The Star

Once known as ‘The Pleasure Unit’ – yes, really – The Star of Bethnal Green has been a consistent package of nightlife liveliness for years. On a street with so many pubs you might not dare walk into without knowing a regular, it is not hard to be a standout venue. However, rip up this pub and place it anywhere in London and it would match the most illustrious of neighbours for entertainment.

Roasts, pizzas, club nights and a famous quiz, the pub uses its ample space to good effect. The sprawling venue covers two floors. Bathed in a sickly sweet pink glow by night, the Star of Bethnal Green has a trad-chic thing going for it, whether it strives for it or not. The pizzas are great value (and they’re named after DJs), the Sunday roasts are delicious (and big) and the club nights make a case for eschewing nearby Dalston, Shoreditch and Kingsland Road for a night here. Disco, house, trance, techno, dubstep… the venue has a canny knack for attracting big DJs. As you can tell, we like it.

The Star of Bethnal Green; it’s a fairly traditional name for a pub and outward appearances suggest that’s just what it is. But clearly there’s much more going on inside. The Tuesday night quiz is similarly misleading. Far from your average evening of general knowledge and ‘funny team name’ competitions, there is dancing, singing and even stranger examples of audience participation in this one – perhaps a reason why the Evening Standard voted it one of London’s top five pub quizzes. High praise indeed, but how about this; we, All In London, vote it the best pub on Bethnal Green Road. Boom!