More East London bars The Vibe Bar is a mess. The grotty interior is well suited to its shabby student regulars. It’s got internet access on crappy terminals (worse luck – see below) and a bloody Wall of Sound-sponsored DJ. Is it not possible to enjoy a beer round there without the bangin’ accompaniment?
Somehow, unexpectedly, it works. There’s a good range of drinks and its proximity to Brick Lane and its curryhouses is a big plus. A note for connoisseurs – the excellent Cafe Bangla is just down the road, famed for its appalling mural of Diana, Queen of Hearts. Ignore the irony tourists and just enjoy the superb fodder.
By the time I saw The Light last Thursday, I was a bit tired and emotional, so maybe I wasn’t in the best frame of mind to savour this (barely) converted warehouse. I had a bottle of Budvar, which is not really an end-of-session beer – it’s rather too thick and treacly. The preponderance of media tosspots didn’t encourage me to explore the place too much.
Leaving at 11pm, I discovered that you can carry on drinking in The Light up to 2am – but only if you are casually dressed. I feel that the opposite practice should be encouraged in pubs – you should be allowed to drink all night if you’re wearing a suit. Or a catsuit.