Dalston Jazz Bar

It’s been around for a while, but the DJB still has a temporary, ‘put up overnight’ feel to it. Glass-walled on three sides and plonked in the middle of a car park in a Dalston side street, it might not seem to have much to recommend it. But something about the place – maybe it’s the cocktails, maybe it’s the up-for-it crowd – works. The interior is dotted with battered sofas and low tables, interspersed with eclectic tat (an old dentist’s lamp, a cycling road sign, a bookshelf that gives a clue to the owner’s varied reading tastes), while at the makeshift-like bar there are five beers on tap (Erdinger the highlight), plus plenty of bottles in the fridge. Come Saturday and Sunday it’s essential to sample what might be the cheapest cocktails in London (£4.50 before midnight, £5 after); try a sour apple martini or ‘razberi’ cosmopolitan. The place packs out as the wee hours approach.

Time Out Bars, Pubs & Clubs Guide 2008

Services:

Function room: Bar available for hire (Mon-Fri); Music (DJs 10pm daily; free)

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