Strongroom, Shoreditch, EC2

Trendy and sprawling bar with plenty of outdoor seating and indoor seating over a couple of levels. You enter from the street into a courtyard, with the bar and an open kitchen on the first floor of a building on the left-hand side. These are accessed by a set of steps inside. The same steps lead down to a basement level where the clean toilets could be found, along with a large open space with just a couple of tables. Perhaps this space is used as a dancefloor in the evening? Back at the bar level, I was faced with a choice of keg beers which included Signature Roadie, Siren Suspended In El Dorado & Soundwave IPA & Hawkes Urban Orchard cider. I chose the Suspended In El Dorado. Although this was actually listed on Untappd as Suspended In Citra. It did indeed taste like the citra version. It's all a very plain, industrial and functional interior. However, re-reading Pub SignMan's review, I must have missed the main bar and possibly a larger beer choice. It's all a bit too trendy for my liking, but I may just pop in again some time in the future to explore the areas I didn't manage to find on this visit.

Located in the heart of creative Shoreditch, this is a large split-level bar and kitchen attached to the famous Strongroom Recording Studios which have produced albums for the likes of Radiohead, The Prodigy and The Arctic Monkeys and also oversaw the recording of such classics as The Anfield Rap and Spitting Image's 'The Chicken Song'. The pub is accessed via an alleyway off Curtain Road, which leads into a smart courtyard with plenty of outdoor seating, much of which was covered. The bar entrance is to the left and you're immediately pitched onto a staircase with steps leading up or down to different bars. I headed upstairs initially, where I found a compact area with a nice decorative modern servery to the rear, whitewashed brick walls and some simple seating arrangements. Some large Pilsner Urquell 'brewery fresh' tanks provided the room's main focal point and there was an open kitchen at the far end where a nice patterned wall covering provides some visual stimulation beyond the usual exposed ceiling pipes and wires. The stairs leading down to the lower bar initially bring you into a large open room with a tiled floor, table football and a few sofas in small clusters. Aside from this, the space offers very little, with some colourfully painted walls and loads of empty room for people to stand. It struck me that the area might perhaps be used for live music performances, but there was no sign of a stage, so I'm not convinced this is the case. A few more steps to the rear lead you down into the main bar where a mix of sofas, padded chests and standard chairs fill the rectangular room which has large windows to the rear looking out to the street behind. A compact servery stands in one corner under large chef's lamps and exposed brick walls. There are some interesting artworks on show throughout the pub, including some from Jamie Reid who is of course famous for his sleeve designs for The Sex Pistols. As you might expect from such a venue, there was an excellent indie soundtrack playing throughout my visit. The pub offers three handpulled ales, but these are split between the two bars, so I ended up with a pint of Howling Hops XX Pale (£4.00) before discovering that Howling Hops Ruby Red and Tiny Rebel Beat Box were available in the lower bar. The keg range had a few unusual choices including more Howling Hops beers and Urban Orchard cider. My beer was in good shape and the staff seemed friendly enough for such a venue. I only ended up here because I arrived too early for a gig at the nearby Old Blue Last and needed to kill a bit of time somewhere, but it turned out to be a good move, as I enjoyed some well kept ale in an interesting building with an even more interesting history. The place does feel a bit vast and impersonal in places, but I thought both bars had their plus points and the courtyard would make a good summer drinking spot. I can definitely see me popping in to see what beers they have on here in the future.