359 Bethnal Green Road,
Bethnal Green,
London,
E2 6LG
(020) 7729 0167
The ViewLondon Review
Love cool East End venues, cutting-edge electro beats and mingling with trendy twentysomethings? The Star of Bethnal Green is right up your street.
The Venue
Sat on Bethnal Green Road, a short walk from Bethnal Green tube station, you can't miss this venue. From the outside, it looks as if it’s a run-down pub, which is pretty standard for an arty-East London venue aimed at trendy locals.
Upon entering, you'll see a bar at the back littered with rather strange objects - a stuffed fox, large glittery lips and a small scary-looking troll. There's a stage area in the corner, a few sofas and a selection of tables and chairs to sit on. There's also a winding staircase leading upstairs. Here you'll find a more chillled out lounging area with lots of sofas and a TV showing arty films or Sky Sports if desired. There's another smaller bar upstairs, too, which just takes cash. This bar has undergone some major refurbishment since it opened and there are further plans to sort out the graffiti-covered toilets and give the rest of the place a lick of paint. Since the industrial, neglected look is desirable to the people who hang in this place, how fast they actually need to get on with the refurbishment is debatable.
The Atmosphere
The Star of Bethnal Green is definitely credit crunch friendly; a lot of the events here are free and if they do charge to get in, it's never much more than a fiver. Don't be put off by the trendy twentysomethings that occupy the bar, this venue really isn't pretentious. Yes, the staff sport ridiculously huge glasses and edgy haircuts and it's likely you'll get style envy looking at the cool art students hanging out here but the clientele are really friendly and the staff go out of their way to chat to you if you want to strike up a conversation. During the week, this place is pretty chilled out but come Friday and Saturday night it can get busy, so it's best to arrive early if you want to grab a table.
The Music
The great thing about the Star of Bethnal Green is that in a relatively small place they've made room for both live bands and decks and very often you'll hear both on the same night. The promoter of the Mulletover parties Rob Star manages the venue, so often Mulletover events are held here. Regular nights such as S.O.U.P on a Friday plays electro and indie beats and other guest nights see bands and DJs drum out much of the same type of music.
The Food
Currently, the Star of Bethnal Green serves roasts on Sundays, which are priced £9 for the vegetarian lentil bake and £10 for either half a roast chicken or roast rib eye of beef. They also serve Italian food at the quiz night on Tuesdays. In a month or so, the bar is hoping to serve food every night.
The Drink
The Star of Bethnal Green serves a fair selection of drinks. Beer costs approximately £3-£3.50, which is pretty average for the area. Becks Vier, Star and Guinness are on tap and Tiger, Peroni and Becks and Bulmers are available in bottles. A spirit and mixer costs £3 for a single and £5.50 for a double. Wine is £3.50 for a small glass, £4.50 for a large glass and £13-£17 for a bottle. There's a small selection of cocktails on offer at somewhat pricey £6.50, too. Anything goes in this place, nobody's going to judge you on what you're drinking.
The Last Word
Cool, relaxed and trendy, the Star of Bethnal Green really demonstrates what the new East London scene is all about.
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