Shacklewell Arms

Love this place. Bit too many hipsters. But who cares when the bar is awkwardly unique and has some good beers and ultimately has a great music set up round the back. That’s my main draw for coming here for sure.

If you are love to listen live indie musics you cannot miss it ! Good Bear does the rest !

I’ve never been that bothered by the Shacklewell. In the past it’s always been a place that I’ve never really been for or against in any particularly strong way, even though it tends to attract a clientele of people I wouldn’t even want entering my postcode let alone my favourite drinking establishment. Unfortunately though, the experience I had in there last Thursday has left me with nothing but contempt for the place and the people who work there. Me and a friend had made loose plans to go to a Turkish restaurant for dinner, before seeing a concert that was being held in the back room later that evening. After a pre-​meal pint and the arrival of some other friends we decided to abandon this idea and eat there so we could spend time with the growing crew, many of who do not live in London. Now this was our first mistake. If you’ve ever been to Dalston then you’ll be fully aware of the many fantastic restaurants dotted around the strip at the bottom of Stoke Newington High Street, so you would imagine with the amount of competition around and the reputation that the Shacklewell obviously believes it has, a high standard would be set for their kitchen. What arrived on my plate after a 50 minute wait suggests otherwise and was inexcusable, laughable and borderline offensive to anyone who has willingly lined the pockets of these first class jokers. Two plates arrived consisting of 50% food and 50% empty space. It’s possibly the first time I’ve ever found the plate to be more appealing than the food served on it. I ordered a veggie burger which came sans pattie but instead with halloumi, grilled to a shade of black which I’m sure has yet to have a colour code applied to it. As I took the greasy bun in my hands for the first bite I had to brush away some charred black marks from the base of it. A pool of green oil oozed from the middle in such an unappealing way and my mouth was immediately struck with the confusing taste of cold pesto — far too rich and overpowering to be used in this context, certainly the amount that was smothered on it. Once the pesto disappeared and the rest of the sandwich revealed itself though, I almost begged for its return. Some kind of unidentifiable fried circular disc that was so chewy I thought my teeth would come away with it was placed on top of the halloumi and tasted like a burnt piece of cheese that had been stuck on a grill pan and reheated several times over the course of a week. I still have no idea what this was and I can imagine that the only purpose it had was to give me food poisoning. But incredibly, there was worse to come. My friend’s «Halloumi Wrap with Fries» not only arrived WITHOUT the fries for the same price, but also with two (yes TWO) pieces of Halloumi inside the wrap, some pathetic looking iceberg lettuce and a few tablespoons of mayonnaise. In his words, it looked and tasted like the kind of thing your mate would have made you post pub in your student days, except you’d be pissed enough so you wouldn’t notice the amount of gelatinous white egg-​based goo streaming down your fingers. All this ladies and gentleman, for the sum of £14. Not a lot some may say, but to add some perspective on this, dogshit costs nothing and cat food can be found for less than a pound in most supermarkets. When I complained about the quality of the food and the disappearance of advertised fries I asked for some money back. The bar manager was reluctantly called over and said there was nothing he could do except hilariously offer me more food to make up for it, despite me telling him how bad it was. The apathy from the staff was astounding, but finally we got our compensation — one pint of beer that my friend couldn’t even drink after feeling so disgusted by what he put in his mouth. Quite frankly I was shocked that they believe they can get away with this. I’m not sure if I would even visit this place again to piss or press my middle finger up against the glass and its certainly not even worth the waste of matches I would use to burn their kitchen down in an attempt to sterilise the place and cleanse it of its previous crimes. If I could give zero stars I would. You have been warned.

Real nice place for a Friday night out, there’s a bar, a back room and an «outside» area, if ur a music lover this place is great it offers live music every weekend! The only minus is that they charge you 5 pounds to get into the back room on Saturday nights where the dj plays, it’s ridiculous cause its a small’ish room (and at times quite empty), and especially annoying knowing you went there the night before free if charge. But hey go there on Fridays and Shake it off!

