Image by Peter Hoffer

Located just minutes from the UK Houses of Parliament (where the cacophony of MPs barking at one another fill the Westminster air), the wonderful St. John’s Smith Square provides discerning classical music fans to feast their ears on a wide programme of concerts and recitals.

Built in the early 18th century, St. John’s Smith Square is an example of English Baroque architecture.  But the real joy of the building is the acoustics that makes a building of its size seems so intimate.

The types of concerts range from lunchtime concerts, chamber orchestras and Christmas carols.  A particular highlight is the Rosenblatt Recitals, which gives audiences a tastes of opera arias but familiar and obscure.  A night of classical music does not have to be expensive; it’s quite easy to get tickets for about £10.

The Smith Square restaurant downstairs also provides quick meals before the concert and some wine and snacks during the interval (I can highly recommend the cakes).

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St. John’s Smith Square | Art & culture, Music | Concert ticket £ 10
Smith Square,SW1P 3HA | Central | +442072221061
Varies check website

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

During the day people bring their laptops or books and work, read and drink coffee sprawled over one of the many mismatched sofas or lounge chairs. At night tea candles are lit and hot drinks are swapped for alcoholic drinks as people unwind and meet friends in what was once the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane (check the Brick Lane article). In summertime, people swamp to the outside picnic benches and the alleyway, though there is always a lovely cosy feel inside.

The boho and versatile venue opens at a very early 06:00 for breakfast and soups, jacket potatoes and sandwiches are on offer for lunch and dinner. Live music attracts a younger crowd with indie bands on Tuesday and jazz on Wednesday. Bands play in the smaller room at the back on Sunday and a dj spins tunes on Friday and Saturday.

Cocktails made with fresh fruit are available on the weekend and all year round you can grab a burger or corn on the cob from the grill stand outside. Tables and benches outside in front are great for people watching or smoking.

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Café 1001 | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks, Restaurants (intern.)
1 Dray walk, 91 Brick Lane | East | +442072479679
Mon – Sat 06:00 – 00:00, Sun 06:00 – 23:30

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

An unlikely spot for a bar, at midnight the small back room of this kebab shop turns into a venue for drinking and live music. When hordes of hungry post-pub drinkers pile into the fast-food joint for a late-night burger, the ones in the know are sat in the back, in a dark cavernous room with an old cabin feel and a ceiling that drips with mini stalactites.

Drinks are simple – beer or spirits & mixer, and reused Jack Daniels bottles turned candle holders set the mood in this cosy bar. The musical line-up includes live jazz every Friday and Saturday and rock & roll the rest of the week.

I was highly skeptical when my friends first dragged me through the grease-covered take away stop, but now I’m a convert. Once you’ve gone, you feel just a little special – and will be eager to show others this marvelous disguised drinking hole.

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Marathon | Bars, Music | Gin & tonic £ 3.00
87 Chalk Farm Road | North-West | +442074853814
Sun – Thu 00:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sat 00:00 – 03:00

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

Brick Lane offers a multitude of choice in terms of bars and nightlife but Casa Blue sticks out, not least because of all the fairy lights and candles glowing from within.

A lacquered wooden panel of peacocks is hung next to a watercolour painting of a naval fleet. 50′s memorabilia is plastered wearily to the wall. While the predominantly red kitsch bric-a-brac decor means your eyes don’t know where to settle, the kooky collection of plastic chandeliers, hanging baubles and blinking strings of light make a unique setting.

Even though the music ranges anywhere from the Beatles to Manu Chau, the tunes are familiar and well-chosen. There are comfy plus sofas and yummy cocktails. Food is also available. While the menu is limited, the house specialty comes in platter form – international mezze for two or more people. For only £5 each, sharing platters come with a selection of hot and cold tapas and you can choose Mediterranean, Indian or Greek cuisine.

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Casa Blue | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks | Cocktail £ 6.00
228 Brick Lane | East
Sun – Thu 12:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 12:00 – 03:00

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Image by Phoebe Ferris-Rotman

This laid back cafe serves a varied selection of vegetarian and vegan food. The savory selection ranges from sandwiches, soups and deli items such as homemade hummus and pates.

