Old Street Records, bar review: Good, proper fun with a side of live music

Loud, raucous and game for a laugh: Old Street Records keeps the records spinning and people dancing well into the night, says David Ellis
Record lovers: the bar has plenty of vinyl, some of which is for sale
David Ellis @dvh_ellis24 November 2017

What they say: This Shoreditch bar is all about its house party vibe. They host live music almost every night – and draw decent names, including the likes of Florence Joelle, Adam Ficek (ex-Babyshambles) and top DJs like Nikki Beatnik, and The Smoking Guns. Record-lovers can also pick up a slew of vinyl from behind the bar.

What we say: This place is fun, and they deliver it in spades. They've kitted the bar out nicely, with a very respectable array of spirits and a cracking selection of craft beer, so it's little suprise the place gets packed early, and stays filled late into the night. Come to eat lots of pizza, drink plenty, and then dance to whoever’s on that night. Later, head downstairs and dance a little more, where the vibe is a tad more clubby. Old Street is loud – your witty conversation is going to get swallowed up by the speakers – so come along and be equally loud too.

On a more serious note, it's honestly a relief to see a new live music venue: the slow death of them around the capital is nothing short of depressing.

Good for: Bring your friends and celebrate. It doesn't really matter what or why. Upstairs has been done up nicely, all wooden floors, red leather chairs, neon signs and bare bulb lights, and old rock n’ roll posters on the walls. Downstairs is a little darker, fewer seats, more room to dance.

Order: It’s not flippant to say: have whatever the hell you like. This isn’t a place for haute mixology – the people tending the bar are, well, good and proper bartenders, not would-be scientists with a drink problem. The menu offers mostly sweet concoctions, though the Espresso Martini and Old Fashioned are fairly straight down the line. Their house drink, Sour Records is a whiskey sour that isn’t especially sour, but you’ll be able to get through on in a few minutes flat.

We liked the look of the Lagerita, decent tequila mixed with fresh lime juice and triple sec, Margarita style, with a bottle of Sol on the side. For a bar that’s doing party drinks, they’re actually pretty good at the classics – nothing wrong with the Manhattan or Sazerac at all. We ended up on tequila shots and prosecco: good grief the next morning was awful, but that night the bar made us buoyant, so we drank like champions. It’s why you come here.

The best bars in London

1/48

By the way: If you're getting a pizza the action, try the Diavola Nduja, topped with salami and Calabria sausage, both spicy. Bargainous at £9, and cooked properly, Italian-style, with a thin crust.

Follow David Ellis on Twitter @dvh_ellis

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in