O2 Forum Kentish Town Reviews Summary

Venue Atmosphere and Design

Pros:

• "The venue itself has a great atmosphere and cool period design inside."
• "Amazing looking building inside, I was on the balcony to see a band and it was one of the better experiences I've had."
• "Loved the look and feel of the venue and the acoustics sounded amazing."
• "Absolutely fantastic venue, the atmosphere is brilliant. They even serve 2 pinters so you don't miss any of the action."
• "It's a good size venue with beautiful decor."
• "Lovely architecture and decor."
• "The venue looks much bigger in person than in photos which was a good thing for me."

Cons:

• "The venue isn't the cleanest or most modern."
• "The walls and carpets in there are tattered and gross."
• "Venue could do with a refurbishment to bring it up to modern standards."
• "The venue was pretty cold, all staff was wearing coats."
• "The venue layout and design having its challenges in terms of being wheelchair accessible."
• "However last night the sound was sub-Brixton Academy awful: muffled voice and guitar, crazy over-strong bass and drums."
• "Sound quality is terrible, and the layout is odd."

Staff and Security

Pros:

• "At all times the staff and security were courteous, sympathetic and polite."
• "The staff are really friendly."
• "The staff on the door are really friendly and helpful."
• "Staff were very friendly and helpful and were able to keep the place in control."
• "Fantastic security that was on duty that night! They were very friendly, attentive and even brought water to the people at the front."
• "Staff is friendly and know how to handle crowds, like a well-oiled machine."
• "Staff were pleasant and helpful, and Toilet facilities were clean and well kept."

Cons:

• "I have complaints about the staff and how certain things were handled."
• "I was nothing but polite to the staff but left feeling really upset."
• "Staff behaves like the Gestapo and will miss no opportunity to harass people."
• "Bar staff were rude and aggressive upon challenging this."
• "The cloakroom staff however were a nightmare."
• "I had a staff member leap across the table to yell in my face because I asked for my jacket."
• "Reason for 4 stars is the rude security staff in the venue."

Accessibility and Seating

Pros:

• "Upstairs views are really good."
• "Great venue where you get a really good view from wherever you are standing."
• "I Purchased a regular unreserved seating ticket and VIP for Skillet. I Managed to get a seat at the front seat of the balcony because of my VIP experience."
• "We got priority access and a companion ticket, really made a huge difference."
• "This place is spacious but not massive, if you want the immersive crowd experience then buy a downstairs standing ticket, otherwise upstairs sitting."
• "It is an amazing place. I had seats up in the balcony, and I had a fantastic, unobstructed, view of the stage."
• "Great venue, brilliant view of all the bands from the balcony."

Cons:

• "The regular queue and the priority queue are allowed in at the same time which means we didn’t actually have a priority access to the venue."
• "Pretty good venue. The disabled access was ok, we were put on the balcony on the front row but the seats don't have backs so not ideal for everyone."
• "However, we were in unreserved seating in the balcony, which consists of padded benches with no back."
• "The only down side was that near the entrance I was informed that my bag was too big."
• "Balcony seats are unallocated, even if you have a seat number - don't expect to get a seat."
• "The first 5 rows of the unreserved sitting are sitting-only, you're not allowed to stand up."
• "The seats are on benches, and the balcony is quite big."

Price and Merchandise

Pros:

• "The drinks were not too badly priced I suppose averaging at about £7 each (we were drinking spirits tho) and if you do decide to drink beer or cider you can buy a 2 pinter to save going back to the bar."
• "Bonus- the drinks were not expensive compared to other similar places."
• "Drinks are ok priced for a venue."
• "Excellent service and sound plus decent duck prices."

Cons:

• "Drinks were very very expensive... £7.00 for 2 red bulls. That is my only complaint."
• "Drinks massively inflated, one pint of lager and a double rum and coke £18:90."
• "The booze selection is limited and pricey but no more so than any other London venue."
• "Drinks are crazy expensive but it's London and it's a gig venue, so expect it."
• "Less positive is the extortionate pricing of drinks. Single basic rum and coke was £8.20 and basic draught pints over £6."
• "IPA is £7.55 and £3 for half a coke!"
• "Seems they only care about ripping folk off with huge prices on beverages."