troybar

I guess I should have read the other reviews more carefully. I don’t know if the drinks are any good or if the music is — I didn’t stay long enough to find out, but their bouncer is extremely rude and nasty; I’m not coming back to find out anything else. Being a rather petite girl, it is quite unpleasant to be shouted at by a dude three times your size when you’re super-​polite and a potential client. Avoid if you like other people to be polite to you.
I came here on a Tuesday for the live music, around 9pm. I was told by the person at the door that the entry’s 5 pounds. Fine, I paid and came in. After speaking to people for a few minutes, I realized the music wouldn’t start till 10.30pm. I couldn’t stay that late, so I headed back to the door — and asked very politely whether I could have the money back since I’m not staying for the event and was there for the whole time of 5 minutes or less. The girl gave me the money, but then the bouncer started telling her off, that she shouldn’t reimburse me, that I didn’t want to pay in the first place (All I had asked him was whether one had to pay every night, whether they have other music or open mic — it’s my first time, how am I supposed to know this in advance??). I left the 5 pounds to them, since I didn’t think it was worth making a scene. I will be writing to them though because they should fire the guy.

If I’m in London on a Tuesday I will be up in here, like wayyy up. Like every pun intended up in that piece called troybar. And speaking of pieces, make sure you have a piece of the fall off the bone, perfectly jerked chicken for just a few pounds.
In all seriousness, though, troybar’s «Spirit & Soul» open mic is one of my favorites in North London. Hosted by a wonderfully gifted chanteuse named Hannah, the event brings out a plethora of singers who passionately belt out R&B classics and contemporary tunes. The live band is fantastic, and have innumerable arrangements in their cache. Destiny’s Child’s «Hey Ladies» is a popular interlude. Though the calibre of the singers can be inconsistent, the vibes are always positive and typically the truly faulty singers are outliers.
It’s best to arrive to this event early as seating is limited and there are a number of poles that obstruct of the view of the stage. At the same time, its not cool to give people death stares because you want their seat. If you do this to me, I’m going to give you Nicki’s «Miley, what’s good?!» face back. Just kidding… sorta.

I came in here with friends not expecting much, since it was offering free entry and no queues on a Saturday night. It did not even meet the low expectations.
First one friend, upon bag search, was accused of being a drug addict by the bouncer because she was holding a packet of paracetamol. As if the man couldn’t just read the packaging to see that it was just a simple OTC painkiller.
The club itself was uninspiring. The bartenders weren’t friendly and were really slow, and the drinks quite expensive. The music was too low tempo to be anything you could dance to, which resulted in a lot of awkward movement. Thankfully the tempo did pick up eventually and it was okay for a while. This was when a couple friends decided to go out for a smoke and everyone joined them for a breath of air.
First off, there are no clear signs inside the bar that drinks are not to be taken outside, so 2 of my friends took their drinks out with them. Then after a few minutes the bouncer told them that they had to bring their drinks inside, which is a fair request since it was quite late. One of my friends immediately went back inside with her drink but the other lagged behind for a moment to finish his cigarette, which was almost done. Upon trying to enter back in, the bouncer (the one that originally accused one friend of being a drug addict) refused him entry on the basis of him not buying that bottle of beer in the bar, which he had done not a half hour prior. For some reason a bartender who was outside as well having a smoke lied for the bartender saying they didn’t sell the beer, which they had! Even after my friend finished his beer he was refused entry back in.
Upon trying to reason with the bouncer and then being refused to speak to a manager, we tried to ask to at least be able to retrieve our one friend who was in the bar alone and who was waiting for us, but we were refused then as well. In the end thankfully our friend did come back out but it was all just a horrific experience, which I am going to be taking up with the management. Bouncers can make or break a club/​bar experience and I’ve never had issues with one in London until this one. I will be advising everyone I know to steer clear.

Great food, great atmosphere, highly entertaining compare called Hannah. The band are AMAZING. Only negative is it doesn’t always start on time so if you don’t have to be at work early on a Wednesday I would recommend Open Mic on a Tuesday. Note, just because it doesn’t start early does not mean you shouldn’t get there early as it does get packed very quickly!

This place is really cool. If you ever want to feel like you’re in pulp fiction (with the appropriate soundtrack), this is probably the place to be. I’ve heard it’s usually packed on weekends but it was strangely deserted when I went. The few people who were there seemed pretty cool though, particularly the young Chuck Berry (or at least he could have been) who was dominating the dancefloor. The selection of drinks leaves a little to be desired, but the staff (even the door staff) are all very friendly, and I’ve heard the food’s pretty good too. The best bit is the proper old-​school dancefloor, which was clean as a whistle and slightly slippy like a dancefloor should be. Recommended for one of those strange only in London experiences!

Up until recently I would have given Troy bar an excellent review, however now I can say it will only be moderate. Troy bar’s main feature is it hosts a number of live music and singing nights. Every Tuesday at Troy (which is the day I used to go) a band would be set up on a small stage along witha a host, who would always be a singer and who would call up singers from the audience to perform. The place has a very nice friendly vibe and everyone seems to get along with one another. It does have this ‘everybody knows everybody’ vibe and the place is very clicky which may feel slightly uncomfortable for those that do not visit Troy regularly. Nevertheless Troy is all about the music and there are some amazing singers and musicians that perform here. Troy has a very high standard of performers and I’ve watched many artists perform here that are now signing record deals or singing on our radios everyday.
The place is modestly decorated with small rickety tables and chairs that look like those that I used to sit on in primary school. The walls are painted in a dark red and it appears that the bar has not had much coinsideration in terms of it’s interior.
Troy used to be free entry on a Tuesay, however last time I went me and my friend were two of the first people to arrive, we sat down and had a chat as there was nobody at the bar! Once the bar opened we decided to get a bottle of wine, we were then informed that we would also be charged a five pound entry fee. We had been in the bar for half an hour already, why were they only charging us now? The management of the club is definitely not that of China Whites or even Jazz Café, which more resembles what Troy bar is doing.
The night all in all was a good night, the music was great, the host was incredibly funny and the crowd were really nice, however the management of the bar was slightly suspect and I’m not sure had we of been regulars at the Troy Bar if we would have been charged a five pound entry fee half an hour after entering the bar!
Troy Bar is a particularly chilled night, it’s the kind of place you can jump in your car and drive to and then drive back home. Troy is not about drinking or dancing, it’s a chilled way to enjoy some live music during the week and feel fine the next morning going to work. The night starts at eight thirty, although almost always starts late and finishes at one o clock.

Troy is a really cool afro-​caribbean bar, with really good music and a pretty good atmosphere. It’s always really busy at the weekend so you probably won’t get a seat, and getting to the bar can take a while, but it’s definitely a good place to meet with friends and knock back a few red stripes while listening to some cool tunes. Not too expensive either by london standards.