Love unpretentious places, house and electro beats, and parties that never stop? Head to late-opening Russian Bar on Kingsland Road.

The Venue
Those who live in Hackney are likely to be familiar with this late-night venue, sat next to the canal. It's quite far up Kingsland Road – three bus stops from the hustle and bustle of the Vietnamese restaurants near Old Street – but is easy to get to on a number of buses from Liverpool Street, Old Street or Dalston. Previously, this venue had a rather large A10 sign, but since it's been relaunched the bar's been painted black and has a Russian Bar sign outside, written in Russian-themed writing. It’s easily identifiable from the herd of smokers directly outside in an ungated area on the street.

Admittedly, you might think the bar's a little seedy when you first enter, but it will grow on you, especially when you start appreciating the tunes. Upstairs, you've got a bar, DJ area at the back with a small dancefloor, and a number of tables and chairs. Don't be fooled into thinking the door at the back just leads to the toilets (as the sign says), because there's a great downstairs area, too. Pass a funny soundproof area in the stairwell and slide down some dingy-looking stairs and you're into another room with heavier beats and a caberet-theme – there are even a few poles ready to be danced around. There's also a bar in this room, which is impressive for the size of the venue, but not great when you consider how sparce the toilet facilities are.

The Atmosphere
As Hoxton gets less cool and Dalston gets cooler, places like the Russian Bar are commonly associated with edgy fashion students, Day Glo and skinny jeans. Although here are a fair few of these cool cats here, the Russian Bar does attract a mixed bag of clients, including those still lagging on their way home from Shoreditch and Hoxton, locals out for a quick one and clubbers who've travelled across town to see a particular DJ or band. For this reason, it's a really unpretentious place. And the bouncers match up to this and are friendly, too. It's going to be interesting to see how the new downstairs areas fairs and whether some more flamboyant types will be attracted to the bar. Best of all, you never pay more than a fiver to get into the venue.

The Music
Russian Bar is known for its electro and house, but don't assume you'll hate it if you like the more commercial side of house or indie, because this venue plays these tunes, too. Since it relaunched the party hasn’t stopped, you can find nu rave bands and electro acts during the week and a selection of different electro, house and techno at the weekend. It has a pretty impressive sound system and DJ acts that have played larger clubs such as Fabric.

The Drink
Don't expect anything too great when it comes to the drink – bottled beers, glasses of wine and single shots of vodka are £3.50 and bottles of wine are £13. There's not really anything Russian themed behind the bar either – not even an odd novelty cocktail – and beers and cider on offer are pretty basic; think Stella, Fosters, Guinness, Strongbow and Kronenbourg.

The Last Word
Dingy, dark and out of the way? Yes, indeed. However, with late opening hours, cheap – often free – entrance and unpretentious, varied beats, the Russian Bar is definitely a winner.

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