Concrete Bar & Cafe

Even though the place was small, and it did not have anything in particular to say wow, I remember my visit there and smile.
The music was good, the drinks were alright (some coctails were not that good), the prices were normal. On a sunny day that the waterloo is packed with people (Londoners and tourists) we found it and sut there for a drink or two. It does not have a lot of tables in it, so we had to stand around the bar.
Would not mind going back but would not be my first choice. It was an OK experience.

Concrete happy hour=liquid prescription. Need a cure for the work blues? Why Concrete’s 2 41 happy hour. Need to celebrate a friend’s birthday without breaking the bank? Treat him or her to Concrete 2 4 1 happy hour.
Whatever the need, whatever the mood you can’t be Concrete’s happy hour from 5 – 7, Tues-​Sat. A large majority of my life is spent over 2 glasses of wine for less than a fiver in this artsy fartsy setting close by to some of the best views of London. It’s good to be a Londoner.

Concrete is a handy place to know about, if Southbank is heaving with people (and it often is). Just sneak up to the Hayward, and perch yourself outside this bar (not inside, even on a Sunday afternoon the music is FAR too loud). Staff are friendly enough, and it’s not overly expensive, it’s just… as generic as a bar can be. Which is often the case with bars attached to galleries, actually. They try and be all cool and urban and instead end up sparse and a bit rubbish. In the sunshine this place works (it’s hard not to be cheery on Southbank in the sun), but any other time and I think I’d walk right by.

I (unashamedly) like to think I’m a bit of a ‘secret places’ expert in London, so when someone introduced me to Concrete this week I was a little taken aback that I hadn’t been there before. A really cute place, despite the fact that it’s, errr, concrete. And it smelt a bit of concrete, too. It’s got a cement mixer outside all adorned with fairy lights, which is very endearing. Service at the bar was a little slow, but the poor chap was holding the fort on his own so I won’t judge him on that.
Having read previous reviews I’m a little surprised that it’s well-​known for its loudness, since it was pretty quiet when we were there. Then again, it was a Tuesay night.

Currently closed, Concrete was a really interesting little place. It is a café by day but don’t expect that same atmosphere in the evening when it turns into a club. A loud club. The kind you can’t even hear yourself think in…
Well, OK it wasn’t that bad :-) but as it was unexpected it was a bit weird. However the staff on the day I was there were friendly albeit seemingly a bit frazzled and the pastry I got (the safe selection as I called it but you have to see the menu to understand) was yummy with my coffee.
They apparently do drinks in the evening but I didn’t stay long enough to find out if they were nice :-)

I discovered this hidden gem while crusing for a place to get drinks to catch up with a friend. Its slightly off the beaten path from the rest of the Southbank establishments. But that makes it the perfect place to just grab a drink and have a chat as they place wasn’t too crowded. The décor is very industrial, hence the name of the bar. But the staff were really friendly. The drinks menu is very interesting and boasts a Absinthe Margarita among other things. I started with a Honey and Apple Martini which was delicious and followed it up with a Sgt. Peppers with added tabasco sauce for added kick. Their cocktails are pretty average priced as many go for 7 quid. However I did notice that they have a two for one deal between five and seven for a select number of drinks. I’ll be sure to take advantage of that the next time I come.

As others have mentioned, Concrete was very civil, none of this busy heaving business that you get at the other South Bank outlets. The second we got to the bar, we managed to befriend one of the bar staff on her day off/​drinking while waiting for her mates, who let us try her curry popcorn and recommended drinks to us and reminded us it’s happy hour.
Which is good, coz we’d never know what 241 527 would mean!
Round 1:
Honey and Apple vs Lychee martinis with a side of sweet and spicy nuts.
Not impressed, as I had to run up to the bar and ask for the nuts (it’s table service) and was then too embarrassed to ask for the complimentary pop corn… Anyhoo, the whole point of Martinis is that it knocks you off your feet, and this certainly didn’t do any knocking… the honey aroma was good though. Z, not impressed with her Lychee Martini.
Round 2: Red urm… something, cherry flavoured.
Unfortunately they had no cherries, so we had raspberry flavoured cocktails instead. This one was a bit better, with a bit of a kick and was able to stand up to the spicy nuts.
Then we completely lost track of time, and had to run to the NT, a bit tipsy and very confused.

Even though I spent quite a lot of time at the South Bank and have been to the Hayward Gallery loads of time, I wasn’t previously aware of Concrete.
It’s a little concrete block stuck to the side of the main building and quite easy to miss.
Went to see a friend gigging here on Saturday and loved it. I think they regularly host music nights, and I will definitely look out fore more.
Apparently they do food during the day, but my experience is limited to bar drinks. Small selection, but good choice at OK prices.
Perfect if, like me, you hate oversized cattle markets and prefer smaller venues which allow you to enjoy your friends company and conversation.
Had such a good time, almost missed the last tube

Bar staff tend to be excellent, especially a particular Frenchman who seems to be working there most times I visit. They have a good knowledge of wine and are polite and conversational.
Drinks are to a good standard and most nights of the week they have buy one get one free on a limited range of drinks. Beer is limited from my experience, though the Baltika beer is very good, so not a problem really.
It generally isn’t super busy either, despite being small. So the evenings when the Southbank is heaving with people, wander over to Concrete as while you won’t have a view of the Thames you will have a seat.
The furniture is quite cool some very 1950’s metal chairs which are very comfortable.

Hard to find but well worth it — a tiny café/​bar buzzing with life and understated cool. Went in for a couple of drinks on a Saturday night. The staff were friendly and attentive, and the there was plenty of space to relax and chat with friends.

Concrete is a great little café in the Hayward Gallery section of the Southbank Centre. It doubles as a café during the day and a bar at night, so if you wanted to you could remain in this place during the whole span of its business operating hours. They have good sandwiches and other little delectable snacks and the environment is nice and snug. If you’re out and about in Southbank on a serious museum mission this is a great place to stop and refresh.

Die Concrete Bar befindet sich direkt neben der Hayward Gallery. Als gemütlich kann man die Einrichtung nicht bezeichnen, sie ist im Stil angelehnt an die Hayward Gallery in grauem Concrete gehalten. Doch statt nackter Sterilität lassen wechselnde Lichtinstallationen und Bebilderung das Innere wie einen künstlerischen Raum wirken.
Zur nette Atmosphäre tragen auch die netten Bedienungen bei. Auch die Tatsache, dass man Essen und Getränke zu einem guten Preis-​Leistungs-​Verhältnis kriegt, hilft. Von 5 – 7 ist happy Hour, d.h. 2 zum Preis von 1 für bestimmte Cocktails. Die werden sehr gut und stark gemixt. Die Entscheidung, ob man die daher eher vor oder nach dem Galleriebesuch probiert, überlasse ich euch