The Garage Reviews Summary

Accessibility

Pros:

• "This place is wheelchair accessible to get in and they have a disabled toilet."
• "Easily accessed from the Highbury and Islington tube station."
• "Located 1 min walk from Highbury and Islington station, just across the street."
• "Really easy to get to from Kings Cross St Pancras, just one stop."
• "Nicely located almost opposite Highbury and Islington Station for underground and overground lines."
• "It's situated just across the road from Highbury & Islington tube and main line station, so transport connections are excellent."
• "Located right by Highbury & Islington station, this venue is smaller than most in London but is great for that 'intimate' feel."

Cons:

• "The only problem is that there is no place for a queue as it's a busy street hence we couldn't line up even if we got there 4h earlier just to get there first."
• "Parking in the area is a free for all."
• "There's not much happening around the venue so if you want food/drink beforehand you will have to head to either Highbury roundabout."

Customer Service

Pros:

• "I dealt with Lorraine from start to finish and her customer service was exemplary."
• "Door staff, venue staff, and barstaff were all excellent, and were cheerful and welcoming."
• "The venue staff are also helpful and courteous."
• "Staff are really friendly and professional."
• "Security and staff are very good."
• "Friendly staff & security, light bag check."
• "Major pros go out to the bar staff though being attentive, caring and providing usual paid and free (water) refreshments with a smile throughout the night."

Cons:

• "Problems start with management, I genuinely can't blame the venue staff, if it's rotten at this many levels it's rotten from the top down."
• "No managers around to sort it either so I lost a good 45 mins of my night waiting for 1 round of drinks and a 'my bad' as an apology."
• "Completely dreadful customer service."
• "Bar staff are clueless."
• "Poor customer service, struggle to get through to anyone."
• "Creepy bouncers, rude staff, lack of disability access."
• "The place itself is okay but staff are a bit inefficient."

Facilities

Pros:

• "Cloakroom facilities available on site."
• "A really intimate venue (get there early!) But they put on a wonderful show."
• "Lovely atmosphere I went here very recently and I had a super great time."
• "Clean venue holds about 600 to700 I would estimate all standing."
• "Cool venue with plenty of toilets and fast service at the bar."
• "Efficient entry point, handy coat room, well-stocked bar with quick service."
• "Toilets are clean & easy to access, no line."

Cons:

• "The only negatives I could say is there's only one bar at the very back of the venue."
• "Acoustics were poor, toilets were dirty with no stall locks to speak of."
• "Toilet facilities had seen better days in terms of cleanliness and state of repair."
• "The toilets were totally horrible (doors hanging off the hinges for example)."
• "The toilets were disgusting tho! There was water on the floor all around the toilets."
• "Toilets don't smell fantastic and could do with an upgrade."
• "With most venues, the toilets could have some improvement."

Atmosphere & Experience

Pros:

• "Not a bad thing can be said about this amazing venue, or the band's they host!"
• "But with the right band it creates a great atmosphere!"
• "Whilst The Garage might be one of the smaller gig venues in London, it never fails to deliver an awesome atmosphere!"
• "Concert was sold out and the place super packed."
• "Really good atmosphere and great lighting setup."
• "Great atmosphere. Surprisingly clean and well managed for a busy venue full of rock music and alcohol."
• "Feels both spacious and intimate."

Cons:

• "It’s just really hard to maintain a good vibe when all you’re doing is queuing and getting jostled."
• "Can feel very crowded as there is a bit of a choke point caused by the mix position and steps up to the bar immediately as you come in the doors."
• "All the bands started way too late, it was poorly organized, and the strobe lighting was dangerously bright and annoying."
• "Terrible venue, can’t leave once you’re in and have to wait hours, no food whatsoever only alcohol that costs about a tenner per drink."
• "The place became unbearably hot since there was no air conditioning."
• "Very sticky floor, toilets are disgusting."
• "Sound during Black Mountain gig was utterly abhorrent."

Drinks & Pricing

Pros:

• "Prices for drinks weren't as bad as I expected either."
• "The bar on the far end sold a nice range of drinks, too."
• "Drinks - much more choices than French venues - are quite affordable for London."
• "Drinks are good and most of all are not a rip off, compared to other venues."
• "Affordably priced drinks at the bar."
• "Bars pretty well priced for a London venue and the staff are very helpful."
• "Have their own lager which is just as good as the rest and a lot cheaper."

Cons:

• "The bar was a little bit expensive but it's in London so is expected."
• "Drinks are the usual for a music venue. Overpriced lager served in a plastic pint pot."
• "Drinks were marked up a lot, as expected, but £4.80 for a 330ml can of Kopparberg was almost outrageous."
• "But at least drinks aren't too expensive."

Sound & Music Quality

Pros:

• "But with the right band it creates a great atmosphere!"
• "The lighting was outstanding, and so was the quality of the speakers."
• "Sound wise it's great: the venue's size always makes for an intimate gig really close to the artist."
• "The sound system was pretty awesome."
• "Good acoustics for the live performance we went to see."
• "The sound quality is good."
• "Sound system was pretty good for yesterday's night event."

Cons:

• "Too small for such big events like Tory Lanez."
• "I've been to a couple of gigs here and they've either been turning the volume up too loud or the speakers they have can't handle the sound as it all gets a little muffled."
• "Really bad soundstage mixed with peaking speaker system and subpar mixing for bands."
• "Sound was not brilliant - loud yes, but distorting."
• "The venue does not have very good sound quality and is often hampered by over cranking the volume on sets."
• "There were sound problems a few times during the gig."
• "Sound during Black Mountain gig was utterly abhorrent."