KOKO Reviews 12

Disappointing experience — no longer worth the effort... Sorry Yotto.

Unfortunately, KOKO is no longer what it once was.
The evening started badly with very long queues in the rain, followed by a poor sound system and rude staff at the entrance, which immediately set a negative tone. First impressions matter, and this was handled poorly.
To be fair, the security staff were polite, friendly, and professional, and the toilets were clean, which deserves recognition. However, these positives aren’t enough to outweigh the overall experience.
KOKO, once known as Camden Palace, used to host iconic nights like Peach and memorable Friday events that were genuinely enjoyable. That atmosphere and energy have clearly disappeared. The venue now feels like it’s going backwards, which perhaps explains why free tickets are being widely offered — not usually a good sign.
Customer service is also disappointing. Rather than engaging with genuine feedback, there seems to be more focus on defending policies than improving the customer experience.
At this point, I would strongly recommend Fabric or OutHere instead — both are far better organised and significantly more enjoyable. And if the goal is simply to see the artist, you’re honestly better off watching later on YouTube without the stress.
Overall, a disappointing experience and not somewhere I would return to.

Absolutely terrible management. There was no information online about any other artists coming on so when we went to the Subfocus Album release party. All it said only was that the event started at 5:00 and that the show would be a 45 min show. Knowing this information me and my partner decided to leave food till after the event thinking it would only be to the time it showed on the website page. Cause we had been stressing around all day to get to the event we both felt quite faint and wanted to get some food but couldn’t come back in of we did. We ended up missing the biggest act of the night or should I say the one we came for . 👎

Paid for VIP tickets, told doors open at 5.30pm and meet and greet at 6pm.6.35pm still stood outside in the freezing cold. Poor

I’m leaving this review after months of being ignored by KOKO Camden following a serious incident that occurred on 27th February 2025. I emailed the venue on 28th Feb and again in full detail on 3rd March — both emails were completely ignored.

I attended the venue for a concert and had followed all proper procedures, including emailing the access team months in advance to confirm I would be bringing food, water, and medical supplies due to my Type 1 Diabetes. This was approved via email and in line with KOKO’s own accessibility policy on their website, which states that attendees can bring food, drink, and medical items for health conditions. I had also attended this venue many times before with no issues.

Despite this, upon arrival:
• Security refused to let me bring in any of these items, even after showing them the official email from the access team.
• My medical necessities were confiscated, and I was left with minimal supplies.
• I was mocked and belittled by multiple staff members, including one who said, “That’s a whole shopping bag,” despite the bag being standard size and containing medical items.
• I was taken into a back room by the venue medic (named Matt), who also dismissed my access needs, questioned my condition, and sarcastically asked, “So is a 1-minute response not good enough for you?”

For someone with diabetes, 1 minute can be the difference between being fine and passing out. Despite all this, they refused to let me carry the bag with me and said staff could “bring items if needed” — something that simply did not happen when I actually needed them.

Throughout the night:
• I became hyperglycaemic from stress, then hypoglycaemic later, and was unable to access my own supplies in a timely manner.
• Staff were unresponsive, dismissive, and even shouted at my friends and PA when they tried to help.
• I was denied access to the accessible toilet after the show — the only response was “it’s closed, use the regular one.”
• When I finally got my bag back, the medic questioned whether my blood sugar was actually low and condescendingly offered unsolicited advice — at the end of a night where his refusal to listen had already endangered my health.

I had medical documentation, an access card, official email confirmation, and visible medical devices. Still, I was denied the basic rights and support I need to safely attend an event. KOKO’s own website says they “welcome all attendees who need to bring food or drink to manage a medical condition,” but their staff did the opposite.

I left this event physically unwell, distressed, and genuinely frightened by how little my access needs were respected. If I had passed out or worse, it would have been entirely the venue’s fault. That’s how serious this was.

The fact that no one at KOKO has responded to me months later shows a complete lack of responsibility and care. This venue is not safe for disabled attendees in its current state.

Until KOKO radically improves staff training, communication, and actual accessibility practice, I strongly urge anyone with access needs to stay away.

One of the worst management in music venue history. They treat artists terrible and cancel gigs on a whim. Musicians should have started boycotting this venue long time ago.

Absolutely terrible…

I would never recommend this cafe / restaurant to anyone - rude and obnoxious staff , extremely unfriendly and passive aggressive.
Stay away from. Koko cafe

Recently came to koko for Erica Jayne we came in at 6:30pm when the doors opened staff were lovely, talent came on at 9:15 at 8pm we asked if we could pop out and grab some food (they didn’t serve any food snacks or crisps) they said No even showing our tickets, manager refused. So just make sure your belly’s full 😂

Salif Keita was cancelled at 6pm the night before he played. That is understandable: there will be a reason but KOKO do not then take care and offer support. No phone lines this morning for advice. No easy access to clarification as wanted to refund some tickets but not all of them. It is. making us think we should just cancel the whole thing.

Don't go to parties here, there is poor management. We bought tickets to the party here last Friday. They only let in people they want because it was crowded that day. Don't go to their parties, they won't refund your ticket money. Don't ever go to any of the parties held here.

Staff very unfriendly on entry. A door security staff member searched our bags as usual and without a word grabbed some small food items out of one of our bags and dumped them into a container behind him. There was no explanation and it felt unnecessarily aggressive and unfriendly. It would have been much more professional to explain what he was about to do. When I remarked on the unpleasant manner of the action, I was told to ‘come on, you should know in this day and age’ whatever that meant. He addressed my friend as ‘sweetheart’ which was patronising and too familiar, but it came across as passive aggressive. Spoilt the occasion which cost £25 per ticket.

We went to see Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason and were truly shocked by the aggressive and rude behaviour of the people checking the tickets and our bags. One of the ushers reached into my bag, grabbed two snacks I had in there and threw them in the bin. It felt like being mugged and assaulted. May I add - we were two females and he kept calling us 'sweetheart' in a sinister and repulsive way. The concert was lovely, but we will think twice before booking tickets here again!

Do not trust this company especially when paying for drinks by card in venues, i purchased a bottle of ciroc vodka which should have been no more than £100 in club, monday morning i woke to a £600 bill, disgusting behaviour from the hosts who put the payment through!