The Bridge

I’ve been waiting for an excuse to have a closer look at The Bridge for ages. This intriguing place on busy Kingland Road is squeezed right next to a railway bridge. It’s got a lovely dark and mysterious feel to it and invites to relax with a cup of tea or glass of wine. What a welcome surprise to find a café this close to Shoreditch not lit up by MacBooks.
I’m sure solo guests are made feel very welcome by the staff, but The Bridge just calls out for relaxing company and a good old chat. I met up with a friend and settled on one of the opulent tables upstairs. Turkish pizzas come as a bit of a surprise but provide a tasty snack to go with the rather lovely house red.
Everything here is on the kitsch side but it completely works, especially on a rainy Autumn evening.

Poor drink selection and exhorbitantly priced. £13.55 for a bottle of beer and a spiced rum and coke! No thanks. Snooty management who think that the uniqueness of some red lighting and soft furnishings gives them the right to treat customers with contempt, moving where we sat for no apparant reason other than to make it look like ther were more customers there.

Friendly bartenders and a great atmosphere. Have a drink upstairs, it’s like going back to 1920’s.

Unassuming from the outside, this place is sure to surprise you.
With movie paraphernalia and live jazz in the downstairs back room, you’ll be as thrilled by the decoration as you will the entertainment.
Once you head upstairs, you’ll feel as if you’ve stepped down the rabbit hole as the fanciful seating draws you in for coffee, or something stronger, in the charming surroundings.
Great for dates, and just as good with mates, it’s well worth a visit any day of the week.

Sitting upstairs here is really fun. It’s like a Parlour/​1920s feel vintage bar with eclectic chairs and décor. It makes for a different setting and if you’re in the area I would recommend that you check it out.
However, I nearly choked on my double gin and tonic when I found out how much it had cost me. So maybe just go for one or two at the beginning of the night or after getting a Vietnamese from one of the restaurants down the road.

This place was really weird. The top floor is decorated like an Aladdin’s den, but there was country and western music blaring from the speakers. Smelt a bit damp in the room out the back where we were. The cocktails are ok, but a bit pricey. It was fun for a quirky night out but I wouldn’t recommend it.

A feast for the eyes rather than the tastes.
For years I’ve largely ignored The Bridge’s unassuming brown exterior and heavily signed windows which only gives you teasing glimpses into its secret dark interior.
But venture in you’ll be rewarded with a sensory delight and a feeling that you’ve stumbled into a bizarre interiors time warp. Downstairs is a small bar boasting an impressive collection of bullet shaped chrome coffee machines set against a setting of wonderfully busy framed pictures and retro paraphernalia which adorns every inch of wall.
Creep upstairs and you’ll find a shabby homage to a Victorian parlour complete with an eclectic mix of ornate chairs, gilt mirrors, neoclassical nudes and heavy curtains that cloaks the room in darkness.
I really wanted the food and drink to live up to the fantastic décor, but this wasn’t so. Whilst having no menu was initially an illicit prospect, the reality is our poor waitress was left reciting every item on the menu leaving us struggling to absorb the options. The cocktails are on the pricey side at around £10.00 and the absence of menu means price transparency is a little lacking, even when you receive the bill.
If you’ve never been, it’s worth a visit for a few atmospheric drinks before moving on and makes a unique date venue.

Si conoces el Garlochí de Sevilla, cuando vengas aquí sentirás haber traspasado una puerta espacio-​temporal pues The Bridge es un concepto muy parecido al del bar sevillano, aunque con muchísimo menos barroquismo y sevillanía.
Horror Vacui predominante, con todas las paredes y techos cubiertos de telares de terciopelo, candelabros, sillones «victorianos» y todo tipo de estridencias británicas en un ambiente muy peculiar. La planta baja puede recordar a la de un pub londinense normal, pero cuando subes a la de arriba ya es otro mundo.
El sitio como tal no es gran cosa más allá de las pintas de la planta superior del local. Luego, una vez que se te pasa el factor sorpresa, estar allí es un poco «meh», porque ni las camareras son simpáticas, ni el WiFi funciona bien, ni tienen un buen repertorio de cervezas ni los sillones son especialmente cómodos. Pero bueno, no deja de ser curioso para venir.
Está ubicado por la zona de Shoreditch, Old Street, etc… Nosotros vinimos andando desde Bethnal Green dando un paseito y se llega en un momento. Si estás por la zona y te apetece ver algo diferente o sorprender a alguien, pues quizá sea una opción interesante.