This is the place for live music in East London! Quality little pub! They always have awesome live bands playing here every week. An awesome little place to watch football as well, never too busy. And with 50p pool table you can’t complain! Will always be one of my locals.

Moi, ce que j’aime faire quand je vais à Londres, c’est boire des pintes de bière et voir des concerts cools. Et dans cette catégorie, le Shacklewell Arms a tout bon.
Au nord de la Tamise, ce pub propose une programmation rock copieuse toute l’année. Il y a un bar intérieur, un jardin extérieur couvert avec une partie pour les fumeurs, et une petite salle de concert très sympa. Je n’ai pas goûté, mais ils proposent des burgers et hot-​dogs végétariens. L’ambiance est très sympa et friendly! Je né suis pas tout à fait sûre mais c’est ouvert jusqu’à tard; 3h du matin si ma mémoiré né me fait pas défaut (la faute aux pintes).
Une bonne adresse à retenir, en tout cas moi j’y retournerais!

Great place for a night slightly off the main Dalston drag.
The pub is pretty big with a main bar and also a space for dancing at the back and a huge outdoor area (part of which you are not allowed to smoke in).

A decent little live venue in East London, and one that is starting to get a few decent bands in.
I saw The Asteroid # 4 last week and had a thoroughly good time. The place itself is unassuming but the staff are welcoming and efficient, and there’s an Ok selection of draught beers although they could do with a couple more specialist bottles. It’s not cheap I should add — £4 a pint for standard lager across the board took me by surprise.
The sound system is really good in the venue area. Loud and clear and without that murky edge you so often get in smaller places. There’s plenty of space to move about and, if you smoke, there is a smoking garden out the back which functions like an additional room.
All in all it’s a cosy and intimate place to see live music. You are close enough to the band to see what is going on and the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. A good night out.

Definitely a dive bar, but the free music events in the back room make this place a must visit if you’re in the area.
It’s a really odd atmosphere, you walk in and get a feeling that this is a run down old pub, but find your way to the back room, you’ll usually find some music on, and start looking at the people and you’ll realise this isn’t the place that your first impressions have regaled to you.
Fill this pub full of old men, or football fans and it would be scary, but with a youthful, ‘shoreditch/​hoxton’ crowd, you get a relaxed vibe that whilst not in keeping with the semi-​pretentious nature of this area, and the raw-​ness of this pub adds some grit to proceedings.
A reasonable real ale selection, reasonably friendly bar staff, and whilst your not on to a winner if your just a pub goer, if you want to check out new bands, this is the place for you.

An outstanding boozer, with really nice and friendly staff.
I don’t like the rock music they played last night in the main bar, but as a smoker I don’t spend much time inside pubs these days, so my five stars goes for (a) the wonderful (and huge) covered and heated garden, where there’s a brilliant atmosphere; and (b) the back room, or dance hall, is superb and attracts some HUGE names. Last night I saw the amazing Charanjit Singh perform his seminal 1982 acid house classic 10 Ragas to a Disco Beat, his only show in England.
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Kate Nash did a gig there the previous night. In fact there’s loads of good music lined up. So it’s really the perfect little boozer. Five stars!

This is a cracking spot for seeing live music. The pub itself came under new management and so now has the usual Dalston hipster crowd mixed with the locals.
The pub is quite big and the part out the back where the live music takes place holds around 200 people. Great sound system too.
Some nights there is a cover charge and some nights are free.
I saw the GIVERS here recently, which was a free event, they are now climbing the charts and getting great recognition for their cool music!
So defo a place to see some great music before they get noticed by the masses!

Went here to see some bands recently.
The main bar is relaxed with friendly staff. Ale was well kept and served in tankards. Music was pretty cool (Dinosaur Jr) and not too loud. The back room showcases bands and club nights, the sound was excellent.
I’ll definitely be back here in the near future!

