Favela Chic

Saw the exterior and wandered in on a Friday night, around about 11pm, the air was think with vibrant brasilian hip hop, the crowd was heaving and smiling, swaying and head bobbing to a DJ whose talent was beyond anything I've experienced for a long time (and being an ex-dj I am REALLY critical!!) The staff were excellent the decor was brilliant, didn't have the food but have been back again and again to hear that fabulous music and experience a wonderfully unique atmosphere, which was friendly and warm just like a nice cup of chilli-spiced hot chocolate!! A MUST for any one who has a love of brasil, hiphop or just a brilliant crowd!

terrific place! Some friends of mine bring me there and it was a good surprice. I listened to a cool band...anyway the neighborhood is excellent as well

came to this venue when swap-a-rama was going on.the entry fee is cheap and the bouncers were nice and not like those asshole ones who think they are high and mighty. the decor had a very shabby bohemian chic feel to it.had the odd religious symbols or two.it was quite tiny though and was packed out by the end of the night.the drinks are very affordable and abit surprising esp for the area!it lives up to its name i reckon :):) and a delight and gem..

Bar decor is great and the food is not bad. There is no draft beer and the cheapest bottle was £3.50. Music was very good too and also not turned up so loud that there is distortion and no-one can speak without shouting. Bravo DJ!

The problem lies with the security staff who are rude even by London standards. Had to leave early as as security would not let in two couples in our party because the blokes were standing together and the girls behind them and that was deemed unacceptable by security...

Not worth the bother.

I went to Favela Chic for a friend’s birthday and I was left with mixed feelings. The crowd was friendly, the music was interesting and the food was good (although I suspect I would have liked it a lot more if I had chosen the steak instead of the chicken).

However, it was too crowded and too hot.

For a fun night out in London I love this place. Despite the dubious name and concept (it is slightly icky having a cool London nightclub called Favela chic when there would be nothing particularly chic about actually living in a favela) it is still a great place. The DJ’s are fantastic and if you want to avoid the door queue book in for dinner beforehand. By the end of the night the place will be rammed and the staff will all be dancing on the bar.

upon arriving at Favela Chic I had high expectations which were unfortunately not met. What I was met with was extremely rude and moody door staff who i think believed they were working at a red carpet event rather than an average eatery in Great Eastern Street.

After establishing that I was a member of the party already inside and that I was simply trying to get in i sat down and the food was decidedly average. My friend had the black bean casoulet and was extremely disappointed ( in his words it was minging!)

The drinks menu again left much to be desired with the choice of beers being between two portuguese bottled beers and that was it.

The interior of this established is quirkily kitted out and does look cool but you do kinda feel like you are just huddled in as there is no seating available unless you are eating at one of their very strict eating times of 7.30 or 9.30.

I say strict as you will be told to get up and leave the table if you arent finished by a certain time.

All in all very disappointing. There are far better bars and restaurants in this area without such rude door staff or maitre d’s.

We had a disturbingly similar experience to the last reviewer on Saturday night at Favela Chic.

We were meeting friends before 8pm and as it was just me and my boyfriend we got in with out any problems, but were told it would get increasingly busy after 9pm and to make sure we put our belongings in the cloakroom. Far enough we thought and in we went and ordered drinks ready to wait for our pals. 10mins later and we got a call from our friend at the door who said they wouldn't allow the group in (8 people) as they already had people with reservations and were giving priority to them in the bar as well as restaurant. The door men seemed to have taken a dislike to our lovely (and very likable!) friends and said the only way they'd be able to come in to meet us was to wait until after 9pm and then pay to get in!!

This seems to be a standard con with this bar and after reading the last review, I'm assured we aren't the only ones this has happened to and I'm sure (unfortunately) won't be the last.

We finished up our drinks and left as soon as we could see there was no way our friends were being allowed in and made our way to the much friendlier, welcoming and generally funkier - The Hoxton Pony just down on Curtain Road - http://www.thehoxtonpony.com/

They welcomed us straight in, we didn't have to pay and had attentive and friendly table service - Favela Chic, you could learn a thing or two from your neighbours!

PLEASE don't waste your time ro money at Favela Chic. This area of East London has a great choice of fantastic places to party, but unfortunately Favela Chic isn't one of them.

