Discovered this bar on a horrible rainy day, wandering around Shoreditch trying to find something open before 5pm. I loved this place a lot. The outside area (when it stopped raining) was really nice (the pop up ice cream bar looked amazing but was the slowest service I've ever seen) and the space inside is shabby but nice. A bit hidden away but in London that's never a bad thing and just means you may actually get a seat! The wine was reasonable and the mac'n'cheese was delicious. A good find and one I'll keep in my pocket for when I'm in the area. read more

At one time an ever so slightly hedonistic bar where you were just as likely to see Emma Bunton and Will Young slumming it with the original Shoreditch crowd as you were to see Liam Gallagher propped up at the bar, the Strongroom bar has in recent years been refurbished and stripped of much of its idiosyncrasy and in turn, for me at least, some of its original appeal. Seeing the once legendary Strongroom bar redecorated, stripped of its original Jamie Reed - of Sex Pistols fame - motifs and largely of its character is a sad and disappointing sight on par with seeing Johnny Rotten appearing on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. It shouldn't have happened but it has. Regardless, this is an interesting Shoreditch venue steeped in - recent - history, with friendly staff, a beautiful paved outdoor area with seating which is lush during the Summer, and a recording studio upstairs which lends the Strongroom a certain cultish appeal. read more

Strongroom Bar & Kitchen - Bars Near Me - Shoreditch, XGL

This would have been five stars until I started noticing the mice! Original review: Why queue around the block for Breakfast Club when this little gem is around the corner? With breakfast from less than £4 and Mary's for £5.50, it's definitely worth taking a look. Go for the Ballad Brunch on Saturday 12-4 and you can cry through your hangover or dance off the last of the tipple with some well priced food and drinks. read more

Strongroom Bar & Kitchen - Upcycled furnishings - Bars Near Me - Shoreditch, XGL

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My husband and I had a decent dinner here last night. He got the apricot and beer-braised pork neck whilst I got the quinoa and butternut squash salad. We also each ordered the Belgian lambic. We sat upstairs. We got there about 8pm. You're supposed to order food at the bar but it was slammed so our experience was enhanced incredibly by the blonde, lovely Romanian waitress who got our orders at the table. My husband asked for a cut to not be very fatty and the cook obliged, which was a good experience for him. I also got my salad without dressing. For the price it's an excellent value. My husband said his meal wasn't the best taste he ever had but was satisfying. Ditto with my salad- nicely roasted butternut squash chunks but not the best I've ever had. But my my meal was huge! There's are no official takeaway boxes (boo on you Strongroom!) but our lovely waitress somehow scrounged a plastic container for me and kitchen roll. So nice! The entertainment offered seems to be pretty cool; I would definitely come back for that. read more

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Great fun bar to have drinks with a decent meal. We run a PandaPay evening last night and it was smiles all the way. I had the chicken burger with cheese and chips. All portions were of decent size and extremely tasty. Personally I'm not a beer person, THOUGH they had two very impressive Pilsner barrels that enables the beer to go straight from the barrel to your pint! Definitely a sight to be seen...and obviously to be tasted ;-) Strongroom Bar has one of the most impressive outdoor areas I know in Shoreditch - which is perfect for groups and parties. It is rather loud and buzz at night, so I would not suggest to come here for business meetings or romantic dates - though for everything else, grab your friends and head on down :-) read more

Strongroom Bar & Kitchen - A fun night with friends - Bars Near Me - Shoreditch, XGL

I've been here twice now, once during the night when the toilets were at there shallowest, covered with and inch deep of water with no attempt to fix at the time, and the other, yesterday during the day . The atmosphere outside was pleasant enough, but a little hipster for my taste. The whole interior had a lingering whiff of urine, which isn't exactly conducive to stirring my appetite. When we got to the bar, the staff were good enough to point out it was £4 for half a pint rather than just serve a pint straight up, but she made no effort to conceal her dirty look for my drink choice (kraken and dandelion and burdock is a lovely summer drink thank you!) before not filling the measure shot very close to the top... We sat outside in the sun, it was busy, with people sat on the floor to ensure they weren't in the shade, but there was a rather large backlog of glasses for the amount of people, which people were regularly knocking over. We only stayed for one drink, leisurely for around 45 minutes, and four+ glasses were smashed in that time, which was only just being swept up as we left. We hoped the people sat on the floor were sober enough to notice if there was glass in their buttcheeks! Nicely stocked bar, and nice enough setting, but really needs better cleaning and tidying! read more

Strongroom Bar & Kitchen - Smashed glasses left for quite a while... - Bars Near Me - Shoreditch, XGL

