I am not saying it was a terrible night at Cargo but there are dozens of better places just in the area and at half the price. £5 for a tin of beer is surely extortionate and £8.50 for a vodka and lemonade, these kind of prices are acceptable in the west end where they have high rents and rates but Cargo is in a train arch on a side street in Shoreditch so surely these prices are dispraportionate. Another issue was the guest list, we were told when we booked the guest list that as long as we wer in the queue by 10 PM and ticked off on the list we would not be charged to get in however two of our group of 20 got held up by one of the bouncers who was trying to chat one of the up! they didn't make to to through the doors until 10.01 and were then told they would have to pay £10 to get in, the door staff were comepletely unreasonable and wouldn't listen to common sense they were to busy making sure they got their £20 entrance fee (like they aren't earning enough from the bar!!). The woman who was looking after the guest list was no help and lacked any kind of character or sense of humour, in fact she was pretty robotic. I agree with previous posts Cargo does have a good sound system although I wouldn't say it was the best crowd there were way to many city boys who wouldn't have been out of place in an 80's wine bar. I would never set foot in Cargo again feel considering the with 20 people in there who all spent a minimun of £100 each we were treated terribly and I wouldn't give them my money again.

Generally all and all I had a sick night out. The music was awesome... Food was awesome... good vibes
loved it

Disappointing night, worst margarita EVA they had no lime juice to use lime cordial! moody staff, food was like plastic and cold, when I complained they just ignored me. music was just bearable, we have re named it "dontgo" or Carzie (meaning toilet)!
people were more there to pose than to dance and have a good time, expensive and rubbish night, the kind where you wake up next morning wondering how did I spend so much money and have such a dull night!

I went to see my friends band last week and I know its London but the prices were disgusting. They had (conveniently) run out of draft beer for a sold out gig, so were charging £4.50 for a can of beer that would have cost them about 50p.

I went up to get some drinks at 10pm and they charged me £15 for a can of beer, a coke and a JD. I asked how they had come to this price and I was told the prices go up even higher after 10pm!! I will never go to Cargo again. It wasn't a very good venue anyway, but they ruined the evening for myself and other friends with their greed.

I don't know about the reviews below, but I kind of have a love-hate relationship with Cargo... I mean you don't expect to go to Cargo for a fancy/classy night... You go to get wasted, you go because you want to go to a club but you don't want to dress up...GOOD THINGS ABOUT CARGO:-Good music:there's the big arch that plays dub/house/dnb music which is really good, they have really cool lights and all that and it's really fun, and there's another arch that has rnb music which is also really good...so there's variety...also they have the middle arch where you can sit and relax and have ur drink and even dance and mingle-really cool garden-FOOD (they serve food in the garden)-PHOTOBOOTH! (they have a really cool photo booth outside)-NOT pretentious... you can go there in your trainers or in your high heels, you can dress up or go there in your tracksuit, no one will care and as long as you pay the entrance fee and have an ID you'll get in...-Cocktails - not many clubs serve cocktails, cargo does, they are not that delicious but they're okayBAD THINGS ABOUT CARGO:-REALLY RUDE SECURITY ...and when I say rude i do mean rude, they just treat people like animals and they talk in the worst way to anyone...drunk or not...I remember wanting to go outside to talk on the phone and the security guy pushed me out and told me that i was not allowed to get in again...I mean, they have no manners whatsoever...-Kind of expensive...especially on weekends its £10 to get in and the cocktails are around £7 if I remember correctly-LOTS OF DRUNK PEOPLE-DO NOT GO TO THE TOILET- it's full of girls going sick...really disgusting

Worse clubbing experience ever!!! Took a lot of time to get in ; the security team were extremely nasty and rude ; most of the bar staff were arrogant, disorganized and unprofessional ; the drinks were too pricey and disgusting ; food was OK but it took us an hour to get it ; environment was tacky and full of high people.So, if you don't mind poor customer service, expensive drinks and people out of order around you, this is your perfect place to spend weekend nights. But, if you don't like this, don't waste your time and money here!!!