There are also delicious hot mains like vegan lasagna, roast Mediterranean bake and spinach, tofu and spelt tartlet all served with your choice of three hot or cold sides such as edible flower salad, red cabbage or broccoli and kale.

The food is very tasty and filling, yet at the same time super healthy, and it’s no surprise that many of the dishes include super foods like goji berries and guarana.

A selection of fresh juices from the smoothie bar gets you salivating while the desert counter boasts vegan cashew-based homemade vegan ice cream with fruit, muffins, flapjacks, cupcakes and truffles.

In the evening, classic cocktails, wine, beer and cider is served and the location is lovely. The bright and airy space in the heart of Camden, with nearly half its walls in the form of large windows, has a gorgeous view, overlooking the canal. Watch out for live music and DJs in the evenings as well.

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inSpiral Cafe, Bar & Lounge | Bars, Music, Relaxing, Snacks, Restaurants (Veg) | Meal £ 7.45
250 Camden High Street | North-West | +442074196798
Mon – Thu 10:00 – 22:00, Fri – Sat 10:00 – 02:00, Sun 10:00 – 23:30

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Image by Charl Asuit

This iconic venue in south west London is conveniently located near the Balham rail and underground stations. There is something happening each night of the week whether it’s a comedy show, a dance class, a concert or club night. You can also chill with a pint or two by the fireplace or soak in the lively atmosphere as you sit by the bar.

I discovered the Bedford when I began to learn to dance lindy lop with Swingland. Since then I have been going for different reasons. First, dancing Argentine tango on Thursday and every other Sunday with Tango Fandango. Then there’s the Banana Cabaret comedy club on Friday or Saturday, depending on who’s on the bill. The Shakespearean globe structure provides a stage not only to well-known comedians such as Milton Jones but also for the up-and-coming, too. And last but not the very least, the best tasting (quite possibly) bowl of chips in London. But at times I’m just after the usual pint and a bit of sports on telly (yes, women like watching sports, too!) with friends then the Bedford can be just that as well.

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The Bedford | Art & culture, Bars, Music, Restaurants (Pub) | Wine £ 3.00
77 Bedford Hill | South-West | +442086828940
Mon – Thu 11:00 – 23:00, Fri – Sat 11:00 – 02:00, Sun 12:00 – 22:30

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Image by Morgan & James photo depository

Being a music fan and specifically a vinyl fan over the last few years hasn’t been easy. Record shops have closed by the dozen and second hand records have been harder and harder to find – unless you go online. But part of the thrill and beauty of records is having them in your hand. Feeling the weight of the vinyl. The smell of it. Seeing the graphic design as it was meant to be seen, not squashed into a small plastic case. And most record collectors will say the same – ideally shopping for second hand records should be done in person, on foot, not online. Luckily for me, and for vinyl junkies like me, places like the excellent Flashback still exists.

Flashback opened in 1997 and use to sell second hand clothes in the basement. Over the years that has changed and now the vinyl is downstairs and CDs and DVDs can be found on the ground floor. I like the fact that the records are in the basement. It adds to the mystique somehow. Makes the search for that elusive LP that much greater. 

Flashback have a stated aim of ‘changing the record shop experience from an intimidating run-in with surly cooler-than-thou staff’ and they have done that. The place is friendly, the staff knowledgeable and most importantly for the digger, the prices, on the whole, are very reasonable.

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Flashback | Music, Shopping | Per album € 5
50 Essex Road,N1 8LR | North-East | +442073549356
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 19:00, Sun 12:00 – 18:00

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Image by Sébastien Cevey / theefer

Oto means ‘noise’ or ‘music’ in Japanese and that is exactly what you get at this amazing, innovative venue.

