Islington Assembly Hall Reviews

Brilliant sound system and beautiful building but very hot / no air conditioning

Visited the IAH for the first time for Sara Bareilles' concert last night. It's very beautiful on the outside and the interior is well-maintained as well. A perfect gig venue as it is cosy and allows fans to get up close and personal with the performer.

I saw my beloved FIVE STAR here, and last year saw the amazing Tom Chaplin. Great venue, spacious, not too hot, well looked after

Cosy and warm atmosphere. Absolutely brilliant for an intimate concert

Saw Bahamas play here. Fantastic little venue, feels cosy and has great acoustics.

Lovely building and great size for a medium size gig. Sound was a bit echoed in some places

Always a great venue the perfect midterm between big and small while being cosy and intimate enough to make you feel special and big enough to let you commune in something bigger. Drink selection is decent but not amazing but pricing is adequate and the lineups are consistently good

Superb venue. Been twice now and it's my new favourite gig place.

Great little venue! Me and a friend came to see Therion here a few weeks ago and had a great night out. It's probably not much more than 60ft deep, so you can prop yourself up at the back or at the sound stage and still see absolutely everything.

The bar selection was a bit lacklustre - can't remember the last time Red Stripe was the best thing at any bar in London - but we weren't too fussed.

Nice venue, good sound. That said, between the abysmal bar service and lack of air conditioning, you're going to be drinking a lot of the free water and using the (clean) antique toilets a lot.

Sonically speaking, the sound system can handle top ends and deep lows extremely well. The range of acts you get here are A1...the style is classic and comfortable and seated upstairs I felt like I was watching Opera in the 1930s

Not a large venue but this allows for some really intimate and enjoyable shows.

My first visit here and was pleasantly surprised good sound nice flow and amazingly decent beer,

Nice to have a place which good bands frequent so close to home but the space has an odd American high school auditorium feel to it and the sound system could be better .

The sound is criminally bad. Staff is lovely and lights not too terrible - but the sound. 2nd time I've been there in 3months and no matter my distance from the stage the sound resembles garbage falling down a trash chute. Do something about it, please.

Classic theatre come music venue. Olde charm if a little run down.

***Most of my review is about accessibility as a disabled visitor, so this might not be if interest to everyone!***

I had never been to this venue before, and I live across the country in Birmingham, so I wasn't sure what to expect. As I am disabled, I spoke to the venue on the phone and via email before booking tickets months in advance, to arrange for accessible seating. The staff I spoke to were very pleasant, helpful and kind and I felt confident they would be capable of helping me on the night.

When the night if the gig came, the staff were excellent and beyond my expectations. I was greeted warmly, let through and given a wristband to gain access to the seating area which made me feel like a VIP, not an afterthought, like some venues make the disabled visitors feel. They were kind, courteous and made jokes as well as being helpful and practical. They gave me their names in case I needed them and were incredibly courteous.

The seats themselves were comfortable and in a safe, cordoned off area with a good view. I've literally been given a bar stool to put in the pit before how at some gigs which is not appropriate!!
The disabled toilets were only accessible from this area which meant they weren't disgusting like in some places. We were given cups of ice water for free throughout which was very handy as it was a heatwave and I suffer with low blood pressure which need to be kept up with keeping hydrated. This is the only diwnside- the bottles of water we purchased were five pounds each!! Maybe that's normal for London, but we thought that was quite excessive so I'm glad they also have out free water!

Overall I'm delighted with the way I was treated and the accessibility and I recommend the venue to any other disabled visitors. The venue itself isn't easy to get to without getting a taxi die to Islington parking rules, but once you get there, the staff are exemplary. I wish I could remember staff names so I could praise them specifically, but everyone I encountered was incredibly pleasant, on the phone, via email and in person.

A very disability positive place

Great venue. Shows are always a good time because they're more intimate. Speakers aren't overly loud so no ear pain. Be ready for mad cloakroom queues after though.

Great venue, fab night out. Came to see My Baby, and had just the best night. Well worth the trip up from Kent.

Great venue, good bar and not rip off prices like some in London.

