Monty's Bar, Shoreditch, E1

This is a small, hip cocktail bar situated at the top end of Brick Lane. The two room, bare boarded interior has a servery to the rear left of the front room and seating comprising very low sofas with intricately carved wooden end pieces and lots of low stools, some of which service a low drinking ledge in the rear room. The bar has a square counter decorated with graffiti-style art and a mirrored bar back, whilst the ceiling is completely covered in vinyl 7" singles. Much of the wall space is also covered in graffiti art, some of which is partly covered by various framed art pieces, whilst most other surfaces are decorated with loads of stickers, including across the ceiling beams and table tops. Both rooms are similarly set up, albeit the rear room doesn't have the bar and was a lot quieter. A mixed soundtrack was playing at a reasonable level and there was a nice buzz from the eclectic customer base. A trip to the toilets revealed a small overspill seating area downstairs, although no-one was sat down there. The bar focuses more on cocktails, so an absence of cask ale comes as no surprise. They keep two keg beers on draught - Peroni and Camden Pale, with the latter costing £6.50 for a pint, which is about par for the course in this part of town. The bar staff were friendly and I liked the vibe of a varied clientele. I quite liked the quirky presentation of this bar, which makes it stand out from the usual, modern cocktail bars that you can find throughout the city. However, the lack of decent draught beer options make this a less appealing prospect if cocktails aren't really your thing and as such, it's unlikely to be somewhere I return to in a hurry. Date of visit - 7th September 2024