Ridley Road Market Bar

Bar · Dalston

Ridley Road Market Bar

Bar · Dalston

49 Ridley Rd, London E8 2NP, United Kingdom

Highlights

Step into this shabby-chic café and buzzing bar, where tropical decor and vibrant disco balls create the perfect backdrop for unforgettable nights out.

49 Ridley Rd, London E8 2NP, United Kingdom Get directions

ridleyroadmarketbar.com

@ridleyroadmb

£10–20 · Menu

Reserve

@infatuation

"Your first clue that this Dalston bar is a certified good time is the presence of not one, but two disco balls. Your second clue is the 6-9pm Happy Hour. And the boozy slushie machines behind the bar. And the chequered dance floor. The DJ nights here range from ‘90s pop to disco funk to their signature soul shindigs, and the ginger mojitos will sustain many ill-advised moonwalks. If you’re more of a, erm, sedentary reveller, there are huge ‘70s-style booths for a proper (sit-down) party. " - rianne shlebak, jake missing, sinead cranna, daisy meager, heidi lauth beasley

Where To Go When You Want To Dance But Hate Clubs

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@infatuation

"£10 for any two drinks from 6pm to 9pm, Tuesday to Friday This bar in the middle of Dalston’s Ridley Road is one string of fairy lights away from bringing down the electricity board. The vibe can loosely be described as ‘70s disco meets tropical, hanging foliage. Work on your voguing beneath a twirling disco ball, or grab a seat on the terrace for a holiday atmosphere courtesy of some oddly aggressive seagulls. All drinks are included in the Happy Hour deal, but the passion fruit frozen daiquiri is our pick of the bunch. " - heidi lauth beasley, sinead cranna

The 9 Best Happy Hours In London

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@infatuation

"We are powerless in the face of a disco ball—any time, anywhere, any chance to feel spiritually connected to Nile Rodgers. Ridley Road Market Bar is home to not one, but two disco balls, as well as a chequered dance floor and one of London’s best Happy Hours. The two cocktails for a tenner deal runs from 6-9pm, Tuesday to Friday and although the ginger mojito is the classic move here, we’ve got a real soft spot for the passion fruit daiquiri slushie. Out front, there’s a charming terrace situation soundtracked by Dalston’s most passionate seagulls, which only adds to the feeling that you’re on a package holiday. It’s all a bit naff—but we mean that in the most loving, sticky floors, blow-up parrot kind of way. Plus, it’s open well past midnight Tuesday to Saturday, so it’s ideal for ‘one last drink’." - Heidi Lauth Beasley

Ridley Road Market Bar Review - Dalston - London - The Infatuation

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Bruce Brendon

Google

In my Top 10 for sure!! It's about good times on the dance floor, letting your hair down, holiday/house party kinda vibes – and open late. Worth checking their IG for what's on when, as it does cater for a wide variety of genres on rotation including Dance, Disco, DNB, Euro-pop, Garage, Rockabilly, Soul and Live performances… Recommend drink: Gin & Blood Orange Real nights for all people. Independent. Love it.

Giulia F

Google

This place didnt meet our expectations. - the DJ was soooooooo depressed, music boring - toilet was cool but no privacy + overcrowded - dirty place (a girl spilled her drink on the dance flore and no one even tried to clean it) - AND DONT EVEN LET ME START TALKING ABOUT THE DRINKS, there was NO ALCOHOL and too much ice (probably the bar man tried to fool us considering we were charged 9£ basically for a soft drink). - the one star goes to the security guard who accept us and, even though water wasnt alloweded in, he saved jt so that we could get it back (Even his good work got ruined because when we came out we only found 2 bottles out of 4) WE HAD HIGH STANDARDS, but this was totally not what we expected by a night out in London We left a bit earlier so we don't know if after that the place got better, but for what we've seen it wasn't good. Definitely not recommend to anyone. At least they can dance well.

