It’s all in the name!

The Venue
Bar Music Hall is a cavernous space successfully combining wooden floors and beams with metallic fittings and sketchy wall illustrations to provide a superb backdrop to the colourful art school crowd. The island bar takes centre stage and, with plenty of space at the counter, this makes ordering a relatively stress-free affair. On one side, booth-style seating and tables cater for groups and diners whilst the other is more flexibly arranged around a stage and DJ booth. Downstairs, the strikingly white toilets make you wonder whether you have stepped into a surreal art gallery.

The Atmosphere
Bar Music Hall has earned a rather dubious reputation for selective door management but the atmosphere inside tends not to suffer unduly. The punky, fashion conscious crowd are friendly and uninhibited, mostly letting their outfits do the posing whilst they get down to some good old fashioned partying. At the weekends during the day the bar turns into a relaxed cafe where you can grab a coffee and read the paper without feeling out of place.

The Music
The music policy at Bar Music Hall reflects the deviant personality of the Shoreditch scene. Saturday promoters supply an endlessly experimental arthouse culture clash, whilst at the other end of the spectrum Monday night regulars - the Jazzarc collective - dig into the roots of jazz, funk and hip hop. All this is garnished during the week with a sprinkling of minimal electro DJs, some live art rock and the odd film screening.

The Food
Somewhere between a grill and a cafe-style menu, Bar Music Hall serves a good choice of breakfasts, burgers, steaks and salads from an open kitchen.

The Drink
Plenty of thought has gone into the drinks offering, which includes a huge choice of Belgian beers and cocktails that are mixed properly using premium spirits. The wine offering is limited but covers all the right bases.

The Last Word
Bar Music Hall may not be everybody’s cup of tea but, if you’re into the scene, you’re unlikely to have a bad time since it lost the fitting Hell moniker several years ago.

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