Bar 2012, Shoreditch  

"Bar 2012". Even before we went inside we puzzled over the name. Perhaps it was emulating 'Curry 2000' on nearby Hackney Road which was one of many shops which forwarded the idea that putting a hence-to- future date in your name makes you cutting edge. Or perhaps it might be some passing reference to the Olympics? Either way, the inside was thankfully a bit better than the name. Almost identical in shape and size to the nearby not-very-good Exit Bar, there was a vaguely Moroccan theme with small inlaid tables and a mural on one of the walls. There were however some very un-Moroccan retro chairs of indeterminate vintage and at least one couch. The beer was bottled and predominantly generic (although the 7.5% Guinness Foreign Extra Stout came as a nice surprise) but the music was uniformly terrible - 'pop hits' is the best, albeit vaguely inaccurate description we can manage. Overall, a bit of an incohesive mess but one where its still possible to relax and enjoy yourself.