From Groove to Glow: Jazu’s Deptford Vinyl Haven
By Rafi Mercer
New Listing
Jazu is one of London’s most respected listening bars — explore more in our London Music Venues guide.
Venue Name: Jazu
Address: 3 Creekside, Deptford, London SE8 4SA, United Kingdom
Website: jazu.london
Phone: +44 20 8692 2211
Spotify Profile: N/A
Deptford has always had a bit of a rebel streak — markets spilling into the street, railway arches humming with workshops and rehearsal spaces, a pace that’s quick to welcome and slow to judge. In the middle of this, on Creekside, is Jazu — a place that somehow feels both perfectly at home and quietly set apart.
The first thing you notice stepping inside is the warmth. Not just the physical heat (though it’s a welcome thing on a wet London evening), but the way the room seems to wrap you in sound. The walls are lined with shelves holding what looks like — and is — a small record shop’s worth of vinyl. Three thousand records, give or take, each one worn in the way only loved albums are.
The sound system is tuned to make you lean back, not forward. There’s clarity, yes, but also a roundness, a depth that means you feel a kick drum in your chest without ever needing to raise your voice. When the DJs take over — often local selectors, sometimes touring friends — the shift is seamless. The volume edges up, the disco ball sends light glancing off every table, and suddenly the room is alive without losing its composure.
Jazu’s design balances two impulses: the neat, pared-back lines of Scandinavian furniture and the tactile joy of vintage details. Wooden tables with just enough scuff to tell a story, low banquettes that invite long stays, warm-toned lamps that make every record sleeve glow a little more.
It’s a space that works in layers. In the early evening, you might find a few regulars at the bar, quietly chatting between tracks while the bartender measures out a martini. By the time the DJ drops a well-worn Fela Kuti side, more bodies have found their way in — a couple swaying near the booth, friends gathered under the disco ball, someone in the corner scribbling into a notebook, their drink untouched for twenty minutes.
Deptford has seen a lot of change over the last decade, and Jazu feels like part of a newer wave that still respects the area’s layered past. There’s a generosity in how it treats music — no sense of exclusivity, no gatekeeping, just the invitation to sit down and really listen.
You leave with your ears ringing not from volume, but from the detail: the way a bassline can shift your mood, the way a room’s lighting can soften a beat, the way 3,000 records can feel like an infinite library when they’re handled with care.
Rafi Mercer writes about the spaces where music matters. For more stories from Tracks & Tales, subscribe, or click here to read more.
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