The Institute Bar image

The Institute Bar

Bar Cocktail bar

Intimate space featuring pool tables & a create-your-own pizza menu, plus cocktails & jazz nights. People often mention great, drinks, student, staff, friendly, security, prices, rude, service,


Address

Level 4, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, United Kingdom

Website

studentsunionucl.org

Price rating

$ $$$

Rating on Google Maps

4.40 (182 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Wednesday: 12 to 11 PM
  • Thursday: 12 PM to 12 AM
  • Friday: 12 PM to 12 AM
  • Saturday: Closed
  • Sunday: Closed
  • Monday: 12 to 11 PM
  • Tuesday: 12 to 11 PM

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: great (10) drinks (10) student (10) staff (9) friendly (8) security (8) prices (6) rude (6) service (6)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Yung M. 5 months ago on Google • 25 reviews
    My night was made by vrinda and her expert bartending, great knowledge of cocktails, and overall unbridled enthusiasm for alcoholic drinks
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Tom B. 2 years ago on Google
    Awesome student prices, but absolutely swarmed by university and non-university patrons during peak hours, which is hard to overstate. Seating quickly gets snapped up and the area around the bar is in need of more space given the popularity of the venue. Outside terrace in need of some portable heaters, or perhaps attendees need better winter clothing; or both! The music selection is invariably very cheesy dad-rock and eighties hits, if that's your bag. For me it's tiresome to hear after the third visit or so! Possibly a way of saving on music licensing?
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Quentin L. 1 year ago on Google • 102 reviews
    Great bar for casual drinks with friends, and their pizzas are really good! It's a university bar, but don't let that discourage you as the atmosphere is very friendly and it seems to be mostly visited by postgraduate students or university staff. They also have some space outside and a couple of pool tables.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Andrea G. 2 months ago on Google • 8 reviews New
    Aggressive people trying to start fights in the line allowed in as friends with new security who was also aggressive and rude! As staff at UCL, we go to IOE often. We’ve never had issues before but it seems a new security guy has changed that. As we were waiting in line, an older man started an argument with one of our colleagues and was being rude for no reason. We told him to go infront of us with his partner as we were a big group and wanted no problems. He went to the front, told his friend (the security guy) to let him in because HE felt unsafe. He was then let in and he stood at the top, yelling down at us for no reason (again). The security did nothing. One of our colleagues was talking to another security guard about how we are happy to wait until we can all get in (there were 10/12 of us) but was rudely interrupted by the security guard (with the aggressive friend) telling our colleague not to talk, he wants to talk to the other security guard now. He was extremely unprofessional, rude and was allowing his friend to be aggressive towards us. We decided to leave because we did not want to spend money at a bar with staff like this. As a student bar, it should take extra care of students and staff to ensure we feel safe. We definitely did not in this case.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Rosi H. 4 years ago on Google • 86 reviews
    Excellent vibe and great place for a chilled after work drink - possibly the cheapest pint in London! Recently refurbished so a lovely place to drink. Possibly the only place in London you can still get a pint for under £4
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Jack B. 2 years ago on Google
    Terrible experience. Staff are rude and discriminated against me. Worst of all, they are aggressive and I left having being pushed for asking what his problem with me was. Do not go to this bar.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Mauricio O. 1 year ago on Google • 124 reviews
    Totally in love with this place. It's close to my office, it's very cheap, and the crowd is vibrant (mostly UCL students). They have some pizza options and they serve blue moon, which is hard to find in your average pub. I like it ok a Friday after work, where everyone is enjoying their time and the music is great. I must admit, it can be a great place to work too, particularly if you go right after they open their doors. It's quite and they have spacious tables. The staff is friendly but the place can get very crowded and then things get messy. They limit the number of people when it gets populated, so don't get there too late.

  • 5/5 Hynek H. 3 months ago on Google • 16 reviews New
    Best of the newly refurbished UCL student bars. Pint for a £3.50 in 2024 is a steal! If you don't have your student card on you and need to avoid the IOE turnstiles, you can enter through the terrace facing SOAS. They do lovely pizzas as well.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 carry o. 9 months ago on Google • 12 reviews
    Don't go there. Some bouncers who just started their job might take you badly and hit you. Very not gender friendly. Stay away from the dwarf bouncer and you'll be fine.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Nicole M. 1 year ago on Google
    Worst customer service. I was waiting in the bar for ages and the bar staff were serving drinks to people who got there after me. Terrible experience, you’re better off going to any other place
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Irina Ioana D. 1 year ago on Google
    Great atmosphere, great prices, friendly bar staff, delicious pizzas
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Bimeny P. 2 years ago on Google
    This is a beautiful bar. The space both in and out is huge. There's generally good service here except, during the pandemic, if you don't have a smartphone, don't even bother because they will not serve you as everything is online. That said, once you manage to successfully place your order, The service is quite fast. They have got a great selection of beers including Brewdog on the tap which isn't very common in London pubs
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Phil D. 2 years ago on Google
    Better than my student bar I'll tell you that much
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Kevin B. 10 months ago on Google
    Great atmosphere, good student deals, always vibey and quite busy but never too long of a wait.