Harvey Duncan

Google

Really good spot for a late night drink, very busy and stays open late - had a great time here. The bar staff stored our bags behind the bar which was a handy touch. Very trendy crowd throughout. Only negative I would say is that the toilet situation is quite poor, it’s shared facilities and there are no urinals here, bouncer on the toilet door making sure that no men push through.

S Begum

Google

Fun on Friday nights. Can get v busy and music can be mixed but overral I’ve always had good evenings here. Staff are friendly

Aron LW

Google

Good vibes going on here with mainly 20s-40s age group. Beers and cocktails, great Mojitos 😉! It gets packed on the weekends, so if you don't mind major shoulder rubbing, you will love it here. Only bad point I'd say is the location of the toilets, you have to squeeze your way through the busy dance floor everytime. Good points - No entrance fee, smoking area outside

The Mysterious One

Google

So whilst bar hopping around the local area, it came time to check this bar out. Not my usual type of venue (very run down and small) but it was one of them lets try everywhere type of nights. Firstly the drinks were very horrible, couldnt taste any alcohol in them what so ever! (Yuck) secondly the female "DJ" was not a DJ she played EVERY song from the start to the end WOW hahahahaha! She wouldnt know mixing if she was a dilute drink, terrible! And came across a VERY rude gothic manager or whoever she was, who had no manners and didnt know how to talk to customers. I think she thought her venue was based in Mayfair or something. AVOID AT ALL COST! Never again.

Imran Pardhan

Google

Virgin drinks £16 - lit looool. Don’t come here before mid

Mungo Elms

Google

This place was recommended by a few friends so I was excited to go, but was very disappointed to find it extremely overcrowded. The dance floor was so packed everyone was forced to constantly jostle for space. The DJs were also really bad at mixing. This was a shame as they played a lot of bangers but they were a bit spoilt a horrible sound clash at the start of each song

Kenneth M.

Yelp

What a bonkers venue. You feel as if you're the only socialisers in the city, seeing as the market stalls are all around the outside and it's the only establishment with any life in it, seemingly for miles. Really good party atmosphere, even if on the night we were in the tunes were nothing special. It's surely far more sedate during the day but at night it made for a great port of call.

Dennis M.

Yelp

Ok.... kind of LOVE this place!! Perhaps there is something about a DJ wearing pajamas playing old 70s mixed jams while sitting at a picnic table munching on Slice Girls pizza and sipping on cheap (and strong) ginger mojitos. I'm not sure how to make this a more winning combination!! We got there around 8pm and it was perfectly NOT busy yet! I heard this place gets really crowded with some crazy dancers, which I will partake in at a later date. But for this particular visit after navigating through the sea-smelly fish market, I was happy to have discovered this place!!

Jasper C.

Yelp

This place is strange and interesting and cool. Drinks are cheap, they had what looked like tasty and exciting food on a grill outside, and the clientele was some sort of pan-countercultural shitshow. The general aesthetic is that of a tropically themed quinceanera in a cafeteria. The DJ's were playing early 2000's mainstream hip hop and the response was positive, though I couldn't tell who was trying to be ironic and who wasn't. I dug it anyway. The place is low-key and pretty small and everybody there seemed pretty friendly and some form of proudly not-normal. I think it is the kind of place where you could end up in a triad relationship between a crossdresser and a retro cowboy. I do mean that in a good way.

Tori U.

