Dalston Superstore

Concrete walls, saleable wall art and a certain self-conscious Euro-dive-bar sensibility define this spirited operation that serves food during the day and goes into club mode when the sun goes down. The basement opens at 10pm and by 11pm/midnight it's rather gay, especially at the weekend. Credited with taking the East End's gay sensibility out of the closet and into the stratosphere, Matt Tucker (Trailer Trash) and Dan Beaumont (ex-Disco Bloodbath) opened this long and narrow bar-club in 2009, having converted a derelict space that had previously served as a supermarket, a restaurant and a mini-cab office. Tucked behind corrugated iron, the place is fashionably 'alternative' (borderline-underground), with music to match. The low-ceilinged basement makes for an intimate and sweaty dance space. A heady mix, and certainly not for the sober. Check website for specialist nights, of which there are many (including Wednesday's trans-curated BodySwap nights) and which come and go as fast as a restless trend. T-Boys [see entry] was launched here in 2022 but then moved on. Sympathetic locals include VFD (Vogue Fabrics Dalston) (66 Stoke Newington Rd) and the Divine (33 Stoke Newington Rd) [see entries]. Overground stations: Dalston Kingsland and Dalston Junction. Tube station: Highbury & Islington, then a nine-minute bus ride.