Really loved the lush Victorian, neoclassical décor. It’ll feel like you’ve traveled back in time to the early 20^th century, especially when you go upstairs (which you must)!! We came here for coffee/​beer/​dessert, but really indulged in the ambience and the opulence of the cozy little rooms adorned with ornate decorations, mirrors, and chandeliers. I especially loved the armchairs & settees. There’s really not many places where you can experience something like this back in the States so I thoroughly enjoy it. Oh, the lemon cake and the chocolate cake were both very moist and tasty! :) I don’t usually like lemon cake

Beautiful décor! Make sure to go upstairs and see the lounge & order a espresso martini! Decadent

Holy Smokes.
This is certainly not an understated place. As soon as I entered, I felt vacuumed into some dark and slightly foreboding universe, dimly lit with black and red all over. While I expected fake blood and skulls amongst the details, I realized The Bridge was nothing to fret over– the décor is much more rockabilly than death metal, thank God.
Once I got over my initial shock, I realized how cool and original this place is amongst other Hoxton/​Shoreditch offerings. For such an über-​modern neighborhood, The Bridge truly stands out in taking you back to the 19^th/​20^th centuries (the music here is 50’s rock, a la Little Richard).
The upstairs level is the real gem– you’ve somehow been transported into an eccentric, plush Victorian-​style lounge. While I think could make for an excellent upscale cocktail bar in Notting Hill or Mayfair, people come to The Bridge for the coffee, tea and small selection of pastries & cakes.
It is a bit pricey, though. I’m pretty sure my green tea at the splendid Ottolenghi in Belgravia was less expensive… and tasted much better.
A portion of tiny baklava bites come at £4– though steep, it WAS delicious. If all of the pastries were of this caliber I’d make sure to return again and again.
I came on an un-​busy Sunday afternoon and can imagine it’s a much livelier vibe on a Friday/​Saturday night.
Highly recommended!

I decided to try this place after a few drunken rave reviews from fellow residents in the area. Now I’m not one to put a bad review down based on one experience and I’ve now tried (suffered) here three times at different times of the day.
To say it’s pretentiously average is the best compliment I can give. Eclectic shabby style over substance.
Expensive, cold coffee with spray cream, one toilet (give me a break) no payment by card and staff attitude that may be «trendy» but just smacks of contempt for customers in my book.
If you want shabby eclectic chic with a cool laid back attitude, go to the Spread Eagle.

Great setting for a coffee!

Squeezed beside the rail bridge crossing lower Kingsland Road is an absolutely delightful local treasure. If you want comfort, charm, and some amazing cakes, this is the place.
The ground floor oozes old style café, with a dark wood interior and a gigantic polished cappuccino machine. They have a wide selection of teas and delicious rich coffee (and normally I don’t drink coffee!). But wait there’s more… wind your way upstairs and you’ve landed in a Victorian sitting room! Crowded with kitsch and draped in velvet, this is a fantastic place to while away the hours with friends or even on your own. On my last visit I went there for drinks… the beer prices are a bit steep but I was so happy and comfortable reclining on a plush warm couch during a particularly rainy and chilly night that I didn’t care. Excellent venue for girly catch ups, day or night.

The prices are steep, the food is OK and the drinks are mediocre. But if you’re thinking about giving this place a miss then think again! The décor, the people and the vibe are all epic.
This is a Cypriot bar that oozes creativity. When you enter you feel like you’ve gone back in time and you’ve landed in the age of Marion Antoinette. There are random trinkets placed everywhere. The whole area is welcoming and friendly.
But I implore you to go upstairs. There is nowhere more bohemian in London!

