Queen of Hoxton and Bar Kick Review

Shoreditch, London

It was a rainy, miserable Friday night but with Bar Kick and Queen of Hoxton on the agenda I knew the weather wouldn't be able to dampen our spirits. There are a plethora of Shoreditch bars to chose from for pre-drinks and Happy Hours but we decided to do the Happy Hour at Bar Kick (one of designmynight's cool, quirky bars in London).

Bar Kick, Shoreditch

We arrived at half six, just in time to catch the happy hour that runs from 5pm-7pm every day. The offers were bottle of Sagres beer £2 and cocktails £4.95. With £40 between us, there was enough beers and cocktails on the table to keep us going! The bar was quite quiet at this time and we managed to get a table (they hadn't even opened up the downstairs bar yet). The bar stuff are quick, helpful and friendly, which meant we didn't have to wait at all to get a drink. The music was, at this time, anything funky from Jamiroquai to Samba tunes. The decor is like a large south american hut with table football "pitches" lining one wall and tele screens on the wall. It's laid back, non pretentious with a really good feel about it. Bizzarely the place really began to fill up after Happy Hour. In the blink of an eye the place was pretty jam-packed. At 9 a DJ began to play more dancey music and the place came alive. We managed to get onto one of the table footballs, each seeming to have their own little crowd watching, and have a few games with each other and also played some intrepid challengers! It's a great way to meet people and have fun banter - which sums up this place. Everyone is there to have fun, enjoy the laid-back vibe and the tasty cocktails.

Bar Kick, 126-127, Shoreditch High Street,Shoreditch, London, E1 6JE

Closest Station to Bar Kick: Old Street

Bar Kick Budget: Happily Affordable

Bar Kick Designometer: DJ Bar

Bar Kick Queue Buster: No queues normally

Bar Kick Music: Funky / Latino

Bar Kick Star Rating: 4/5

Queen of Hoxton, Shoreditch

This was my first time to Queen of Hoxton. I had heard about it and it has been on my bars to visit in Shoreditch list for quite some time! We arrived around 11ish and managed to walk straight in. It is quite an expansive bar. Sitting areas along the right hand side, the bar flanks the left and areas to stand, chat/dance in between. It has a dark, cinematic, stylish design feel. The bar was long with lots of staff so, although very busy, we didn't have to wait too long for our drinks. The prices were happily affordable.

We headed downstairs to the club area. A small, dark, den of iniquity or a "youth club for adults" as they put it themselves. Busy, sweaty and sexy as everyone was dancing about to some fantastic house music. The small stage even had a girl ad-libbing over some of the tunes. I think that summed it up at this place; you will never quite know what to expect here but whatever happens you know it will be super cool and you'll enjoy it. They also have a spectacular roof garden - probably one of the best in London - that is normally open everyday but due to the terrible weather conditions, it was shut. Did it live up to the billing? Yes I think it did! This has to be one of the best bars in Shoreditch for me. I would be pretty sure that no night is ever a bad one at the Queen of Hoxton and wether you want to drink, chat, dance, relax or just feel cool then you can do it all here.

Queen of Hoxton, 1-5 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, London, EC2A 3JX

Closest Station to Queen of Hoxton: Old Street

Queen of Hoxton Budget: Happily Affordable

Queen of Hoxton Designometer: DJ Bar / Nightclub

Queen of Hoxton Queue Buster: 11pm

Queen of Hoxton Music: House

Queen of Hoxton Star Rating: 4/5