Cargo is a very busy sweaty club. I would say it is fairly downmarket - lots of early twenties 'clubber' types on drugs. Younger crowd than I would usually go for. However there are plenty of nice girls - many from Kent and Essex. My top tip is ring in advance and book a table. Strangely it costs absoultely nothing (maybe £20 advance deposit, can't remember) and you get table service all night! I would never go here without doing this as the queue is horrendous both at the entrance and at the bars. The smaller bar (cocktail bar?) is usually completely rammed and you can't even move. The outside garden however is lovely. As an amusing story, I once saw a drugged out guy urinate up into his own mouth in the toilets at this club, which is probably my most enduring (and disgusting) memory of the place!

Absolutely a ridiculous time here... and not a good ridiculous. Crazy entrance fee, security is super tight ALL over the venue, Not saying Im trying to steal things but this is over the top.

I had fun because I always have fun when Im drinking but I'd rather not waste my money and go around the corner to The Shoreditch.

Went to Cargo last Friday- I felt like in Vagabunda's pacha. Lee Van Dowski was on top form! I have to say Mr. Watcha, it would be good to see you step up to the silver shores, when can we expect it?!? I don't know what it was with my hand bag, but is it hotter than me? The amount of times I got told to look after it was complete madness. Overall, a brilliant night, but guys, please stop making us queue up so long in the future.

I went to Cargo last weekend, my god, I felt like I was going into Gatwick Airport- guys, why the states of paranoia?
Once I was inside, truth be told, it was like going into Alice's Wonderland. Cocktails were colourful, a bit too sweet though guys, ambiance is the best I've seen in any nightclub around the world and the sound made its way into my body. The barbecue is really handy and I love the way its only a short walk before you can light up in the tropical terrace.
Back to paranoia, I was amazed at the number of security and staff working, a touch intimidating. Come on Cargo, we're here for the love! Why don't you join us?

I go to cargo quite a bit and don't think they deserve as many bad comments as they get. So the drinks are pricey.. thats not just Cargo- thats London. Im always in there for the live shows and have a good time - great sound quality and an excellent concert venue!

I was in Cargo a few weeks ago for a gig with I Break Horses... loved the venue! We had such a blast and stuck around for platters and cocktails afterward. The security is really tight and kind of crabby- but I would to if I had to watch a bunch of people go party while I worked. Anyways.... good concerts- I'll definitely be back

Came to Cargo at the weekend with my boyfriend and had a fantastic time. They have a wide selection of food to order from the menu. We ordered a platter to share and sat inside the restaurant bar (this was delicious!).
The music was great and the atmosphere really livened up in the evening. We were only planning on coming for a bite to eat but had such a good time ended up partying until 3am! If you love house music I would definitely recommend Friday nights.

I was at Cargo for I Break Horses a few weeks back and had a great time. What a production for a club that size!!! We stuck around for a platter and a fish bowl that was so good. The one weird thing I noticed was that there is security everywhere!! London is getting way too paranoid!

Went to Cargo on Saturday night. The queues were awful and then when we got to the front we had to pass the security with their ridiculous requirements. I was not happy when I entered. The staff were unhelpful. We made best of the circumstances as the music was good. It's a shame, it has potential but doesn't use it.

I will never come back again. 2£ for a cold expresso, and the staff didn't want to prepare another one and of course, didn't apologize. I've got the same problem few weeks ago with a 12£ crap cocktail. SCAM ! Don't go there, they don't deserve you.

Drinks overpriced, food was cold, security did not know what they were doing cause everyone said the different things.

Cargo looks amazing from the outside and when you enter the brick walls and archers are very very charming but soon after you realise its a very cold place.

