Oh, what to do with a prime piece of Hoxton real estate?

With a history that can be traced to Shakespearean days, a cavernous warehouse space located at the heart of Shoreditch has been going through an identity crisis in recent times.

A disused button factory in the early 90s, the site was rented out to the renowned Brick Lane Music Hall, which eventually made way for a European-style café bar called Hell. (And anyone who witnessed the acres of empty floor space of an evening will remember why its reputation went predictably south.) But all that has now changed with its latest re-incarnation reminding us that going back-to-basics still counts for a lot in Shoreditch.

Bar Music Hall features retro black leather booths, a well-stocked bar and regular photographic exhibitions while the food policy - supreme steak sandwiches and comforting cod and mash stand out - is more NYC than Continental Europe. For the weekend crowd the likes of The Cuban Brothers, Jerry Bouthier and DJ Scratchy have already manned the decks with live bands coming in the New Year.

While Bar Music Hall has some fierce local competition - nearby Zigfrid and Bar and Kitchen continue to pack them in nightly - the smart money is on the venue's erratic history succumbing to some local loyalty from the notoriously demanding Hoxton crowd.