A central London, venue; place of spicy food, loud music and beer-brawls. Also the a proposed location of September's E2 meetup and the nearest bar to my office (which is directly above it).
Where is it?
Half way up Brick Lane. If you are looking at curry-houses then you are too far south. If you are looking at fashion boutiques, jewellers or budget bakeries then you are too far north. If you are looking at a bizarre office building called "The Truman Brewery" with a large cobbled stone courtyard and a wrought iron fence then you have found it. The nearest tube stations are Aldgate East and Liverpool Street
What is it like?
By day, a place for coffee and soft-drinks. It supports the office buildings and arts centres that surround it and acts as an informal meeting place for the smart but casual crowd who abound. By night, it's a raucous drinking den. In the summer months, the Vibe Bar kitchen staff set up a charcoal grill in the courtyard and cook chicken and lamb kebabs for the pleasure of drinkers.
Incidentally, the site is called the "Black Eagle" brewery, once run by a a brewing firm called "Truman" - in the 1940s they were the area's foremost employer bringing a great deal of wealth and secondary industry into the area. When the brewery closed the whole Shoreditch area became run down. In the 80's the entire area was considered to be a very rough place - home only to the poorest immigrants.
Today, Brick Lane and its curry houses, boutiques and bars is considered to be one of the coolest spots in London. The Vibe bar is one of the biggest bars on Brick Lane, however if you are in that area looking for a night out, you might also consider 93 Feet East - which is just opposite.
How to get in free on a paid-for night:
Since the vibe-bar shares it's entrance with a large office building that has 24 hour access, all you need to do is say that you work for one of the companies in the building. An easy way to find the name of one of the companies is to do a Google search for "The Old Truman Brewery" - It's not a very nice office building, so companies tend to come and go rather quickly. The bouncers will only know the names of the few biggest companies.
Advantages:
Great location; you can easily get there from the Central line, District line, Circle line, Metropolitan and Hammersmith tube lines.
Atmosphere: It's in a very cool part of town.
Cheap food: Plenty of affordable restraunts.
Disadvantages:
Things tend to get very rowdy after 11pm.