  • 5/5 Marcilla 10 months ago on Google
    Highly recommended. Large Terrace. Pool tables . Plenty of seating. Low prices. Excellent quality customer service. 👌

  • 5/5 Richard B. 11 months ago on Google
    They were so great! My mom and I have birthdays a week apart, so for her day we booked a table here.

  • 4/5 Max G. 1 year ago on Google
    Food was great, but I could’ve used your g&t to water my Aloe Vera instead.

  • 1/5 Fernando Gutiérrez U. 1 year ago on Google
    New comment: This used to be my favourite UCL bar for a number of reasons, but I have changed my rating from 5 to 1 star for the following reasons: 1. The regular bouncer does not have a friendly face, but he is really nice (bearded, wears glasses). He is quite efficient on keeping the place safe, which ultimately is his main job. The other bouncers (which I won't describe) are not friendly, they are rude, uneducated and abuse their position. 2. Half of the bar staff is great (particularly women). They are quick, kind and educated. There are (at least) two guys (which I won't describe) who are terrible and ruin the collective effort of the other bar employees. The last time I visited (7/10/22 8:30pm) the two guys at the pizza end of the bar were doing everything but serving the crowds: one of them talking on the phone while ignoring customers, plus being super rude when I asked him for service. The other one was a bit off, disappeared for almost 10 mins in the kitchen only to come back with free drinks for his friends who were not queuing at all. Later, he would serve everyone around me and was actively ignoring me. When I finally was able to order (perhaps 25 mins into queuing), he was not happy that I ordered 4 jars of beer for my Society. 3.The prices are higher than in other UCL bars. I am guessing this is to keep the bars equilibrated, but still it feels like the service is too bad for these prices (in contrast with the other bars). I understand that the bar is operated mainly by students and that finding employees is hard, but this bar is quickly decaying from the friendly and safe space for students to an aggressive environment. Also, employees should not be allowed to work under the influence of alcohol/drugs. This is a disaster waiting to happen. This bar needs to change its working system to something that can be easily monitored: organised queues, online ordering and real managerial supervision. Old comment: Great student pub. Probably the best in the area.

  • 5/5 Harry R. 2 years ago on Google
    Cheap drinks and food and surprisingly good quality

  • 3/5 Zak T. 1 year ago on Google
    I love this place for its great priced drinks and food but seriously the bouncer is on some kind of power trip. Me and my friend both in our late 20s and unfortunately do indeed look it were turned away at the door without IDs around 7pm. He refused to look at any suplementary ID aka student ID or digital versions. Stating "he would do the same with a 45year old." I mean really how ridiculous! Since when was "challenge 45" a common mantra? It just seems a completely overtop/ inflexible view to take for any bar/ let alone a student bar.

  • 4/5 K K. 1 year ago on Google
    Can be a little overcrowded with limited seats as well as food menu. However nice atmosphere, reasonable prices and friendly staff. Just wish they had more indoor seats.

  • 4/5 Ben N. 1 year ago on Google
    It's cheap. Watch out for the unfriendly bouncer though!

  • 4/5 AlBeshr A. 2 years ago on Google
    Had fun there, and the people are very welcoming

  • 2/5 Martyna 2 years ago on Google
    Took over 40 minutes to serve me and my boyfriend, kept serving everyone around us but not us. Then when we went to pick up the pizza it was put under the beer taps which leaked onto the pizza.

  • 5/5 Charles S. 1 year ago on Google
    Drunk for a fiver. Dead drunk for a tenner. Clean straw to lie on.

  • 5/5 Paul W. 1 year ago on Google
    Nice chilled vibes and reasonably priced drinks.

  • 4/5 Dawood T. 2 years ago on Google
    Simple, easy and cheap drinks. Nice and quiet.

  • 5/5 Stacy P. 2 years ago on Google
    Cheap and cheerful! Seriously, the price for drinks are perfect for student living💫

  • 1/5 Gonçalo G. 3 months ago on Google • 1 review New
    Staff was terrible; messed up with drinks and once I complained, I was kicked out by security… absolutely terrible experience and reflection on UCL employees abusing power.


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Amenities


  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Food
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Cocktails
    • ✓️ Food at bar
    • ✓️ Hard liquor
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible entrance
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible restroom
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Seating
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✗ Takeout
    • ✗ Delivery
    • ✓️ Outdoor seating

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