This place is astounding. Such crazy kitsch décor with plenty of tassels and tea cups. Great cakes and Turkish coffee that will knock your socks off. This is a great place to take your friends or colleagues for intimate meetings or catchups and is nice and quiet in the earlier part of the day.

Upstairs is eclectic, pink and stuffed full of gold framed mirrors and pictures, chandeliers and ornate arm chairs.
Downstairs is a sleek, small bar with the coolest coffee machine and till I have ever seen!
The service was friendly, the prices a little steep, the bottled beer was standard (self service from a fridge) so the only reason to go here is that the décor is just so cool! My advice would be to go for one drink and then move on to one of the other brilliant bars in the area.

We’ve been going past this place forever on buses to central, have gone on about how cute it looks and how we have to go in, but have only just set foot through the door. More fool me, I love The Bridge. And I love the old school looking robot-​like gold and silver twin coffee machines more.
The décor is pretty manly downstairs, all dark wood with old school posters and sporting memorabilia downstairs; but venture upstairs and you find jewel coloured armchairs and drapes.
Coffees were good and the pastries and muffins were pretty, but I really want to come back and make the most of the alcohol licence, get myself tipsy and pretend I’m Alice in Wonderland and make myself at home upstairs.

Was introduced to this place by a local. The front area is a dark, cool, very narrow bar. but upstairs is the place to chill really.
Ordered cappuccinos and sat upstairs in madam’s boudoir. Cloth draped ceilings, vintage plush furniture, you just want to sprawl about and gossip all day.
I would love to return on a rainy day to just sit and sip and watch the world go by in their tiny window.
You order downstairs and bring it up with you but the waitress was nice later and took our orders once we were up there. Might have been lucky because it was her first day and she might have been trying to impress. :)

Judging by the reviews, this place seems to be the coffee house equivalent of Marmite: you either love it or you hate it!
I’m in the former school of thought. I loved the quirky, vintage décor of the bar once I walked in, but the upstairs seating area just blew me away. It’s so crazy, it’s wonderful. The staff were really nice and friendly as well, and checked on me several times even though I chose to sit upstairs, right by the front window (i.e. the furthest from the staircase).
The coffee and cake I had, however, weren’t fantastic. I had the server’s favaourite — a strawberry tart — and for the price, expected something far better than what I got, but I figure they’ve got to pay for the antiques somehow. I mean, the décor can’t be cheap.
That being said, I do like the place. Like the previous reviewer meneer said, it’s very Shoreditch, but I mean that as the highest of compliments. It’s quirky, it’s got character, it’s memorable and it’s relaxing. Just don’t come in here if you’re on your last few pennies!

I’m so happy, I’m so so so so so happy that it’s kind of makes my little pessimistic body shake with excitement.
I walked past this place about a week ago and it had only been open a few days. It’s was pouring down with rain and I peered though it’s wonderful windows at the warm glow coming off the copper coffee pots. I begged and begged to go in but my partner in crime at the time dragged me on to the bus and I stared back at the orange lights as they faded into the distance. This time however I was alone and missed two buses just standing in the rain peering in. It looked so wonderful that I didn’t want to go in and soil it by the place being bad.
I can’t tell you the relief I felt when I had my first sip of my fabulous mellow, deep, smooth, rich… coffee. I don’t know if I told you but this place isn’t a bar, it’s a coffee house, a proper old skool hang out where you can chill out, relax and read a book, pen a novel or even just stare out the window and pass the time people watching. I can’t even describe the décor, it was a cross between an old pub and someones sitting room. I’ll upload some photos so you can see what I mean.
I think their beans are Brazilian, and they are tasty too so you should come her and drink coffee. As I said this is a coffee house and unlike many others I have been too, this one is of a particular style yet it’s not trying. It’s just great, and it’s doesn’t need to try hard at all. They do have a selection of cakey cakes and sarnies but… I didn’t try those, damn it, I’ll have to come back.