Passing Clouds

I loved this bar — really good prices and free wifi. Add to that the evening was swing themed with an amazing trio and I was in heaven!
There were 2 drawbacks in my view — the queue for the bar was horrendouse (nothing to be done about that!) and the ladies loos being on the ground floor. The gents are halfway up the stairs and my suggestion would be to go unisex if its possible and avoid me having to trek up and down the stairs (clearly its all about me!)
The food looked fantastic — but I was so into the dance I didnt try. Definately heading back for more!

A totally quirky and hidden gem in East London. Weird and wonderful with its choice of music which ranges from jazz to gypsy I had a really fun time on Saturday night.

Intimate music venue with a medium stage downstairs and a small stage space and bar/​lounge area with couch seating around the sides of the room. Check out
THIS IS ONLY A REVIEW FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHTS… ahem.
Wednesday nights Passing Clouds is taken over by Swing Patrol. There are classes downstairs starting from 7pm and upstairs turns into the Cakewalk Café with live swingin jazz music til late. The café also serves a vegetarian dinner should you be a bit peckish after dancing but don’t want to leave this amazing space.
I highly recommend trying the beginners swing class (£8) that starts at 8:15pm. Plus! upstairs is free if you attend a class, otherwise it’s £5 (after 9pm) at the door.
Live jazz music every wednesday night? I mean come on!
(it can get a bit packed up there in the evenings with all the people dancing, either embrace the swing or get yourself down early to claim a spot on a sofa for the night)

This place is definitely worth a visit. There can’t be anywhere like it on earth. Funky live world music being played on the ground floor and anytime I have been there chilled out live music upstairs. There is always something crazy going on in there and it will definitely be a place you won’t forget. I do think £10 is a little steep to pay in and you have to be warned its its extremely warm in there.

Very funky and there always seem to be something different on there. The last two times iv been there iv woken up the next morning with my face painted as a cat (???)

Went there for a Sahara Ganga festival featuring 3 bands — Scottish, Moroccan and Zimbabwe (which still haven’t appeared on stage as at 1:30 am). Was really dissapoined by the music that night, as it was very repetitive and just. not exciting. We went there for a friend’s birthday and expectations were quite high…
But apart from that, the venue seemed very friendly, and the atmosphere was really nice. I liked the possibility of seating outside to get some fresh air and to chill down. The bouncers were polite and friendly. There was an occasional smell of weed, but the place didn’t seem to be too druggy. It is a nice alternative place to go out, slightly underground and the one with quite special atmosphere. I will definitely check it out again on another occasion.

Passing clouds upstairs is a funky spot probably with something going on. They pride themselves in supplying organic lagers and ales which is great. They also have «dalston cola» not coke! This business seems committed to their neighborhood by being a community space that allows any groups to meet in their free space as well as putting on concerts.

great music venue with amazing bands playing in it. I love the place, Especially after couple of drinks in hectic dalston’s clubs

They need your name and email address for the police record due to the type of liquor license they have? Um email address? Doorman relented that it was for a newsletter and the police only need first names… WTF? Paging Kate… I’m sure you’re the only Kate in the bar…
So it’s £8 to get in… they didn’t take card, or rather the card machines weren’t working… but they don’t tell you this at the door, they make you queue to get to the bar then tell you to go to the ATM at Tesco… because wandering around Kingsland road is what we all want more of…
The power went out. yes, all of the power… so we had to party to the sound of drunk men singing into the light of their phones for a while.
They don’t serve rum & coke because it’s not organic… but they will serve you a ginger beer mixer instead… but only with light rum, they don’t stock dark… *looks around* sorry, I thought this would have been a place that has more than one rum… I don’t know what would have given me that impression, being a rastafarian night and all.
There were people curled up against the cement wall outside in the ‘smoking area’ doing coke off of oyster cards…
Class!
I never want to think about this place again.

This place definitely reminds me of a squat but I mean in that in the best way possible. Its very arty and totally underground. It’s essentially a house that’s been converted into a club. Downstairs they had a performance from an African group. The band was pretty good but it was a bit too chill for our Thursday night shenanigans. Upstairs has lots of comfy couches and another bar. They were having a film screening at the time. I’d like to come back when they have another party. I heard their Spring Equinox party was amazing. I’m quite gutted that I missed it. I’ll have to come back to check out their next one.

At this point, I’m a committed regular of Wednesday nights at Passing Clouds, though I’ve never set foot in it on any other day. It is, however, a fantastic Wednesday night routine. We start the evening with a swing dancing class taught by Hayley and Mark of Swing Patrol. (In an unusual reversal, level 2 is at 7pm, while the very crowded beginners’ class is at 8:15pm.) Afterwards, we retire to the lounge area upstairs for drinks, conversation, and if we’re lucky, a delicious and affordable plate of vegetarian food. At some point, bandleader Ewan Bleach starts playing some live jazz tunes with a rotating crew of musicians. For a long time, the band stayed upstairs, but now that the night has gotten more popular, they’ve been playing downstairs after the dance classes are done. If you stick around long enough, I guarantee that you’ll see (and maybe experience!) some good dancing, and you’ll probably see some sharp pre-​war vintage wear too.

