In just six weeks, Open Monday has become the party that restaurant and bar workers flock to when they finally clock off – but everyone is welcome. It’s hosted at Om, the new Dalston club from the team behind pioneering listening bar Brilliant Corners and travelling sound system Giant Steps, and curated by the founder of Brawn, Ed Wilson.
“I’m a chef at heart, but the three things in what I call my holy trinity are food, wine and music,” Wilson tells Broadsheet. Fifteen years since opening Brawn on Colombia Road, his new club night combines the latter two with his desire to “create a little Monday vibe”.
It’s fitting that Wilson chose Om as his venue. The intimate, low-lit space with a meticulously designed sound system is the first dedicated late-night club from Amit and Aneesh Patel, who gained a cult following among audiophiles for their dedication to showcasing stellar sound with their sushi-cum-club nights.
Open from 8pm until 2am, Wilson draws on DJs from the overlapping worlds that inform his food and festival projects – from restaurateurs with impeccable record collections to long-running collaborators from Brawnswood (his pop-up at Giles Peterson’s We Out Here Festival in Dorset), and the Ricci Weekender festival he co-curates in Sicily.
The night launched with a bang, with a statement set by Floating Points drawing a mix of around 250 industry workers, vinyl obsessives and locals to the dancefloor. Since then, restaurateurs and DJs such as co-founder of The Clove Club and Luca, Daniel John Willis, and co-founder of Levan and Strictly Bangers, Mark Gurney, have taken over the decks alongside radio DJs including Andrea Montalto and Seiji Ono.
Warm, loose and purposely low-key (with a no-phones policy), Open Monday is designed to feel distinctly different to a weekend night, says Wilson. “What’s nice about Mondays is that it’s quite relaxed. People come without expectation.” One memorable visitor has already set the tone. “This girl came for about three hours and did a whole jazz routine workout by herself in the corner and then just left. It was amazing. I feel like on a Monday night you can come and just do that.”
Drinks also play a part in crafting the vibe. While Om doesn’t normally serve wine, Wilson has curated a small, ever-evolving list for likeminded low-intervention drinkers featuring key producers such as Cantina Giardino and Vouette & Sorbée.
According to Wilson, the night is structured to grow slowly, the way London’s most famous clubs once did. It’s also a chance to be part of the first chapter of a venue he clearly believes in. “It will become quite a seminal space,” he says. “I’m trying to get my foot in the door at the beginning of its story.”
Open Mondays runs weekly from 8pm–2am at Om on Kingsland Road. Tickets are £10 on the door.
512 Kingsland Rd, E8 4AE
