The Forge

Bar in Camden

The building has been designed where possible with environmental issues in mind and includes features such as solar panels and natural ventilation systems.

The Forge

5 / 10 from 1 review

Address
3-7 Delancey Street
Camden
London
NW1 7NL

Map

History

Telephone
020 7383 7808

Region
Camden

Nearest Station
Camden Town
0.19 miles

Category
Bars

Website
http://www.forgevenue.org/

Opening Summary
Tues – Thurs: 10:00 – 22:00
Fri – Sat: 10:00 – 01:00
Sun: 10:00 – 22:30

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Venue Facilities

Smoking Area

Food Served

Disabled Facilities

Children Welcome

Credit Cards Accepted

Music Played

Live Music Played

Private Area

Outdoor Area

The Forge is an award-winning venue, home to London’s most diverse musical talent. Its amazingly flexible building is reflected in the great breadth of the programme, which ranges from high-class concerts mid-week to pulsating live music club nights at the weekend.

The Forge is a wonderfully intimate venue, specially designed with natural acoustics for live music, making it the perfect space for concerts, rehearsals, recordings and other arts-based activities. Its beautiful décor also makes it a fantastic venue to hire for parties, functions, wedding receptions and business events.

The Forge also hosts a stylish bar which creates superb cocktails (ask about our cocktail masterclasses), and stocks an array of spirits, wines and beers. The Upstairs Room is an ideal location for private parties, informal workshops and presentations or just a relaxed drink with a meal in the evening.

The Forge Picture Gallery

All In London Review

An exciting venue, but a disappointing meal

On Camden’s Parkway the famous Jazz Café has been putting on soul, jazz and hip hop gigs for 25 years, but walk up to the parallel road and you’ll find The Forge, which in any given month may have Congolese rumba, spoken word, Afrobeat, comedy and modern interpretations of Bach among their listings. As a non-profit, all the money they make is poured back into being able to fund this eclectic programming.

There’s also a restaurant upstairs, which this summer is offering Latin American food; think Brazilian feijoadas, Cuban sandwiches and arepas, corn flatbreads filled with meat, cheese, black beans and salsa. Unfortunately we’re unimpressed with our meal - one arepa to share between the two of us as a starter takes 40 minutes before arriving wrapped in foil and fresh from the microwave, the top layer of black beans, melted Cheddar and pulled pork is warm but the rest is cold.

Although we’re the only people eating here we wait a further 20 minutes for the mains; ‘pescado a lo macho’ translates as ‘manly fish’, and is a fairly uninspiring fillet of hake sprinkled with salty prawns and coated in thick tomato and garlic sauce. The whole plate has also been shoved in the microwave, which means the lettuce and tomato are piping hot. We do however like the Cuban sandwich, with generous slabs of pulled pork, ham, Swiss cheese, gherkins and American mustard.

On the plus side it’s a nice and intimate venue, with eco-friendly touches like solar panelling and a six metre living wall. From the window seating in the restaurant you can watch the bands downstairs, and ticket prices for performances are affordable, sometimes free. For an area that’s seeing its famous nightlife eroded to make way for identikit chains and expensive flats, the existence of The Forge is very important.

Reviewed by Leila anonymously
Published on Jul 24, 2015