Awful, Awful experience…Our friends made a dinner reservation and we were joining them for the party afterwards. As advertised on the website we arrived before 9 pm in order to go in for free. We were at the door at 8.20 and the place was empty, except for people dining. Regardless we were made to stand in line. Our friends spoke to the people at the door and they said we could come in. So, we left the line and went to the door, where the EXTREMELY RUDE manager told us to wait 2 minutes, then the bouncer pushed us back to the line. 10 minutes later the manager came back out and told us to leave the line a second time and stand by the door, so we did; the bouncer asked us to go back to the line for a second time. At this point, 40 minutes had passed from the time we had arrived (waiting in the cold and rain) and it was now 9 pm. So at 9 pm they opened the door and proceeded to charge people 10 pounds to get in!!!! I felt robbed, I guess that’s the Favela experience they were going for….you can’t expect to be treated better in a place that names itself after one of the most dangerous places in the world. I will never go back nor recommend it to friends.

I’ve only ever been as a clubber, and the tunes are great, as is the vibe - a few posers, but most people just going mental to the latino music. A bit annoying, as always, that it’s a bottle bar with no draught but it does do good cocktails. Love the way the DJ is up in the sky aswell.

The Brazilian themed bar can be a little pricey if you’re on a budget, and it’s a hefty sum to secure yourself a table to eat, but if you do make the effort then it’s well worth it.

The decor firstly is fantastic, typically Latin/Brazilian/South American in feel, they’ve really gone all out. The food is incredible (try the steak), and you can sample all kinds of Brazilian food.

You’ll find mostly city types here, but it’s all fun and you’ll find no one is left off the dancefloor. The music represents the theme of the bar - playing funk, hip hop, and generally great beats.

Make sure you get there early as it gets very busy!

The place is brilliant… Let me describe the venue first. It is a massive room with bright coloured cushions hanging from the ceiling along with other random things such as hulahoops and others… The walls are either covered in beautiful oriental fabric or large panels of wood. And all of that work very well together. The bar is huge, very long and has a range of fabulous cocktails (even the non alcoholic ones are amazing and taste almost better than the boozy ones).
When you cone here for dinner, there are tables all around the dancefloor which are puched later against the walls when it comes to dancing.
On saturday night, the music was rather oldschool, from the fifties to early nineties and it was brilliant!
Get there early (before 9) and secure yourself a space as it gets quite crowded.

Had such a good night here when I went to try it out for the first time last week. Queuing was a nightmare because we were standing in the the freeeeezing cold for 2 hours when the bouncer told us it would be thirty mins, but the cool tunes, tasty cocktails and great atmosphere made it totally worth it.

I have only eaten here once last week, but found the decor was stunning and the service friendly. I like the way it converts itself from a restaurant to a buzzing club atmosphere, however get there early as it gets packed. It has a wide range of cocktails, try the coconut one, very tasty! The food was pricey but I did find the starters better than the mains. I had the 'hand of god' as they call it, which is a sirloin steak but I suggest you ask for it rare as many on our table came out very well done, when we'd asked for medium rare. However all in all, I enjoyed the food, was not left hungry and would go again.

The second I stepped in, I was in love with the decoration theme; high ceiling, weird stuff hanging around, colourful, lighting, huge mirrors and a spacious dance floor. It's a fab place to party and it comes up with interesting concepts every now and then. Music is various, let's say it offers you all kind of tunes to touch your funky heart.

One thing that put me off a bit - they ran out of beer and some drinks on weekend. Not a very bad experience to speak the truth but I didn't expect it to happen in a great bar in central London.

Would love to visit it again.

The Favela Chic London is a great place to go out and enjoy with your friends. The space is quite large but can get quite full with an array of great party music all night playing a lot of funk / samba / rock / soul, pretty much everything.
Drinks are good as well (i often got some attitude from the barstaff but then again that's Shoreditch). Mojitos and caipirinhas are the favorites...
Try it out on a Friday night, keep your eyes peelled for the 'hang your clothes night' where everyone is allowed to bring in one item of clothing and take one away with them in a themed filled party.
Right on the corner of Great Eastern Street and Old Street.

Favela Chic is a cool brazillian bar hosting a whole array of weird and wonderful nights, from rap karaoke to 'Razzmatazz' a clothes swapping night involving drinking! There are talent nights hosting short films, poetry, dancers, singers and DJ's.

Always truly a fun night out and with the added bonus of delicious cocktails.