The staff at the door were very rude. I've read so many other reviews of similar experiences at this place. Not sure it's worth it when staff can be so aggressive towards everyone read more

£2 for a pint of lime & soda gives you an idea of the likely cost of a pint of beer. I was here in the afternoon to see a couple of bands so I presume it also has live music on at night too. The sound quality for the acts was fine and, if you're happy to shell out, there was a decent variety of beer on offer (all 'craft' though, no real). Not somewhere I'm likely to re-visit, either for a session or a pit stop, as it didn't give the impression of having much atmosphere when there's not a specific event on. read more

Curtain Road has some cracking bars, and The Strongroom is almost one of them. Entry is via the courtyard - very useful for you smokers and probably great fun once summer decides to show up. Sizewise though, I was a bit surprised that somewhere with a courtyard this big was quite so dinky and intimate inside. The upstair room (probably the larger of the two) has its own bar and the times I've been there, staff have been friendly, quick to serve and usually playing some decent 90s Indie. There's not a lot else to tell about the place, which is why I can only give it a 3. Casual and attitude-free though. read more

Strongroom Bar & Kitchen - Bars Near Me - Shoreditch, XGL

There is a discretion and demure to this bar, filtering out the chavs and freaks who career down the main stretch of Curtain Road. You certainly get served with far more civility than so many of the generic Old Street offerings. Cocktails here are unusual but not particularly inspired (French Martini has a tendency to have the consistency of soup), but this is still a secluded spot which definitely harks back to the days when Shoreditch was slightly more underground in a non-pretentious way. Good outside heated patio space and open until 8pm Sunday, probably the right time for me to be getting on my merry way, after an afternoon of drinking games! In summary, it's dependable and neighbourhood-y lacking the attitude of its brethren ilk. read more

Strongroom Bar & Kitchen - Bars Near Me - Shoreditch, XGL

The terrace is quite nice but drinks are rather poor and service not much better.

A good place for celeb spotting; recently I've seen Bloc Party and Brian Molko of Placebo fame being interviewed in here. Really good place to go for a cheap lunch - it's £3.50 for a jacket spud brimming full of tasty, homemade fillings, and they do a really delicious bean casserole. Everything is made to order and tastes really fresh. The staff are super friendly; they'll come and sit with you and natter away, and the bar prices are pretty standard. Like i said, it's best for a cheap lunch. read more

I went here for the first time last Friday and it was really nice! Tucked away off a large courtyard (which itself looks like a lovely place to hang out in the warmer weather) you enter the bar onto a staircase. On the upper level is the main bar and a mix of modern but slightly rustic-y wooden tables (you know the big chunky type) and chairs and the odd comfy leather sofa. The overall feel is a bit stylish but not overly themed.... plus they have quite a tasty looking food menu with a reasonable selection for an informal after work nibble (didn't partake this time unfortunately). Heading downstairs is a lounge-y bar area with a veritable selection of the aforementioned sofas (the small bar there looks like it isn't open unless they're really busy). It feels a bit quiter than the more frenetic upstairs and quite a nice place to hang out for drinks and a chat. The music they played was a pretty good mix from classic and contemporary indie to Bob Dylan. It started getting busier later on and by the time I left around about half 9 the music was getting a bit too loud to talk over, but it's Friday night - so almost dancing time anyway!! A nice bar if you find yourself looking for somewhere cool and comfy, with non-generic music... read more

I just love this place. I work next door so I am a regular for lunch but I often meet friends for a drink there as well! The food is excellent , freshly prepared, elaborated for the daily specials AND cheap (£5-£9 a dish), the desserts are SO yummy - especially the sticky toffee pudding with butterscoth sauce and clotted cream! but i've tried many, they are all truly delightful... I cannot rave enough about the food quality for the price we pay... Other things that make the place so great of course are -great music -as for the bar, great choices of drinks. I drink cider and they have great choices compared to most bars. -Staff is lovely and big couches make the place oh-so-cosy. -There's a great courtyard (heated in winter) Conclusion: Go, you won't be disappointed! read more

Love this bar. Laid back vibe with northern soul music playing. Good and different beer selection (some Belgian beers, German and Austrian). Friendly staff with no attitude. Great outdoor area too for warmer evenings. Seems to be getting more and more popular. Hope it stays the same. read more

I really loved this place ! Not a bar, but a concept ! Everyone speaking outside, rockabily inside and people dancing. Fun, nice people... nothing else is needed. I will come back for sure! read more