Saw Tarry tallant there last week nice small intimate venue great pub opposite

Decent sized venue. Very strict on taking photos even with a small pocket camera for the gig I saw.

Large music venue. Tends to be standing downstairs and unreserved seating upstairs.

Called before hand to ask about collecting the tickets for the gig, on the phone they were professional and friendly, helped a lot to call and talk. The venue itself is small but very intimate, there is an upper balcony with seats which had a great view from all areas and does not lessen the experience at all! Great place would love to go again.

As a smaller more intimate music venue this place was amazing , went to see a band called "Big Country", i suppose the atmosphere will change depending on who you're going to see but on this occasion it was fantastic.

Great venue for live gigs but I wish I'd been warned that there were only plastic refills for drinks......wouldve bought my own!

Really lovely place to go, atmosphere was great and it wasn't overcrowded even though sold out. Overall, a very good evening

Great venue. Good size just a
bit hot

Went last night for Richie spice concert. Staff are all welcoming. Was disgusting that so many people paid for a concert that is then ended. Absolute joke. Are the refunding everyone? I hope so

Blooming expensive beers, come on you venues stop taking the perverbial on your pricing

The Flowerkings & Spock's Beard Gig ... This was my first time in this venue and I've got to say it was a great experience. The staff are extremely helpful and professional. I had suffered an injury to my legs prior to travelling to the gig and the staff made sure that my husband and I had seats near the stage. The sound and lighting were great and there was a generally all round good atmosphere the whole time, before, after and during the performances. I'll be back...

Excellent venue, great acoustics for live music and plenty of on tap beers at the (two) bars.

Great acoustic in this municipal hall, unusual as a venue for rock music

Saw MIYAVI tonight, and it was amazing! Really lovely venue, and the staff were so friendly!

Strangely dark and atmospheric. Not really my type of pub but I'm sure it suits others very well.

Loved the Dean concert here, nice small venue so we could see the artist well

Good theatre well organized event but the price for a beer not even top brand unacceptable

Gorgeous setting for gigs. Bar service can be slow however so it pays to enjoy a pre-gig drink in one of the many excellent bars nearby

Good place for small concerts. Just a little bit hot

Great venue, but waited at least 3/4 hour for a drink very poor service also brought a vodka for my sister in law and it didn't taste of anything ......well it did WATER !!!!

WENT TO DISCO NITE WAS WONDERFUL DRINKS WERE TO EXSPENCIVE

Nice venue, quite big. Good sound and easy to get to the bar, quick service. Great location.

Great little venue, sound a little muffled, but that's to be expected from somewhere of this size.
Queueing outside in the pouring rain, however, was not something I want to do again. They could have opened the front foyer area when it started to pour.

This is a lovely Venue. The building itself is amazing! Bar staff are friendly and efficient, we only had soft drinks but I think they had a good selection overall. The toilets were clean and fresh and easy to find. I believe the venue holds 1,000 but this still leaves plenty of room to move. We came to see Kovic, a band we've followed from the very beginning & even before, when they had a different name and set up. It was great to see them fill such an amazing venue. I'd definitely come here again!

Good location for a gig but not enough bar staff. The few bar staff there were poor.

Two bars with poor selection of beers, toilets nice and clean.

Great venue for live music..small and very intimate..looking forward to my next visit

Delightful concert hall
Comfortable seating
Beer was not too high priced
Acoustics were good
Lighting was adequate
Toilet facilities were very clean
Support staff were very helpful

Great small venue to experience up close, the performing artist. Historical architecture and quaint atmosphere.

It's okay.
The sound quality was poor when we visited. Was told I couldn't take some sweets I had in my bag into the venue.
Seating in the balcony cramped and uncomfortable (until people around you can't tolerate it any more, and leave)...

Loved it. Would love to hire this place for my own event.

Surprisingly civilised all the staff were lovely and supportive to all the sweaty moshers. No stress at all with getting drinks in and not too fussy about making your own videos. Acoustics which are most important were excellent throughout More

Great venue. Good stage height so everyone can see!