East London to get a new boutique music venue with a side order of cocktails
Regular doses of live music in Leytonstone
Leytonstone is getting a new music venue and bar next month, dubbed Altar.
The site is set to open on 23rd October, and we’re promised live music at least three times a week, according to a preview by the Leytonstoner blog.
Altar is planned as a multi-identity kind of venue. It’s a cocktail bar, a place to check out new vinyl releases and a place for after-work drinks as well as a gig venue with room for around 100 revellers.
There are no live music listings just yet, but the programme is to be curated by Transgressive Records founder Toby L and the team behind Leytonstone’s Shake the High Road local festival.
Acts at the 2026 edition of the festival included Gold Panda, Pan Amsterdam and Sholto.
Reviving a much-loved space
For now, though, you’ll have to make do with some teasers as to what else you can expect when you step into Altar.
The ground floor seating is decked out in moody velvet, offset by the shiny tiled bar. We expect this area to feel quite different to the sweat-box-ready lower room where you’ll get to see bands and DJs perform.
Altar’s drinks menu is designed by Chop Shop Tavern, and includes unusual picks like the Caprese gimlet, a gin cocktail with flavours of tomato, basil and black pepper. Some of your food options will come with an off-kilter approach too, like the banh mi hot dog, which brings spiced kachumber and sharp pickled carrot flavours to a fast food classic.
Altar takes over the space once inhabited by Luna Lounge. It too was a big live music hub for the area, but closed in 2024 following rising costs and a failed crowdfunding campaign.
Hopefully Altar will have better luck when it opens next month. You’ll find the venue at 7 Church Lane, just a couple of hundred metres away from Leytonstone tube station.
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