By day it is a mild-mannered café serving a selection of teas, coffees, organic fruit juices, Devon and Breton cider, wines, Japanese snacks, Sake, Plum Wine and Japanese Whisky but then, when the lights go out and the cafe closes for a couple of house for the soundchecks, Oto turns into the home of the experimental musician and easily fulfills its stated aim of ‘providing a home for creative new music that exists outside of the mainstream’.

Past performers include Yoko Ono, London Improvisors Orchestra, Joe McPhee, Marshall Allen, Matthew Herbert and, amazingly and thrillingly, The Sun Ra Arkestra who consider Cafe Oto to be their spiritual London home. The Wire magazine hold a monthly series of events here, called ‘The Wire Salon’, which consist of talks, panel discussions, film screenings and DJ sets. 

Some of the bigger names mean larger fees, but most gigs are around £10 entrance fee, but check the website first as the venue is small and gigs regularly sell out in advance.

Cafe Oto forms one point of the Dalston Jazz Triangle. The other two points being filled by the jazz daddy The Vortex and the newcomer Servant Jazz Quarters. These three venues are only about 500 yards apart and between them they cover everything from the folky side of jazz (SJQ), to the more traditional approach (Vortex) and into the avant garde (Oto). Jazz has definitely found a home (or three) in E8.

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Cafe Oto | Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks | Entrance from € 7
18-22 Ashwin Street,E8 3DL | East
Mon – Fri 09:30 – 17:30, Sat – Sun 10:30 – 17:30, gigs from 20:00

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Image by Matt Bramford

Rich Mix, like the Barbican, is one of those art centres that caters for pretty much everybody. It’s my local cinema, but at the same time is a gig venue, bar, café and art gallery – it’s a big red cultural hub.

The building has three cinema screens – two large, one intimate. They screen mainstream movies and anticipated Oscar winners alongside independent releases and archival films. It’s much cheaper than those horrid West End cinemas that charge you a fortune and much nicer, too. The walls are adorned with Timorous Beasties wallpaper – an attraction in themselves, and the actual cinema screens have walls decorated with contemporary geometric patterns that create the illusion, when the lights are low, of Rococo architecture.

As a gig venue, Rich Mix has played host to a huge range of international musicians, from UK-based classical pianists to Bollywood bands. There’s always something on (and I really should start going more myself) and some events are even free. The centre also hosts a rolling schedule of performing arts, comedy, spoken word events and and exhibitions. It’s enough to render you breathless.

The cinema screenings sell out quickly at weekends and on Wednesdays (when there’s the Orange deal on) so I tend to pop by in the day to buy tickets, or book online if I’m feeling frivolous (there’s an added booking fee). When you’ve seen your film, why not pop around the corner for a cocktail in LoungeLover? There’s nothing better.

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Rich Mix | Art & culture, Cinemas, Music, Theaters | Cinema £ 9
35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road E1 6LA | East | +442076137498
14:00 – 00:00 (approx) daily

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Image by Deanna Romano

You don’t need to be a devoted fan of Ray Charles or Etta James to appreciate Ain’t Nothing But the Blues. All you need is an appreciation for soulful music.

Discretely located down Kingly Street in Soho, it’s easy to miss the bar’s entrance. And once inside, the understated décor and the absence of a cocktail list clearly places it behind the glitter and glamour of most West End haunts. However, the fantastic live music makes for a much more memorable night than any of the carbon copy bars that surround it.

Be sure to get in before 20:30 on Friday and Saturday nights to miss the infamous queue. It is also worth getting there early to grab yourself a table, particularly if a discreet toe tap is your preferred style of dancing.

Being a blues bar virgin at the time, I can’t recall what type of blues the band played, however I do recall the music being that infectious that I was dancing on the chairs for hours – clearly the absence of a cocktail list not preventing such behaviour!

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Ain’t Nothing But the Blues | Bars, Music, Snacks | Fri/Sat after 20:30 £ 5.00
20 Kingly Street | Central | +442072870514
Mon – Wed 18:00 – 01:00, Thu 18:00 – 02:00, Fri 17:00 – 03:00, Sat 15:00 – 03:00, Sun 15:00 – 00:00

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