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Altar, a new music venue, bar and record shop in Leytonstone, opens on Friday 23 October with a free Simian Mobile Disco DJ set, and Louis Theroux is booked for 16 November

Altar, a music venue, bar and record shop at 7 Church Lane, Leytonstone, opens on 23 October with a free launch party. Alexis Taylor, Louis Theroux and Suggs are on its first bill.
Church Lane in Leytonstone, East London
Church Lane, Leytonstone. Photo: Oast House Archive / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Altar, a music venue, neighbourhood bar and record shop, opens at 7 Church Lane in Leytonstone on Friday 23 October. The launch party is free and entry is first come, first served.

Simian Mobile Disco will play a DJ set on the opening night, with the broadcaster Kate Hutchinson, Charli Vos and Altar’s own DJs, according to the venue, DJ Mag and NME.

The programme is curated by Jon Clifford of Dreamhouse Records, Toby L of Transgressive Records and Simon Singleton of the Shake The High Road festival, among others.

Two floors

The ground floor is a bar and record shop, with records chosen by Dreamhouse Records. Live music, club nights and talks take place in a basement room with a capacity of 100, on the venue’s own sound system. Some events are free and some are ticketed.

The first bill

  • 24 October: MADMADMAD, then Nina Yamada at the first late session
  • 6 November: Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip (DJ set) launches the Altar Lates club nights
  • 7 November: Auntie Flo (DJ set)
  • 16 November: An Evening With Louis Theroux, in conversation with Altar founder Toby L
  • 16 and 17 December: Piano Nights with Ed Harcourt and then Suggs of Madness
  • 18 December: Girl In The Year Above

The essentials

  • Where: 7 Church Lane, Leytonstone, London E11 4HG
  • Opens: Friday 23 October 2026
  • Hours: Wednesday 3pm to midnight, Thursday 3pm to 1am, Friday and Saturday 3pm to 3am, Sunday 3pm to midnight
  • Nearest station: Leytonstone (Central line)
  • Website: altar-east.com

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