This is a fab place to hang out and paaaarty!!!
I have ended up here on several occasions after a night in the pub, you know when you want to carry the party on? There is usually lots of people hanging around outside (especially in summer) the bouncers are really friendly and the whole atmosphere of the place is cool, friendly and chilled out.
They have live music — I have seen some amazing african music here with drums and all (about 10 people collaborating on the stage).
The venue has an upstairs with cool couches where you can chill out. It has a late late licence too!
Recommend!

Passing Clouds that i almost Passed by!!!
This place at first sight looked to me like some dodgy unidentifiable underground club one goes to when they have had one to many.
However, i was happily surprised. This place is basically a great little hang out for all things independent and arty. The live music on my specific visit was jazz and was alive and kicking.
They also have an upstairs area that has comfy sofas, chairs and tables. This area is slightly quieter and is more of a «chill out area».
The deco was a mixture of various art-​work and nic-​nacs of sort. It had no real theme but felt like a place that anyone and everyone is welcomed.
I can highly recommend Passing Clouds as one of East London’s cool hangouts.

If you know its on the Kingsland Rd end of Richmond Rd, then this place is quite easy to find. Great mix of people and styles, and I found them quite friendly. This warehouse style venue has been packed both times I have been. Great funk/​soul/​latin/​jazz bands were playing and between acts an afro/​latin DJ and MCs kept everyone dancing. The cheesy disco came out at the end of the night, presumably to thin out the crowd.
You can try the coconut, banana and mango beers but like me, may need to fall back on to the Spanish Moritz once the novelty has worn off.
Great friendly place with relaxed aromas outside and funky tunes inside.

Great drinks, vibes, people, music and décor. Try their homemade cola, delicious!

I’ve no idea how to review Passing Clouds. The number of stars I’ve given it is directly proportional to the amount of fun we had. But this place is unique, so there’s nothing to compare it to. But what a great night.
It nearly never happened. Queuing outside what looks like a large house, with old people and vagrants sat outside playing draughts with bottle tops, we all had to do a run to the cash machine to top up on funds. We nearly waivered about going in once we’d left the line — would it be worth £10 to get in? What on earth is a gypsy funk hoonie anyway?
But we did go in. And we danced. And we smiled. And we had our faces painted. And we sang pirate songs. And we laughed about it the next day.
I’m almost certain that if I went back here again next week it would be completely different.
Passing Clouds. Whaaaaaat?

I love this kind of thing, but I want to see it like, actually put into a high street because, as Jo has said, it takes bohemia off the edge and into anonymity, its relaxing, cool and chilled why is it away from everything else?
As a place I’d go, yeah, sure but only if people I was going with really wanted to go there for some reason.

Difficult to find, little entrance down a back alley off kingsland road. I liked the laid back dress code, and drinks were very reasonable. Only downside was there wasn’t enough variation in music played.

I suppose Passing Clouds fulfills the criteria of being that warehouse venue that’s trendily difficult to find. But the novelty wears off when you’re aimlessly wandering round Dalston trying to find it.
Acting as both an arts space and music venue it plays host to an eclectic range of nights with a definite «look how bohemian we are!» vibe. That said, though the hippie feeling can grate on you, you can’t knock that it makes for a friendly trouble free atmosphere.
This is also due to the no dance music policy so though you’re not going to find a DnB rave here you will get a relaxed mish mash of anything from afro beats to Latin soul. With an excellent sound-​system to boot!
So, overall I’d say it’s definitely good for a sensible, laid-​back night out and but it’s ethical ethos and atmosphere is to be admired.

This is a fabulous members only arts venue in Dalston, set up by posh Oxford grad and heir to Cartier diamond fortune William Beaufroy. You have to pay a membership fee, and be an ‘artist’ to join, but Passing Clouds is non profit and all money gets pumped backed into the foundation. Originally built with Arts Council funding as an arts space, a place where artists, film makers and photographers can get together and, ummm, be creative? Ok, so it all sounds a bit pretentious and like a load of rich people getting together and patting each other on the back.
I’ve been lucky to go here for a private party a few times and the venue is incredible — some fantastic architecture, with an amazing upstairs that has beams that overlook the downstairs area, it does feel pretty amazing inside, like a secret you’ve been told not to share. I’m also told they have a ‘dressing up’ box of clothes?! The pretentious part of me wants to get membership and go hang out. The other part wants to hate it. I’m more pretentious than a hater so that’s my view!