Brick Lane is at the epicentre of East London’s alternative art scene. It’s a daily hangout for a generation that prefers Vintage over Versace, Street art over Fine Art and cheap bagels over a pricey brunch. By day you’ll find the street bustling with hipsters and those that enjoy shopping for old leather jackets and vinyl records. By night the bar’s that line the street come to life, drawing in a young edgy crowd in search of venues that aren’t so commercial. Here’s a quick list of top brick lane bars for you to enjoy!
As it’s one of my favourite places to hangout, a Brick Lane bar crawl was an absolute must, so I pulled on my skinniest pair of hipster jeans and hit some of the street’s best bars.
Cafe 1001
Being my favourite place to spend the day in London, Cafe 1001 was my first port of call for the bar crawl. I lined my stomach with a juicy beef burger with bacon which is served up on 1001’s outdoor BBQ, accompanied by a chilled beer. Don’t be too deceived by the name, this venue is Cafe during the day but of the evenings DJ’s take to the decks to spin an eclectic mix ranging from reggae to minimal. The party really get’s going when they open up the back room — A spacious dark room with an incredible sound system pumping out dub step. We finished our drinks on the comfy sofas before going crazy with the other London ravers.
The Big Chill
This bar is extremely popular and attracts a mixed crowd. It gets quite busy on most evenings but the bar is huge and there is plenty of seating to make yourself comfortable, plus an outdoor seating area which makes it the perfect drinking spot during summer months. I love the concrete interior and illustrations that adorn the walls, it has that warehouse party feel to it. Despite being named ‘The Big Chill’ the drinkers here always seem to be dancing, which seems to be the done thing in Brick Lane regardless of where you are!
Vibe bar
Just around the corner from The Big Chill is Vibe bar. We paid a £5 entry fee as a band were playing. I love Vibe for its giant courtyard, jerk chicken stall and the abundance of leather studded sofas inside.. With all this where else would you need to go?
I’ve enjoyed a chilled drink here with friends in the past, I remember being impressed by the fact they were playing indie rock. On this occasion we had some live entertainment in the form of a soul band I was too drunk to remember the name of. They had us out of our seats busting some moves even James Brown would be proud of. There was a real feel good vibe..(See what I did there??)
The Shoreditch
It was all getting a bit hazy at this point but I do remember stopping in the street between bars to dance and sing to a buskers tune and as we did everybody around us joined in — I love Brick Lane.
We finally made it to The Shoreditch which is slightly off Brick Lane along Kingsland Road. The general theme of East London bars appears to be ‘Random’, nothing really makes much sense but that’s it’s appeal. The Shoreditch is beautifully decorated with unusual items– think paper parasols and bear skin on the ceiling.
This bar prides its self on its cocktail menu and for being one of few bars which serve up cocktails in giant fish bowls and pretty poerceline containers, perfect for sharing. I sat wondering how many wasted City workers have wandered in here and paid £800 for ‘The Tigers Head’ which is served up in just that. Its unthinkable!
Which bars in or around Brick Lane would you recommend?
This was a guest post written by Creator & Editor of The Lost Londoner