The staff are very uninterested and hardly smile , they looked tired and stressed and I visited during the day and a very quite time

I did not feel welcomed by any of the numerous staff that were scattered around.
I was asking the manager Renata about their food menu and was surprised to see that she spoke very bad English and had a very rude approach.
I didn't even bother ordering anything as the atmosphere was so unfriendly .
they seem to have very little respect for people there and by the way the staff behaved I'm sure it the same about the way they are treated also.

I certainly wouldn't waste my money there and wont recommend it to anyone.They clearly treat costumers as disposable , spend your money elsewhere.

What a disappointment our night out was. I had booked and paid in advance a £35 deposit for my birthday meal out at Cargo with six girlfriends only to turn up and find out they they had closed the restaurant that night! We were fobbed off to the BBQ shack outside instead, which was hardly special. The manager didn't want to refund my deposit and instead made us drinks worth £35, which I wouldn't have bothered with. the wine selection was non-existent, cocktails mediocre and the setting had no atmosphere. Definitely won't be going back or recommending it.

Just come back from this place and I feel so strongly about it that I had to write about it straight away. It seems to have got some good reviews in the past, but I can see that I'm not the only person giving it one star lately. That is for the music being ok.

I feel really sorry for my friend who had paid up-front to book a table for a special occasion. Only to find her friends being charged at the door when it was supposed to be free for them. They also seemed to be auctioning tables off in the queue too. The bouncers were rude and treated my perfectly polite friends like they were criminals.

Inside the place is dirty, overpriced and cramped. When I say cramped I mean that the amount of people they packed into there must have violated their maximum capacity. Was in fear of getting crushed a couple of times. If anything were to happen in there, I don't fancy peoples chances.

I think this was the worst place I have ever been to. Was even telling people in the queue on the way out not to bother going in!

They charged me $12,5 for a cocktail!!!! crazy. NEVER COME BACK in any ways!!!!

I won't never come back again. I booked a table for my birthday and they made me pay in advance over the phone, but then i bought food and drinks and forgot to tell them to discount the reservation money from the bill and they didn't want to give me the money back either! I had to spend it again on some more drinks. Disgusting!
But the worst thing is that when I went outside with permission from the guy in charge at the door to pick up some more friends of mine who were coming later to celebrate my birthday with me. I was told that if i buy a bottle of alcohol my friends wouldn't have to pay at the door, so I said 'yes, i'd buy a bottle of wine or some jugs, etc..' I was shocked to discover that i had to buy a bottle of spirit for £400 if i wanted to come in again with my friends... what madness is this?
I tried to speak with the same guy at the door who let me out but he just ignored me...
We had to go somewhere else to finish the night...
Please don't ever trust anybody there!

I booked a table there a week in advance, I actually had to pay them £150.00 over the phone, then when i get there we have to que up (unless we wanted to pay an extra £150! to skip the que).
Our table was literally 10 sq inches, and as soon as we opened the bottle, security asked us to leave (I have no idea why). The place is a total rip off and I have no idea why they still have customers!
Absolutely Zeeeeerooooo customer service. And actually not even a good club at all

I went to Cargo yesterday and was really disappointed by the way me and my friends were treated! I decided to have my birthday dinner there and realised in the worst way that they are not prepared to serve dinners to groups: they take too long and when, finally, the food comes they don't even know what they are serving! Inevitably the dinner lasted too long and then we had people dancing all over us and the music playing too loud! When I decided to talk to the manager about it - which I did after talking to the waitresses who were really comprehensive - I realised how that place is being so badly managed. So this is just to say that the manager should be educated on how to run a business and maybe learn something with his waitresses. Cargo doesn’t deserve any single penny we left there! There is nothing like going to a place where we know that we will be treated with respect and consideration and that's the minimum a business can do for its clients! How disappointing!

Had a great night here and it really is a good cool venue. Strolled in at 10.30pm on the guestlist which was fine, long queues when entry is free is fair to expect. That said, I agree with a lot of the comments about rude and churlish door staff. Unhelpful, occassionally aggressive, and the most ridiculous thing was that if you left (even for a few seconds to get phone signal or check on a friend etc) you had to queue and pay to get back in. Having worked as a doorman for 4 years I can testify that the bouncers' attitudes here are definitely poor.

