How The Forge looks in September 2025

FORMER operators of a venue in a prime site in Camden Town have lamented that it stands empty and boarded-up.

There has been no sign of life at what was once The Forge nightspot in Delancey Street.

Before that it had been the site of the Martini’s Café Bar and memorable NW1 restaurant Café Delancey.

Steve Wilmot, who managed it when it was The Forge, set it up as a stage for world music and jazz.

He said: “It was a fantastic large venue with the space for so much potential, but now I doubt very much there is light at the end of the tunnel for the site to be maintained as a music venue.”

The coronavirus proved a tough challenge for Camden’s pubs and clubs, and live music campaigners have warned some are still struggling to bounce back from the interruption and the cost-of-living crisis that followed and ramped up operating costs.

Mr Wilmot, who has lived in the area for 40 years, said that while Camden Town was famous for a place where up and coming bands and performers sought their first breaks, the number of places to play are actually now small.

“At its height The Forge welcomed some really big artists playing there but we also had bands doing their first gigs there,” he said.

“Our intentions were not just to run it as a business but to be one of the main grassroots venues in Camden, because if you look at the grassroots scene here now, there basically aren’t any. You’ve got Koko, the Electric Ballroom, The Roundhouse, but there is nothing for grassroots bands. If someone wants to start off their music career and play in Camden where so many have before – you’ve got the Dublin Castle and that’s it.”

In 2022, new leaseholders took over the site on a long-term deal.

It was claimed they believed they had the freedom to operate until 1am on weekends but after complaints from neighbours they were told planning restrictions demanded an 11pm finish.

Café Delancey, a French café and brasserie which served diners from 1985 to 2003, had also once made the most of the location.

Speaking to the New Journal this week, former owner Tatiana Von Saxe Wilson said: “You could just get into a taxi and say ‘I’m going to the Café Delancey’ and the drivers would know exactly where to go.

“Difficulties are bound to exist but the secret was to solve them instantly.”

Steve Wilmot with Bill Wyman outside The Forge 

Starting as a small café, the restaurant expanded into adjoining buildings and could cater for 200 customers.

“We were not French, not Swiss, nor Peruvian ” said Ms Von Saxe Wilson, “but a new approach to the concept of eating out for great occasions or intimate affairs. We were open from 8am till midnight, closing only two days a year. Our concept was to have a limited menu cooked daily with fresh ingredients and friendly staff – serving any dish at any time of the day.”

Last September a second group of operators is understood to have tried to take over The Forge, drawing up plans for a 30-year lease, pledging £250,000 investment to restore it as a grassroots music hub.

But negotiations with the freeholders, who could not be reached by the New Journal, fell through. Mr Wilmot said: “As much as you still have the narrative of Camden being a musical hub and the history of music in Camden and who have come through or played here, in five years’ time we’re not going to be in a position where bands have come through Camden.

“There isn’t enough support there for grassroots venues and The Forge is an example of where we are at the moment in terms of music venues in Camden.”

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “Camden has a proud music history, and to keep this alive and flourishing we want to support grassroots venues like The Forge. To support this particular venue, we have recently trialled extended opening hours on weekends. In addition, we’re exploring how to provide financial support and find other ways to help venues build audiences and stay resilient via our proposed cultural strategy and eve­ning and night-time strategy.”