The Big Chill Bar has been described as part of the fabric of Brick Lane life, which naturally means it’s cool, laid back and edging towards a more hipster crowd. It says something about the place that it has had the longevity to become something of an institution in Shoreditch, an area of London where sometimes a venue is lucky to remain (as the hipsters never say) ‘hip’ long enough to be flavour of the month. To be taste of the fortnight would be its own achievement here, but, as is the case with the Big Chill Bar, some places do manage to make themselves part of the area’s shabby chic, re-purposed furniture.
The Big Chill Bar is part of the larger Big Chill stable, with links to the Big Chill festival, record label and other venues, including Big Chill Bristol which we have reviewed in the past. As you’d expect from somewhere which shares its name and identity with a festival, music is a big part of the bar, but fortunately not in a way that only obsessives can enjoy. The music is an eclectic but accessible mix of indie, hip-hop and classics which most people would like, although it may be a little bit too loud for some.
As the name evokes, the bar is very relaxed and chilled out, particularly in the extremely popular (often packed) outside area during the summer and before the DJs come out and the dancing begins. In the evening the bar can get very crowded, very quickly with people coming for after work drinks. This means that the crowd can be a real mix of people, from the aforementioned hipsters to men in suits. Generally speaking, whatever their style, the clientèle tend to be from the under 30s crowd. The drinks are reasonably priced for London with a good selection of beers and cocktails.
As for the access, there’s a ramp to get to the entrance. It’s not very steep, but it does have a slight gutter at the bottom of it, which may require a bit of an extra push but shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Inside there is level access throughout the bar and garden area. They have an adapted toilet for less physically able customers which has necessary hand rails etc.
The Big Chill bar is a great place to wile away some time in the sun and also offers a good spot for a low key night out too. With good accessibility on top of that, we give it a provisional 2.5 BBS Ticks.