Biggest complaint tho is the drinks prices - £5 for a CAN of beer. Most importantly this was irrespective of the menu clearly stating £4 (which is less of a reason to baulk tho still pricey).

A venue clearly designed to milk its customers dry whatever the cost however still well worth an occassional night out (though Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, 93 Feet East and possibly even Cafe 1001 are preferable in the area).

What a dump!

Aggressive idiot doorstaff let me in, let me buy one drink then took me back to the door where I was met by half a dozen police they had called for me, and who held me there for half an hour without explanation. When they found nothing on me (surprise surprise) they held me for another while and eventually let me go. Neither me nor the police officers whose time was wasted received an apology. Let's just hope no one was raped or stabbed while the police were having their time wasted by these simpletons.The doormen couldn't have spoke to me first searched and me themselves if they suspected something?The only criminal act going on here is the way Cargo treats it's paying customers.If you want to be treated like dirt, ripped off and pushed around by morons, go to Cargo. If you want to spend money having a good time, go somewhere else.

Absolute horror of a club! Do not bother visiting - the bouncers are rude and aggressive, the door staff obnoxious, and the staff hardly acknowledge customers who have booked themselves areas. To them it is all about making the most money they can on the night by screwing people over - they actually sell tables to people waiting in line outside to the highest bidder (they start a cover charge at 10pm, so if you're in the queue at 9, good luck getting in within the hour). Such a sham!

The few reviews below this that mention you should expect this kind of service at any busy club are a joke - I have not had this kind of experience at any other busy place I go to in East London. Nor should anyone in their right mind expect to! Maybe you should stop getting staff members to write up obvious & rubbish 5 star reviews?

Honestly everyone, save yourselves the time, effort and trouble - you will have a much better night out elsewhere!

AWFUL!! PURE AWFUL! Never book your birthday here. I can rant on about what exactly happened to me, but I don't want to waste any more time about this place.

You're in London - So many better places than this!

The worst place ever. This is my first bad review and all I can say is don't go to Cargo. I booked an area for 25 of my friends having to pay money per head, then when I arrived, at my birthday party, I found out that I was sharing the area with another 80 people or so, when my area could only fit 8 of my friends, even though I booked for 25. When I asked about it, they simply said they didn't think everyone would need a seat? It was such a ridiculous and awful night, I seriously would not recommend that place for anyone! When I then asked a member of staff, why my friends had to line up, even though they were on the guest list and already paid for, she simple shrugged and walked away. There are so many cooler and nicer places in that part of London, so just skip Cargo, until the management and staff are replaced. Honestly, the worst place ever - no exaggeration.

Agree with the other reviews, no matter how busy or empty the club is, if you arrived after 9.30 they will make you wait for half an hour (even if your at the front of the queue) until the clock ticks over to 10pm so they can charge you to get in.

how about pleasing your customers instead of screwing them over?

I booked an area here for my 30th birthday and was really shocked about how bad Cargo has become. I went to Cargo all the time a few years ago and it was amazing. Now it's a hell hole. I booked an area and the money was put on my bar tab (which it didn't used to be). I was over charged a few times which was a joke. The bouncers started milking the line at 9:00 and many of my friends just gave up as they weren't letting anyone in. And then behold when cover started at 10 they started letting people in. My area that I booked was also hijacked by the staff! They said they overbooked (even though I paid for it) so I agreed to give up a section of my area for shots. And then we took another area and then the staff said you gotta get out of here as some people paid 350 pounds to sit there (even though it wasn't reserved)! What a joke. Apparently they 'sell' areas in the line outside to the highest bidder (asked some people that bought the table). Bouncers are dumb and rude, next time I see one I'm going to deck one of them. Horrible Cargo! You were cool back in the day but you are brutal now. I hope the place goes under.

