The Old Blue Last

Pub in Shoreditch
The Old Blue Last image

8 / 10 from 2 reviews
Address
38 Great Eastern Street
Shoreditch
London
EC2A 3ES
Map
Telephone
020 7739 5793
Region
Shoreditch
Nearest Station
Shoreditch High Street
0.18 miles
Category
Pubs
Opening Summary
Mon: 12:00 - 00:00
Tues: 12:00 - 00:00
Weds: 12:00 - 00:00
Thurs: 12:00 - 00:30
Fri: 12:00 - 01:30
Sat: 12:00 - 01:30
Sun: 12:00 - 00:00
Venue Facilities

Big Screen TV

Credit Cards Accepted

Music Played

Live Music Played

Private Area

The Old Blue Last is a pub / live venue in Shoreditch, East London brought to you by the people at Vice Magazine. Since 2004 we've been bringing you the best forward-thinking bands and Djs seven nights a week, as well as secret shows by some of the biggest names around and all, more-often-than-not, completely for FREE. In January 2010 we decided it was time for a facelift so we gutted the pub, replaced both the bars, made a lot more floor space, changed all the sound systems, built a new room and most importantly, replaced those toilets. So now you can come and enjoy whatever it is we feel like putting on every night of the week without the spectre of the old urinals putting you off, and with slightly less chance of being crushed into a speaker stack during a gig.

All In London Review

Not what the achingly cool dive it once was but the live music is still going strong.

Review Image
Before Vice Magazine came along and took over The Old Blue Last it was one of Shoreditch’s also-ran boozers. Overnight the venue got hip and although it remained a dive, the addition of live music every night and the bands that the Vice name helped secure made it one of the area’s places to be and be seen. But that was then. These days Shoreditch is no longer the up-and-coming nightlife scene it was and the Old Blue Last has had to move with the times. After undergoing refurbishment and beginning to attract a more varied demographic, the pub has cleaned up its act, albeit keeping the quality flow of live music steady.

Set across two floors, you’ll find a squashed mass of tables and chairs in the one room ground floor bar. There’s no intimacy here and with the likes of the old vintage cinema seating ripped up and disposed of, a lot of the character is gone too. It remains a lively place to get a drink but the shinier look doesn’t have quite the same appeal as the old look.

Upstairs all is the same. A small stage fills one end of the room, there is a separate bar and the rest is space for the bands playing anything from garage, metal and indie to dub-step, drum ‘n’ bass and hardcore. The music is The Old Blue Last’s enduring legacy. The interior may have changed and the clientele is certainly different but this Shoreditch pub guarantees you interesting and alternative music almost every night of the week.

Reviewed by T.A.O
Published on May 2, 2014


Teens and twenty somethings...

Where some people might expect to find a couple of old blokes sitting at the bar and watching telly, you actually find a incredibly trendy teenage/twens crowd of Hoxton’s younger scene people. The place is full of hooded tops, fluorescent T-shirts and nylon caps. It hosts a lot of Shoreditch’s best parties and live gigs.


Published on Jul 16, 2008


Best For

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Top venues for Indie fans

London is the UK's indie hotbed - Manchester and Liverpool will try and lay claim but purists know the truth... it's London, baby.

The Old Blue Last has hosted the likes of The Maccabees, Klaxons and The Horrors in the past. Chances are the band you see today will be next year’s one to watch. Live music almost nightly.

Top venues to party as a student in London picture

Top venues to party as a student in London

Sick of sitting in a filthy house eating Pot Noodle whilst playing Call of Duty? You need to go out and have a few cheap drinks and a kebab.

By the same people that serve up Vice Magazine, this remains one of east London’s gems. It may have smartened itself up but its still a place to feel rocker any night of the week. Live bands and DJs and plenty of fun.

London's best venues to hear live music picture

London's best venues to hear live music

Crowd-surfing anyone?

Say what you like about The Old Blue Last; just don’t say it doesn’t know how to pick a band. The likes of The Black Lips, The Horrors and Best Coast have all played it, and that’s why it still rules.

User Reviews

Indiee

Oct 6, 2008

Great pub, amazing interior although some might find it a bit run-down. Everything’s very 20s style, from the wallpaper to the old cinema seats they’ve got inside. A pint is about £3, a gin & tonic is £3.50. On the weekends, they’ve got live acts, it gets quite packed then. Relaxed atmosphere, friendly barstaff, the people are the usual east London bunch, arty and stylish.
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