creekside, A Herd Of Yaks’ south-east London establishment has found an identity to suit the community
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Little Yak in Deptford’s Creekside isn’t quite the same as its siblings.
Opened a couple of years ago, the original plan was for a sports-focussed space more akin to A Herd Of Yaks’ establishments in Wembley and Elephant And Castle.
Both of those are named Feed The Yak in tribute to totemic Nigerian striker Yakubu and a fan chant encouraging his teammates to pass him the ball, that followed him throughout his career in the English leagues.
But the company’s founder, Sebastian O’Driscoll, is a cheerful laid back sort – a man content to let his bars find identities suited to their communities rather than the other way around.
“I’d been working in the third sector for a number of years, but I had a bit of a desire to set up my own thing,” he said.
“So in 2014 I decided to jack it all in, took over a shipping container in Elephant And Castle and built a little sports bar in it with a friend.
“The Six Yard Box did really well over four years and we went on to open our first bricks and mortar bar – Feed The Yak – in 2018.
“Yakubu was this everyman footballer who seemed to have played for every mediocre club in England and that felt like very much the vibe.
“We wouldn’t get fans of Manchester United or Arsenal so much, we’d have disparate groups of Leeds or Aston Villa supporters.
“We were a little bit cult, a little bit fringe.
“While I dictated that vision onto the first Feed The Yak – I wanted it to be a sports bar – with our openings in Wembley and Deptford, things have been more organic.
“That really works because we’re not inspired by the kind of American sports bars that have 550,000 screens and serve wings.
“We looked to the kind of cafe bars you find in Spain, Portugal and Italy in smaller towns.
“These places are everything to their communities.
“They’re somewhere you can go for a drink, get something to eat and where everyone goes to watch the match because they have the big TV.
“Equally though, they’re the places where musicians will play and artists will showcase their work.”
food, drink and entertainment
Little Yak shares its space with Irish-Chinese takeaway Paddy Wok (paddywok.com) and global fusion foodie spot How Greedy (howgreedy.co.uk) and has taken an adaptive approach to appeal to the Deptford community.
Manager Phoebe Tallman, who has worked with Seb for seven years, is in charge of things and has led a redesign of the bar, bringing live music and DJs into the mix.
She said: “We wanted to make it more like a lounge – somewhere very comfortable – a third space away from home were people could come and see friends, relax, eat good food, have a drink and play board games. We’re also pet friendly.
“On the live music side, we have a group from Trinity Laban Conservatoire Of Music And Dance, who put on a regular night, which is really amazing.
“I’ve been blown away by the quality.
“It’s something we’d like to do more of, as well as poetry nights and things like that, because there’s a really well established artistic community here and building something for them is really important to us.
“We have local DJs too, who come down and mix their own tunes and a regular hip hop night that’s really popular.
“We also have a really good selection of beers – some crafty, but also standard lager.
“We wanted to be accessible and offer something for everyone on tap that would also go well with the food.
“Our assistant manager, Ed, has built a great little cocktail menu too with a lot of south American flavours such as Pisco Sours and Chilli Margaritas as well as a really good Espresso Martini.”
popping over from Cork
Seb, originally from Cork, is especially passionate about the stout, opting to stock Beamish, which has been brewed in his home town since 1792 rather than Guinness.
Another Irish flavour, Mo’s Lager, is set to arrive at the venue in the coming days.
“It’s gluten free and, because lots of our visitors are here to enjoy Paddy Wok’s food, we think it will work well for that market,” said Seb.
The venue has not abandoned sport, opening a second bar outside with a big screen and late licences for fans to enjoy matches during the World Cup.
“We’re not a very conventional venue to watch a game of football in – it’s not like going to the pub, which can sometimes feel a bit off putting, especially for people in the queer community, for example,” said Seb.
“While we do serve alcohol, we also have lots of food options and non-alcoholic drinks – I hope we’re a welcoming space for everyone.
“We really like welcoming different people.
“The manager of our Elephant And Castle bar, for example, is Colombian so we’ll be staying open late for all of Colombia’s games and driving hard to welcome any expats in London for those.”
launching in Stratford
Growth is also in the offing for A Herd Of Yaks as it prepares to open its latest bar in Stratford at East Bank.
“We’ll be launching a pop-up there on June 27, 2026, and then hoping to open fully in September,” said Seb.
“The plan is to marry the work we’ve done in all the other venues – it will be our largest space by far and we’ll be aiming to serve the West Ham fans or away supporters but also to have a compelling offering for the students at UCL East and the London College Of Fashion.
“We’re also looking to tap into the cultural venues like the V&A East Museum and Sadler’s Wells East and I hope, as an independent bar, we’re dynamic enough to do that.
“There are a lot of chains in that area and we want to offer something different, including kitchen residencies with up and coming chefs to give talented cooks a space in a place they might not otherwise be able to afford.
“We’ve been so lucky in south-east London to be able to get involved with things like Deptford Jack In The Green and to welcome the community in.
“Hopefully we can take that approach in Stratford too.”
key details: Little Yak
Little Yak is located at The Artworks Creekside in, well, Creekside a short walk from Deptford Bridge DLR station.
The venue is usually open Tuesday-Thursday from 4pm-11pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 1pm to 1am and Sundays from 2pm to 10pm. It is closed on Mondays.
For full listings, visit the venue’s website here or check @little_yak on Instagram
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