Slim Jim’s Liquor Store

This is one of my favourite places to go out at the weekend.
Having looked for an American-​style dive bar to rival the ones we have in Dublin, I finally came across this place late at night after our pub had closed.
It looks the part – neon signs, band posters and donated bras hanging from the ceiling. There’s a steady stream of rock n’ roll usually played by a scary-​looking but friendly and accommodating DJ.
The drinks are pricey-​ish, but their cocktails are tasty and the bar staff know what they’re doing. They are always on form and are friendly and quick.
I haven’t had a pizza from Slim Jim’s but I hear they’re pretty good, especially when you’ve had a few.
Great spot, great atmosphere. I always have a good night when I go here.

I really wound up loving this place and I miss it dearly now that I’m back in the states. We came here with a rather large group twice, which is completely overwhelming to most of the pubs around here (I was with a bunch of college kids, 30 to be exact) and this place made us all feel really welcome the first time we walked in.
To start, they have two for the price of one cocktails during the week, which is awesome, namely, I loved the parma violence, and of course the picklebacks, which I thought would be vile. The ceiling is all decked out with bras and the bartenders are all really amazing.
I will say I came here twice, and I got turned away because a girl we were with had open toe shoes on and they said she wasn’t allowed in. I’m pretty sure she wore the same shoes the first time we came, but owell. Its a fun bar. Don’t expect it to be super fancy, its a good place to come with your mates and get piss drunk though if you’re in the area!

There’s something hiding behind this small, discreet, almost politely reserved exterior on Upper St. Ironically, it’s an unashamedly loud late night dive bar with bags of character. It’s just as great to start off your night with its 241 cocktails and cheap beer from 4−8pm each day to ending it singing along (badly) to the cool jukebox filled with timeless classics or live bands playing!
It also has hundreds of bras hanging from ceiling! How very rock and roll. There are not many Americana bars like this in London. We got a Whole Lotta Love for Slim Jims. It’s a small dive bar with lots of character. Has hundreds of bras hanging from ceiling for a start! Like it a lot. Would like more places like this in London to be honest.

Solid dive bar open late. Would probably never come here while there were other options open in the area, but happy to visit to keep the party going after those joints have closed. The forest of old bras on the ceiling is pretty creepy though. Have only ordered beer so can’t speak to strength of the mixed drinks.

If sticky floors and hair metal are your thing, give Slim Jim’s a visit. This place has a great atmosphere and opens until 3am. The only downside is it’s quite tight and often gets quite crowded and hard to get a drink. The staff and bouncers are really friendly too. It’s essentially a dive bar, but a fun one at that.

When I stepped into Slim Jim’s, I was really excited to have discovered a proper small –town US style dive bar. But the actual experience has fallen short.
The atmosphere of the bar is really chill — walls pasted with rock posters, cushioned booths, dim lights, and just the right amount of background rock music. And bras, hundreds of bras everywhere leaving the stories behind each of them for your imagination.
But what’s the point of a fun interior if the drinks aren’t worth coming in for. For me, the point of dive bars like this is mainly the drinks — I wanted no fanciness, no fuss, just a glass of something simple and strong after a long day. The basic cocktails we ordered however tasted more like stale coke in which you couldn’t recognize any alcohol (even in the Long Island Ice Tea). We didn’t leave this happy hour merry at all.
Despite it being Friday night, the bar was practically empty. I’d be willing to give this place a chance once more later at night if it gets busier and more fun, but overly it left me disappointed.

I’d like to give this place a review, but I was allegedly wearing ‘a suit’ (of which they have a very liberal definition) and was thus unable to gain entry.

This is pretty much a plastic dive bar.
Atmosphere is a strange one and I’m never sure what to get from this place. I’ve never heard a bad song played by the various DJs but crowd-​wise it’s hit and miss.
Also management could do a lot more to improve the place but think there are too busy thinking up more pretentious ideas to make money from punters. They have tried to give off a ‘we don’t give a f*ck’ attitude but fail.
This isn’t the greatest place on Upper Street, but if you want to stay out past 1pm and still drink it’s a possibility.

To be honest, I don’t know. They wouldn’t let me nor my friends in. Argument was we were too many. So 7 people acting pretty decent (according to the bartender at Barrio North), were not let in. We were too many. The 3 drunk out of their minds after us in the queue were let in.
I guess it is all about numbers. If you are 4 or less, go for it. If not? Gå
Somewhere else.

Pretty sure the dangling bras pose a fire hazard.
And mind your step, it’s dark as hell in there.
Imagine the Coyote Ugly but seedier, with a 70’s biker bar vibe whose owner might be a vampire. That’s Slim Jim.

Grimy American style bar with loud music, small booths, great spirits selection (and cocktail menu) plus many bras hanging from the ceiling. The very functional skin coloured variety, too. I loved the atmosphere in here, I’ve not been to America but I like to think it’s a convincing American style grimy dive bar. I was pretty impressed with the pizza guy at the front, although we didn’t actually try any.
They had Angostura rum (1919 and the other one. 1849?) which was great, as that’s my current favourite. A seriously good selection though. Staff look a bit like they could do with some sleep, and maybe a shower, and I wasn’t sure how good the cocktail making would be, but I’m reliably informed that they are pretty good, and actually the ones I saw being served were good.
Don’t come if you want a chat though. Or a seat… But you don’t need a seat, or a chat. it’s all good as it is.
Maybe staff could be less forward (ok, one guy). Maybe some people like that. I don’t. But still, I’d come again.