Something for everyone here early on you can hang out and have some quiet pints and a game of pool. Or you come in later, already drunk and dance out the back.
Beer garden means you can drink and smoke which is always an extra point in my books.
Young, trendy, local patrons theres always a wall of fixies on the fence nearby.

This pub is quite hidden away from the hustle and bustle of Kingsland road but always seems to be quite packed. The drinks are average priced and the crowd is quite hipster. Its not amazing but its not bad either. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a place to meet up with a couple of friends for a drink to have a chill evening.

Recently taken over by the brains behind Adventures in the Beetroot Field, Shacklewell Arms is slowly turning into Dalston’s answer to the Lock Tavern.
With regular gigs, club nights and even jumble sales there is always a buzz of activity here until around 3am and the sheltered garden means the weather will never send you running for cover.
It’s definitely off the beaten track but often this is better as it means its never jam packed to the rafters if what your after is a casual drink and perhaps a little booty-​shaking with friends.

the shaclewell arms has re-​opened under new owners not sure who they are, but the place is rocking, cant believe tom from the horrors is djing there AMAZING!!!

I went here for a 90s rave night in February ’10. I don’t know what the actual pub is like, but I went to the backroom which hosts various clubnights and you enter round the side of the pub.
Although the space itself was really good it was badly let down by the price of drinks and soundsystem. Mixer & vodka was £3.30 — you might not think that’s too bad, but it was a tiny amount served in a really ropey watercooler style white cup. Only one set of speakers in the venue worked and this led to the night gathering no atmosphere as the music couldn’t get loud enough and was really muffled. The power kept cutting out on the DJ booth too. It’s a shame as otherwise the night would have been really fun. We left as it wasn’t enjoyable having to strain to hear the music.

Dirty, grimy and a little bit rough sums this bar nicely although as with many up and coming Dalston bars, mixes the trash of Dalston with the Bohemia of Brick Lane. Open late nights, with friendly bouncers and scary looking bar staff who serve mean shooters and rarely smile. Electro lovers prick your ears up now, as this is the new monthly home of the Replicants, bringing a deluge of dirty beats to your eardrums. In summary: hardcore in the main room but take the edge off in the expansive smoking area, littered with all sorts of fountain paraphernalia to become fixated with when wasted. The choice is your whether you take Johnny Borrell’s advice…
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Located in deepest darkest Dalston, unassumingly standing on a corner of Shacklewell Lane, this is a real ‘local’ pub full of local people. As you walk in your nostrils will be penetrated by the smell of rum and you be immediately swept along by the ambiance of music and fun. The walls of this pub are covered with some absolutely sensational paintings that really have to be seen to be believed, and i can only assume depict a typical Saturday night?! There is a bar at the front of the venue and a club at the back that can be rented out for a £50 deposit and has a decent sized capacity (around 200). This compromises a bar, large dance floor and a DJ booth, and also leads out to the under cover beer garden/​smoking area which huge and perfect for milling around chatting if the music is too loud for your liking. The staff are supremely friendly and up for a chat and a boogie, and if you do opt to rent out the back area its yours until 6am! I’ve been to many parties there and they’ve been some of the finest moments of 2008. Prices are standard pub expense (£3.00 a pint), but the atmosphere is priceless!

nice bar most customers from west indies, no real ale or food but very late licence weekends with good music and very often free entry’

Shacklewell Arms happens to be a pub at the front and a club at the back the pub runs like an ordinary pub but round about 10pm the pub door closes and the back door open for BG’s Club It’s a socca club drinks are quite expensive at around £3 each depending on what you buy. After 11pm its £5 (basic price) to enter and it opens till 5am. The majority that attend this club are between 24 up to 40 plus who like socca music, to socialise dance and have a good time. Last I heard they serve free food. Used to be a very good venue people don’t say it’s good any more the people who used to come don’t come anymore prices go up some nights.