Yelp

Okay, yea, no. I don't mind hipsters and normally I can't even identify them so they have to be pointed out to me. However, here, you become completely inoculated to them as they fill this place to the brim with their ironic 'I-don't-want-to-dance-but-I-do' moves and their 'unimpressed-with-everything-but-naturally-more-discerning-than-you' looks. I realize that is extremely grumpy of me. I actually got friendly with a group towards the end, making up slightly for my initial sour mood. I think the main problem was that it was too crowded and everyone was really young. I was with my group of 22/23 year old friends and we looked like the oldest people there which was depressing in several ways. The decor has clearly had a concussion and has forgotten whether it is a disco a tropical party or a retro-diner. There is a disco ball overhanding a checkered tile floor with neon mini-sofas and a Hawaiian luau entrance/front. I think they are going for an 80's dingy-chic look but it's not my scene. It might be night out gold for someone else though, I suppose. The beverages were wine, Red Stripe, or 3 standard cocktails from a pitcher, I believe. The music was like late 90s/early '00s and it was loud and all came from the back of the place. There was no place to sit, even at the cafeteria style area in the front. Also, the dance floor was too small for a club and out of place for a bar. The saving graces? There is food outside which looked good. And the license keeps it open late so if you really need a drink in Dalston past 11ish, you might buy something. Maybe.

Siobhan K.

Yelp

This is a relatively new bar/events space opened in Dalston. They serve cans of Red stripe, some cocktails & wine. Food can be purchased from the different stall owners outside the bar and can be eaten inside. They have a late licence too with different DJ's playing.

Sophie L.

Yelp

Sure the queue is long, the crowd is sort of painful, and the Red Stripes go for £4 a pop, but I bloody love Market Bar. The place looks like a 90s temporary classroom with a touch of what is best described as 'disco tropicana' thrown in for good measure. When the music is good, it's oh so good - think classics like Ja Rule and Ashanti (I think they're being ironic here, I'm really not) - other times its obscure jazz et al but the dance floor is always sweaty. Even better are the pina coladas that use REAL pineapple, albeit a negligible alcohol content. My only complaint is the wait time to get in and the somewhat overzealous doormen.

Will O.

Yelp

You know Club Tropicana, by Wham! ? Yes, of course you do. Well, Ridley Road Market Bar is pretty much the real world incarnation of this song, except the drinks aren't free, and there are less people wearing swimwear. It's kind of 80s, slightly camp when it comes to atmosphere and clientele, and definitely tropical in terms of decor. And Club Tropicana is exactly the kind of track you can expect to hear there. Music emanates from the back of the room, which has the feel of a privately hired disco, complete with standing PA speakers and a dancefloor that people seemed a bit scared to venture onto until they had had a lot to drink. Funky retro music playing, late twenties-early thirties alternative young professionals nattering, and mojitos being sipped. Outside there are bbqs serving up a variety of food, which I can't comment on. Drinks are quite cheap. If you consider yourself anywhere from moderately- to very-'Dalston' you will probably like this place.

Kate J.

Yelp

This place is in the most random location & feels like somebody did up a shack to be a beach bar. Often they play afro-beat or reggae (except on weekend nights when they start playing boring mainstream stuff). Even so it's fun to dance & the crowd is always up for a boogie. Drinks are cheap and fun. I've been here on a Saturday and there was no queue outside, easy to get drinks, & easy to move around even though it was crowded. I love it because it's unexpected and fun.

Qype User (reusei…)

Yelp

I had a lovely coffee in the friendly market bar where I ate my delicious meatball sandwich. Very friendly owner, Luca, created an amazing sandwich on ciabatta, with smoked mozarella and three different sauces. You can choose polenta instead and there is also a choice of vegetarian meatballs. Very good value.

Jenny W.

Yelp

Love this place and apparently everyone else has learned about it because it has become PACKED on a Friday night compared to when I first came here. The meatballs out in front are cheap and perfect food to start your drinking adventures with. Their cocktails looks great, but we stuck with a bottle of wine when we were there and it was perfect with the meatballs. Music is great, atmosphere very friendly. Could easily spent a long night here.

Kay J.

Yelp

Been a couple of times now and had a really good time. Good atmosphere. Fabulous and friendly staff, generally a good crowd. Cheap cans and tequila shots. All round good fun. Only knocked a star off because the music isn't always the absolute best, but it suppose that's just personal preference anyway. Oh, and also the lack of cloakroom?