Quite a lot of love for the Strongroom. Although the beers are on the expensive side (it is Shoreditch after all), I appreciate their mainly central European craft selection on tap. Also, go on Mondays and exploit the £5 off a bottle of wine, thus rendering the price of one cheaper than 2 glasses... However, the real story here is not the fusball table in the basement, cosy sofas, chilled out vibe nor the outdoor beer garden up front... BUT THE FOOD! You can get pulled pork here. PULLED PORK I say. I thought I missed America until now. And it's such good value. An enormous plate of smokey, slow cooked, succulent, juicy pig oozing out of a ciabatta burger, adorned with double cooked fat chips and aioli dip. Gorgeous gluttony. read more

We went here for our work Christmas drinks this weekend (yes I am aware it is March... Lol). We had an area reserved and ran late but luckily the bar staff were kind enough to move along the people who had sat in our area not realising! We're a fancy dress store (Mad World round the corner) so obviously dressed in costume! We were incredibly out of place but it was honestly just hilarious! We've worked with them before and they gave us a great deal on our first round of food and drinks to return the favour, which was really appreciated. The sweet potato cheese fries were delicious and I pretty much had them to myself cause I'm greedy like that... It's got a great smoking garden which I'd love to come back to in the summer with some heat and we even had a little boogie on the dance floor before we left. read more

This place is amazing because it's not overpacked, at least it wasn't when I went. There was a queue to get in, but I don't mind too much if it prevents the place from getting over packed. No people pushing you around. No one to spill beer on you. No aggressive shoving at the bar. There is an outside patio area and a huge indoor area as well where you can play foozeball, dance, or just hang out. There are plenty of seats available indoors. read more

Not bad food, small beer variety. Hipster heaven. I had the yeah burger at lunchtime. It was a good burger. But my friend got more chips than me (FURY!!!!). The food was well priced but the variety was small and menu was, in all honesty, weird. The beer options were limited. But not bad. This place is definitely hipster heaven though. Slightly out of the way, table football, big outside area, funky designs and some kind of outside beer tank. I wouldn't come here again for lunch but I will definitely be back on a Friday evening. I reckon this place would be fun. 3 stars because it's nothing special in terms of food or drink. Maybe I'll increase the rating after coming in the evening. read more

Cool little bar tucked away, which we found by accident but am glad did. I found this with 2 friends after venturing east and was in need of a pit stop and beer. Walking in they had some cool tunes pumping and there was a DJ downstairs although it was mid Sunday afternoon and it was pretty much empty. The top floor seating area was full so we had the whole downstairs to ourselves. They have those big comfy sofas that you can just spend the whole day on. I did not want to leave. They have loads of games connect four, trivial pursuit and Pictionary type game. There was a great atmosphere in here and they sell wheat beer and some other not so common ciders etc which is a great change from the norm. read more

I love this place, they always have good music on, either from a cd or a DJ downstairs. They do mulled cider in the winter, it is on the tad expensive side, but you are in Old Street so what do you expect. There's lots of places to sit, upstairs, downstairs even outside. When you try and find the place, it does look like you are walking down someone's drive, but you must persevere. Me and my friends will usually start here as there is always someone to stand and if you're lucky somewhere to sit. Would definitely recommend. read more

I have mixed feelings about this place. Upstairs it is a charming bar with a lovely courtyard for al fresco drinking, downstairs it's like a scary 90s teenager's techno basement bedroom with terrifying toilets. I've been here twice and somehow ended up in the basement both times. Sigh. The black painted walls creep me out and the overly loud music is vile. I chose both times to escape upstairs and hang around the bar. They have friendly hipster bartenders and what looks like a tasty food menu. The courtyard outside is the perfect place in Shoreditch to hang out, it's huge and right on Curtain Road. They even do barbecue pulled pork and burgers when it's sunny, they aren't amazing but better than a punch in the face. Don't go downstairs, don't feed the gremlins after midnight. read more

I've actually been to Strongroom multiple times on a night out, but have never realised/remembered what it was called. Returned here a few weeks ago for an Arrested Development marathon in the basement loungey area, and since we stayed there for a total of 10 hours, I figured I now knew it well enough to merit a review. The good: -Good selection of European beers (Belgian, German, Czech - you name it!) , both on tap and in bottles -Friendly, helpful, lovely staff (especially when we were having ridiculous technical difficulties setting up the projector and they did everything they could to {successfully!} help us) -Spacious indoor area on two levels, with two bars when the place is in full swing. Plus, the outdoor picnic table seating area is really great, and has heat lamps near each so they can be in use all year round -The menu is inventive and changes weekly, because food here is done with fresh and local ingredients...usually. The bad: -The kitchen exploded (?...) on the day we went, so no food from there. Luckily, there was an outdoor BBQ going on that day which was at least edible -The downstairs area is a weird little grotto that turns into a dance floor at nighttime. It has concrete walls, sticky floors, and rather suspect leather couches with numerous unknown substances seeped into their surfaces. It is hence probably best left as a dance floor, and not a site for a movie marathon. The ugly: -The toilets. Hold it if you can. If you can't, you're better off finding a grassy patch in the picnic area to relieve yourself (I take no responsibility if you are apprehended for lewd and lascivious acts) read more