Fun time in formulaic bar.
Feels like any old bar in any large city in USA. Supposed to be «dive» bar, but is just a dark, fun, high energy place. Cocktails were good, pizza smelled amazing! and good song options on juke box… plenty of 60s American soul + Ramones.
Don’t half step. Come here if you want to have fun, listen to great music and get wasted!

A great place for great American cocktails.
I’ve been going to Slim Jim’s for awhile now.
You walk in the door, and you’re automatically transported to a NYC outskirts bar. It’s brilliant. And the people there also look the part.
It’s always crowded, so if you want to have a decent conversation, don’t go. The music is pumping, though there’s nowhere to dance.
The cocktails are extremely well mixed and the staff are freely and fast.
This is not a good place for a party or to meet and chat with friends.
It’s a great place to have great drinks, small chat and meet new people.

200 bras stuck to the ceiling, the dirty grimy feel of those late night American bars you see on movies, hard and alternative rock music, and very dim lighting. It’s a great bar!
Seriously, it feels like you’re walking into a film set! It’s a great bar in a really nice area, and they have bouncers that check whether you’re wearing a shirt and tie. If you are, you’re not allowed in! The same thing goes for tracksuits and trainers. This is a no business, no chav bar.

Somebody asked Gordon Gekko to design a «dive bar»! This is to genuine dive bars what O’Neills are to Irish bars. There are lots of creepy things about this place (not least the clientele, overgrown students in North Face fleeces) but particular mention must be made of the bras hanging from the ceiling, which have been arranged with a horrible and deliberate precision. Very disapointing because the nice neon side outside suggests fun times.

I know I could have/​should have liked this bar a lot more than I did, but we went on a saturday night for a friend’s birthday and it was just unbelievably packed, where we were all just being constantly pushed and getting irritated. I’ve never been so intimate with so many strangers in such a short space of time! It’s probably the shape of the bar, being quite long and narrow, so people were pushing past us all the time. It did look like a cool bar and obviously it is as it was so busy. The toilets were pretty disgusting though!
For the moment I’ll have to give it two stars, but when I’m in London again I might check it out just to see if I can up the stars.

The powers that be at Unilocal may take this review down, but…
Once upon a time, there was someone who wasnt allowed into a bar, possibly because he wasn’t «smart looking» enough, or was wearing trainers, or maybe hadnt shaved. Aforementioned person then set up a bar with a dress code of ‘nothing which makes it look like you have a job’.
Like, whaaat?!
I and a friend got turned away from here for wearing trousers. At first I thought they were joking, to which I did reply I could take them off’, but no we then got sent back out into the pouring rain. Inferiority complex much?

As a Los Angeleno living in London for the past 9 months I have REALLY missed dive bars. I did a google search and came across Slim Jims which was exactly what I was looking for.
I came by on a saturday night and was pleasently surpirsed to see all of the findings of a standard dive bar in LA: dark lighting, stools at the bar, juke box, a chill bartender and a cheap stiff drink.
It reminded me a lot of Gasser Lounge in Redondo Beach, California. I am planning to go to Slim Jims on my birthday at the end of August because it made me feel so at home! I really wish I lived closer so that I could become a regular.
I recommend this place for anyone who is looking for a true american dive bar and please DO NOT go with a group on poncey Brits or colleagues dressed in suits…
(A couple suggestions if the management is reading this!: I would love to see Pabst Blue Ribbon, Fireball cinnamon whiskey, Bud Light and Bacardi Limon at Slim Jims — not even sure if you can get those from supplier in the UK though… bleh).

I am one of them people who, sometimes, have to challenge authorities or revolt against what I find ridiculous! This is the main reason why I visited slim Jim’s Liquor Store as they do happen to have a questionable dress code; basically excluding anyone dressed properly for an office job! What I found, not being denied entry despite of my apparel, was a true Islington unpolished and rough gem.
On a Saturday early evening and in spite of the regulations I walked into Slim Jim dressed in dark chino trousers and especially for this occasion buttoned up shirt under a v-​neck pullover. Sadly and also gladly I was not stopped nor stared at! Sadly because I wanted to hear their arguments and gladly as I came to find out this small American style dark & dirty dive bar with hanging bras, neon lights and loud rock and roll atmosphere happen to serve mean whiskey cocktails with reasonable price tags.
All is forgiven but not forgotten; forgiven till the next time I visit London perhaps looking less of a tourist not receiving special treatment hence being denied entry, not forgotten cause of the kick ass unrushed rules and regulations obeying Sour, Old Fashion and Sazerac cocktails made with care and attention to details!

When I left America, there were a few things I knew I was giving up — first-​run movies, great customer service, cornbread (actually that one I didn’t know, but it’s true), and above all, dive bars.
Turns out I was wrong on that last one!
The dive bar is one of my all-​time favourite things. For those unaware, a dive bar is a few different things, but mostly: dark, dirty-​feeling, it’s got old booths and bar stools, possibly some crappy arcade games in the back, definitely some loud terrible music playing and cheap drinks at the counter.
Slim Jim’s has all of this and more. Oh my foes it ever.
I walked in and felt at home. It was grimy poorly lit, there was neon on the walls and bras hanging from the ceiling. The bartender was friendly enough (that perfect mix of quick acting but semi-​sarcastic about the position he held) and the drinks were indeed cheap.
I came mid-​week so it was empty but I could see this place being crazy come weekend. Whenever I am missing a bit of the old mother county, I know just where to go to pour out my sorrows.