I agree with the below review, this is one of London's best & busiest clubs so of coarse the security are going to be strict. They are great in the sense that they insist you put everything in the cloak room as there is a bit of a crime issue these days but other than that they are friendly and professional.
Cargo is perfect for every occasion and definitely the best spot in Shoreditch!

Regarding all the reviews below...
Bouncers are the same everywhere and bar staff are all arsey w*nkers at busy clubs.
Would n't you be if you were working on a busy stressful Saturday night.
My personal opinion of this club is that its the best in London.
Go to any other bar in West End and you'll get the same problems.
From my experience and I go there a lot, is great!
Okay drinks are expensive but what ya gonna do?
Accept it.
Music is great.
Food is great.
Bear Garden is awesome!
Photo booth is a really good Idea.
I recommend going here.

Absolutely awful, awful club! I went there last night to celebrate my 23rd birthday and it was totally ruined by the money grabbing management and bouncers! Their website (and several emails) clearly state that if you pay £5 per person for your group and get there before 10pm you can have a area/table all evening and will not have to queue. I paid £65 for my group of friends under this delusion, however when we got to the club at 8:45pm we were shoved to the end of a very large queue. The bouncers said the club was full. However they came down the queue trying to sell tables for £800 which would apparently mean you could also just go straight in. They also took bribes on the door. In the end, they made us stand in the queue till 10pm where they then charged each person in my group a further £10 to go in. It was absolutely shocking! If you want a good night out I suggest you don't go to Cargo.

If you're looking for a good time, whether it be lunch, dinner, afternoon drinks or a night out this is the spot. There is a great sunny outdoor terrace with BBQ, indoor bar & restaurant and great big space always filled with amazing bands and DJs. Drinks and food are great and prices you'd expect from any quality venue. This is our local and one I wouldn't go past! love it..

I have never written a poor review for a place - ever! However I know I will be annoyed with myself if I don't this time. I had my birthday here a few weeks back, made a booking for min 15 people & paid £75. Nobody had mentioned anything about their appreant male-famle ratio policy, and unfortunately when I had a male friend get to the front door he was told to leave because he wasn't with any girls. In my group inside I already had over 15 people and more girls to guys, but did that make any difference to the rude & obnoxious bouncers when we approached them about this - absolutely not. Did the girl who happily charged my card over the phone tell me about this policy of theirs - nope! Were the bouncers helpful and courteous when I asked if I could go say hello to other people who had come out of their way to attend my birthday only to be turned away at the door - of course not! Were the staff and bouncers generally rude & aggressive over the course of the night - absolutely! Did we enjoy drinking beer out of cans that we could have bought from the local off license for £2.50 less - I'm not even going to answer that. Bad staff, bad attitude, truly a joke of a night.. please do yourself a favour and choose one of the many other options in the area. I even wrote a polite email to the general manager mentioning a few things from the night - no response whatsoever. Best of luck with that spiralling reputation Cargo.

Absolutely terrible, staff were rude and incompetent the bouncer was very aggressive towards my group of friends. Had to complain twice before he was moved. Paid £115 for a table for 23 people and only was able to fit about 10 on. Complete rip off. The dj played rubbish music for about 2 hours in short,not worth the time or the money!

Money focused, rude, obnoxious, god awful club. If you want to be treated like bovine club idiots this for you. Don't be fooled by the occasional good review this is a place only interested in your money and will treat you like crap regardless of how many over-priced drinks you buy on supposedly free nights. some amazing dance artists performing in the most abysmal place on earth, if your favourite is playing there find out where they're playing the next night and even if it's on the other side of the planet go there and you'll be better of in pocket and mind...........Jesus it's embarrassing bad.

My god what a god awful place! Night clubs obviously need to compromise music with money making but Cargo is seriously the worse place. Staff are rude, arrogant and smug and I would strongly recommend you give Cargo a miss regardless of who is playing. Cargo is unfortunately still under the illusion of being a cutting edge super club when all it really offers is a sad anti-climax and a serious dent in the wallet. Don't go!