Really cool spot! The entrance is kind of a gap at the side of the road and this is somewhat deceiving as it opens up into a really nice garden. Garden is complete with a decent sized bar, many wooden tables/benches and heaters! Wouldn't go when it's too cold but definitely worth going to for the garden alone. I only ventured inside when I went to the toilet but they have 2 floors, both looked substantially similar. Bar, loud music, crowded. Looked like a spot for messy fun. The decor was kind of cool, felt like somebody's basement almost. read more

Strongrooms is a great place for drinks with a nice outdoor area with it's own bar. There is food, pizzas, wraps, sandwiches, the usual fare. Nothing special, but decent enough for lunch. The atmosphere is nice and relaxed without being overtly trendy or pretentious. In Shoreditch that is something you need. I think there is limited parking at the site itself, perhaps utilised by the recording studio nearby, which commonly leads to people nearly getting run over, as drinking whilst a car is pulling through is not a helpful thing. But I guess helps keep you alert. read more

Strongroom on a summer day... doesn't get much better in terms of London venues! You'll find a huge outdoor area, and even a tent in the back when it (inevitably) starts to sprinkle. The outdoor bar only has Pilsner on tap, but there are plenty of things in bottles and other non-beer options. If you're intent on a beer on draft other than a Pils, just head inside and you'll find many more options. Upstairs is a dining only area, but head downstairs, and the first room has a bar and an open space that looks suspiciously like it could be a dance floor, but early in the evening it was just a space for chit-chatting. Further in the back you'll find more of a lounge area with tables and chairs, and an even bigger bar with all kinds of options on tap. They even had a Belgian blonde on tap, and you don't find that very often in London! My friend and I ordered some food - heavy on the burgers here, and they were very reasonable. Nothing gourmet, but they did the trick, and there were a lot of options. My pulled pork burger reminded me of something you'd get in the US, so it was a nice little bit of nostalgia. So on the next nice summer weekend, check out Strongroom, you might like it! read more

This is good, this is very good. I'd call it a hidden gem but then a lot of people seem to have found it. It was just me who couldn't find my Harp from my E-Bow. Just off Curtain Road in a courtyard this bar be located. In decent weather this doubles the capacity of the bar, or rather shifts it as most people like to enjoy the ambience outside. Although the pubs are very different, the courtyard hidden away from an otherwise bustling area of London reminded me of the courtyard outside The George (http://www.qype.co.uk/place/58056-The-George-Inn-London) in the London Bridge area. But to be worth such a high rating, it needs more than just a nice area outside surely? What about the British Winter. OKthrow in possibly the best Juke box selection I have ever seen (admittedly a lot of stuff from my era so perhaps not for everyone), some comfortable sofas inside to recline upon, a drinks selection that is off the beaten track and a wallet friendly food menu (having eaten therethey are not going to win any Michelin starsits just basic pub grub, but that's what you want and you shouldn't expect more at such a reasonable price). They also have live music here (what?...there's more?) in the otherwise chilled downstairs bar, whereas the upstairs bar is more restauranty (hey, if cupboardy is a word!) in it's feel. I expect to be back here on a fairly regular basis. read more

Oooh, what a great find. Smack in the middle of the arty bit of the East End, I imagine this place gets packed at night when all the cool Hoxtonites come out to play. Until then, it's the perfect place to hang out. It's a huge open kinda warehouse space. Two floors, but the top floor seems nicer in the day, it's lighter and airy. They have comfy battered old sofas and I could have sat there all day. The staff are kind and they made me a yummy hot chocolate. For a POUND! Really! It was in a tiny cup but it was yummy and quite rich so I wouldn't have wanted to drink anymore. And it was a pound! This made us sneak a peak at the rest of the menu. You can buy a veggie brekkie in here for less than three quid. Blimey. I don't know if they have free wi-fi in here, I should have asked. The whole of Shoreditch is going free wi-fi anyway soon which will be nice. This is the perfect creative place to work. I'm looking forward to popping down here with my laptop and books and for once, I might actually get some work done. They have bands on in the evening and djs and cool things. They've got art on the walls and a great selection of indy music mags. It's fun here. I intend to pop back and see what it's like after dark too. read more

