Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen

As far as I have always known, the Hoxton Bar and Kitchen has been a very popular venue and notoriously difficult to get into on a Friday night, unfortunately the same cannot be said for a Monday night which is when I finally managed to bypass any sign of a crowd and head inside. The doorman was pretty strict about not being able to stand outside with a drink except in the small courtyard out front before the glass doors. Once in the glass doors the plateau on which you are standing overlooks the largest of the rooms; a hall-like room with a long bar running along the left wall and on the right wall couches in sagging over-used black leather. Halfway down the venue a room connects the main bar with a separate smaller bar where light conversation and bar snacks can be enjoyed (this area seems to be one of the most crowded however). In the connecting room there is a black curtain, followed by large wooden doors which lead into a sort of small club with disco ball, stage and another bar to the back of the room (where service is notably slow).

Overall the hoxton Bar and Kitchen was hugely pretentious for what is essentially a large Shoreditch music venue. Its size makes it a comfortable addition to the bar scene but it seems overfilling the capacity is a common occurance at the weekend. The drinks are also extortionate coming in at eleven pounds for a double and a pint, making it one of the most expensive venues in the city. The cocktails are not particularly good either and the drink and food menus are so sticky you have trouble letting go of them, and its not like you can go and wash your hands, this place suffers froma  continuous lack of toilet paper…lush. Overall a somewhat disappointing 4/10