With delicious well-priced meals, tasty cocktails and cosy surroundings, this is more than just a pre-show bar for the legendary Vortex Jazz Club.

The Venue
Previously known as The Ochre Works, this recently renovated bar-cafe-music venue is a stone's throw from Dalston Kingsland station and the hundreds of buses which pass Dalston junction. From the outside, it looks very similar to The Vortex – there are modern, large, open windows that run from the ceiling to the floor and overlook Gillett Square and it's around the same shape and size as the club. Once inside, it has more of homely feel to it than the upstairs – there's a selection of high and low-level seating, vintage-looking sofas, wooden tables, ethnic-style rugs and a small piano in the corner. There's also a small area for a DJ and a medium-sized bar that, considering the size of the bar in general, has an impressive wine rack behind it. Interestingly, the bar’s cosiness is in contrast with the open pipes on display in the ceilings. Because the bar is small, there's only a couple of toilets – ladies, be prepared to queue.

The Atmosphere
This can change considerably depending on the day of the week. From Sunday to Thursday, the majority of people sip cocktails or enjoy a relaxed dinner, and it has a very chilled-out, mellow feel, whereas on Friday and Saturday nights, it's lot busier. The venue has live music on Sunday (7pm-8.30pm), which is very relaxed and full of people winding down after a hectic weekend. On other nights, people use the bar before they go and watch some live jazz upstairs.

It attracts a really mixed crowd – you've got a few trendy Dalston twentysomethings, well-dressed music-lovers just popping in for a drink before they go to watch the jazz upstairs, and a few people who work in the local area and want to take advantage of the decent food offers. What's great is that there's such an eclectic mix of people, yet nobody feels out of place.

The Music
The Vortex Jazz Club showcases a broad range of quality music, from big band and contemporary jazz to piano trios and folk-orientated tunes. Downstairs at The Vortex does an amazing job of perfectly complementing what goes on upstairs. During the week, you'll hear very chilled-out and mellow world music, while on Friday and Saturday nights, the music is livelier with DJ sets between 10pm and 2am. On Sunday, there are varied live music performances, so expect to hear anything from a soulful singer-songwriter to an outstanding pianist. Often, the standard is very high at the live music nights.

The Food
The food here is amazing. It has a very ethical outlook to sourcing the produce – they only use free-range eggs, meat and veg from the Ridley Road market, which is sat opposite. Tapas is served between Midday and 10pm, whereas dinner is dished up daily from 6pm to 10pm.

Main meals include hand-made burgers, mussels and hand-cut chips, and sausages and mash. There's not a great veggie selection but there's always one dish, such as vegetable risotto or quesadillas, on offer. The meals are really reasonably priced at around £3.50 for a soup starter and £7.50 for a main and, on Tuesday, you can get two main courses and a bottle of wine for £20, which is amazing when you consider the quality of the food.

There are around ten tapas dishes on offer and these include hand-cut chips and home-made ailoi, salt and pepper calamari, hummus and warm pittas and Spanish chorizo. They cost around £2-£4 and, on Thursdays, you can get four dishes for £10. Whereas some tapas dishes can be tiny, these are all good-sized portions and are great for sharing. The hand-cut chips are outstanding – perfectly crunchy but not greasy on the outside and fluffy and moist inside. The home-made aioli is a really tasty condiment that goes surprisingly well with the dish, too. The hummus and warm pita is equally delicious – you get a good stack of fresh and warm bread and plenty of perfectly flavoured dip. There's one dessert on offer and, like the rest of the menu this changes regularly. Do make sure to check the blackboard for daily specials.

The Drink
With drink prices slowly creeping up in the area, it's a pleasant surprise to find there are great offers here. On Tuesday, you can have a bottle of wine and two main courses for £20 which is fantastic and, on Wednesdays, you can get two-for-one cocktails.

The wine list is pretty impressive – there are six reds, six whites and two roses and a decent bottle is available for around £15. There’s also Prosecco and a Champagne on offer. Beer and cider is priced at a similar level to other places in the area. Bottles include Carlsberg, Peroni, San Miguel, Brahma, Corona, Budvar, Bulmers and Guinness, and you're looking at spending £2.50 for £3.80 a bottle. In terms of spirits, you'll find all the regulars here and a single spirit and mixer costs around £4. Hot drinks are £1.30 to £2.20 and there's quite an extensive collection of herbal teas.

The Last Word
Relaxed, good value and eclectic, The Downstairs at Vortex is a great venue in its own right and you should definitely give it a go if you're in the area.

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