Roadtrip and Workshop, 243 Old Street, London EC1V 9EY

Created by Irishmen, Inspired by Americans & Born in London, Roadtrip is a safe haven from beards in Shoreditch. Impressively open till 5am, Roadtrip and Workshop is located a beer pong away from the Old Street underground. As I walk towards the bar I noticed, the exterior looks like a Majorca holiday bar but I found that inside it was very different.

The design and decoration is everything I want my home to look like. Funky lights, quirky paintings and plush couches.  The bar was lit up like Blackpool illuminations, complimenting the variety and range of alcohol on offer. It wouldn’t be hard to find a drink  that you loved in this treasure trove of spirits. A Pina Colada was on special which came with a free pair of tacky white Malibu sunglasses. But who cares, they were free!

I wasn’t sure whether the current showing of football was to blame for the lack of a fish taco because all that surrounded my friend and I, were packs of lads. I certainly didn’t mind that none of them were sporting an 80’s muff on their chin like the rest of the Shoreditch men.

There was definitely a whiff of hipster about the place possibly due to the location but it certainly didn’t reak of pretentious delusion. The bar staff were friendly and happy to recommend you a drink if you had gotten lost among the crowd of bottles.

‘Sids & Nancys’ were used as replacements for the bog-standard toilet genders, which seemed to cement the rock and roll element of the bar. I headed downstairs to see where the magic happens. Located in the basement is the gig venue, an intimate area called the Workshop. Workshop hosts a variety of performances from bands and DJs. It’s a small and very sweet addition to Roadtrip which gets a big thumbs up from The Carouser.

The music was mainly of the rock genre as I flicked through the Jukebox tracks. Mainly Indie and classic rock which can never go wrong in a bar full of indie kids, mods and rockers. But it was to my dismay that I glanced over at the bar to see that they served Carling cider on draught. A tasteless stale attempt at cider but I decided to let it go when I saw the cocktail menu. They served a creamy White Russian, a drink that I usually only reserve for hangover days. It tastes like a milkshake and you can barely taste the sting of the vodka. The food menu wasn’t too shabby either with an array of man food that were given symbolic names like ‘The Huge Pole’ and ‘The Big Dog’. I imagine the dishes to be big slabs of meat, and from the description, they most probably are. Perfect…

This bar was conjured up by Irish men, as most dive bars in London are, but inspired by America as the website states. The bar was far from a Hell’s Angel’s hangout but it sure was cool.