This has been the scene of many a long night's drinking and dancing in Shoreditch birthdays, leaving dos, works parties, lunchtime drinks I've lost count how many times I've been here. It was originally a private club attached to the recording studios next door (still there and on the same website), tucked down a little cobbled entrance off Curtain Road. (There was much excitement at work when Oasis were spotted hanging out here, and presumably using the recording studios at the time.) And since it opened to the general public, it's proved very popular and you'll often find a pair of bouncers on the door in the evenings. Split over two levels, there's a DJ booth and dance floor downstairs, and a bar and tables upstairs. It's usually open until 2am, so you can dance away until the wee hours. In the daytime, it makes a good retreat from the hubbub of Shoreditch and there are tables outside for when the sun shines! read more

I am really struggling with my rating of this venue. I have been here twice for food/drink. The first time, the food was ok - but I later felt ill for the next 24-48hrs. Not sure if it was related, so I went ahead and gave it another shot yesterday. I met a friend on his lunch break from work. It was a sunny day, so the outside tables were busy. We ordered and were told there was a 20min wait. We figured that was ok. 45-50min later there was no food. My friend left money for his lemonade, canceled his burger, and had to go back to work. I got my burger 5 min later. The food is fine, but there's nothing special about it that I cant get elsewhere. So two experiences have let me down a bit. I'm pretty easy going, so I'll still probably go back at some point -- but for drinks only. read more

This place is great to get away from the typical Shoreditch bars- very relaxed- great musics and good booze! Nice courtyard area too which is great in the summer. Friendly staff and just a generally pleasant place! read more

Very nice garden area (however, not enough seating there to satisfy the demand). Friendly environment, overall pleasant to be here. read more

When I organise a night out for friends, I prefer to suggest places which I have already been to. Nothing that I dread more than a bunch of people feeling pissed at the venue and silently cursing me for poor planning - OK, I make my friends sound rather unreasonable here, but consider it a bit of an organizer's nightmare :) It was with some trepidation that I suggested this spot for a casual catch-up over after-work drinks on a Friday night. I did like the mention in the reviews of the place about an adjacent recording studio, a loungey downstairs, a more active upstairs, a large courtyard and most of all, an unpretentious atmosphere. I hoped unpretentious wouldn't translate into grungy; after all, some of the folks I was planning the evening out for are the Mayfair clubbing sorts... We reached the place to find a wee queue outside the entrance but the staff at the door was v polite and fair about the one-in-one-out rule and all of us made our way in within a few mins. It was late autumn, nearly the start of winter, but we chose to hang out in the courtyard under the cosy heaters - there was a large number of people scattered under various heaters but at no point did it seem stuffy. The drinks were generously potent and the music was really good. Most importantly, the crowd at the venue had this casual chic style which was so easy to get used to. We had originally planned to grab a few drinks and then make our way to a nightclub but we ended up having so much fun that we just stayed at the same place; we moved indoors and upstairs eventually, staked out one of the corners and ordered loads more drinks, people-watched in amusement and enjoyed the music. By the time we wrapped up around quarter to 2, all of us concluded that it had been a good night - aka, I recommend this spot! read more

This is a great place for drinks with a really nice outdoor area with it's own bar, which they opened only for us...preeeetty nice! The inside is pretty stylish with a descent amount of seating and...AND a fussball table! Always good to know! read more

Spent a beautiful saturday afternoon in the sun kissed courtyard here having a creative meeting over a couple of glasses of rose. In my excitement about discussing changes to a script I banged the table and my Exec producers glass of wine tipped over all over me but I still carried on before getting a cloth for me and new glass of wine for him. And this didn't spoil the feeling or the moment. I love this place - there is an energy and a vibe which pulses through the place - great place for a meeting... read more

I went for their Whisky Wednesday's, which was informative and fun. For that night, the host was Herman from Compass Box Whisky (www.compassboxwhisky.com). Herman explained the different types of whiskys and what to look out for when drinking whisky. It was a great experience for someone who has had little exposure to whiskys. The venue was great for the tasting. We were upstairs by one of the bars. The strongroom has another bar downstairs as well as an outside space, which is really nice when the weather is good. read more

Love the outside space but the inside area could use a upgrading(more seats, sofas, tables etc.). Perfect for late night summer drinks, however, quite expensive. read more

Went they last night for the Yelp organised event had had a really good time. Tried loads of different foods and drinks. Like funny favoured ice lollies mango and salted coconut. Stayed there till it finished and meet some really lovely people. Can't wait till the next do there. read more

Drinks were pricey, had to queue to get in, toilets weren't great at all and had to struggle for a place to stand outside. Not all it's cracked up to be to be honest. In my eyes it was just a Mundane bar read more