This is one of the original Shoreditch bars and it certainly tries pretty hard not to be try hard. But with long queues and questionable service, it doesn’t necessarily make for a good night out.

The Venue
The premise of Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes is certainly very cool. It used to be two shops – Dream Bags (which sold bags) and Jaguar Shoes (which sold, well you guessed it), and rather than gutting the shop fronts and starting again, they decided to keep it as it is.

Inside, it’s spread across the main ground floor bar area and a basement space. And both areas are typically Shoreditch in style – think exposed brick, bare floorboards, battered albeit comfy sofa seating, and stark stone walls. However, the nice touch is that every 6-8 weeks all of the artwork that covers the walls inside (and it REALLY covers the walls) is rotated and changed to whatever artist’s (often local) work they want to highlight. And it ranges from bold, in-your-face modern art to graffiti.

The Atmosphere
Make no mistake, Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes is a little wanky. The East London wannabes, resplendent with crazy hair and spray-on jeans, head here in their droves and it can be extremely busy. The frantic atmosphere isn’t helped by the borderline-rude staff who seem to genuinely dislike serving the public. Maybe that’s unfair as the crowd is so pretentious at times it must be aggravating having to deal with the attitude. It is better when the weather is warmer and the crowd flows out onto the street, and the music is always pretty cool with everything from electro tunes to ‘80s classics pumped through the speakers. It’s also worth making the point that they host Sunday markets and fairs here, which are far more laid back affairs.

The Food
Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes has a deal with the Sardinian pizzeria next door, Due Sardi, which means that they can offer their customers food. And it is pretty good – stone baked, large pizzas priced between £7-£9 with almost any combination of toppings you can think of.

The Drink
The drink here is more expensive than you’ll find at some Shoreditch bars, but as the area becomes increasingly popular, the average drink prices are on the rise across East London. They offer a choice of specialty bottled beer but it’s the cocktail selection that proves popular here. Priced at the £7-£8 mark, they focus on the classics, although for the same price you can go to some of London’s better cocktail bars. Still, it wouldn’t be ‘cool’ then. They DO mix a pretty mean margarita with a nicely dense salt rim and a decent tequila that doesn’t make your face pucker at each sip. That would, like, totally ruin your look, after all.

The Last Word
As one of Shoreditch’s best known bars, it’s no wonder that Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes is so popular. It just seems to rely too much on its reputation.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (7) image gallery (6)