Guidebook for Greater London
Food Scene
Supper clubs are great. Hosted by the type of people who understand that there’s more to dining out than just food (if there wasn’t, we’d all be at home eating takeaway), they blazed a trail for laid-back dining and short, no-choice menus. No choice equals no stress. No pretending to listen to your not-seen-each-other-in-ages friend’s stories while actually doing game theory on the piece of paper in front of you. It’s like being at a great dinner party, the sort where you trust the host’s cooking, drink shots and don’t talk about house prices.
91 lokal ang nagrerekomenda
Pidgin
52 Wilton WaySupper clubs are great. Hosted by the type of people who understand that there’s more to dining out than just food (if there wasn’t, we’d all be at home eating takeaway), they blazed a trail for laid-back dining and short, no-choice menus. No choice equals no stress. No pretending to listen to your not-seen-each-other-in-ages friend’s stories while actually doing game theory on the piece of paper in front of you. It’s like being at a great dinner party, the sort where you trust the host’s cooking, drink shots and don’t talk about house prices.
You know those super-cute, uber-quirky interiors you’re always lusting after online? The ones full of pastels, pot plants, retro prints and mid-mod furniture? If the answer is ‘nope’ then you might want to stop reading, since Palm Vaults – which landed on the pedestrianised top end of Mare Street this summer – is totally committed to its eccentric look.
From the enormous cheeseplants to the luscious pink and green icing on the cakes, the vintage marble-topped tables and exposed brick walls right down to the pink paper in the till, every tiny detail is geared towards aesthetic nirvana (2016 edition). For better or worse, it’s been called ‘London’s most Instagrammable café’.
22 lokal ang nagrerekomenda
Palm Vaults London
411 Mare StYou know those super-cute, uber-quirky interiors you’re always lusting after online? The ones full of pastels, pot plants, retro prints and mid-mod furniture? If the answer is ‘nope’ then you might want to stop reading, since Palm Vaults – which landed on the pedestrianised top end of Mare Street this summer – is totally committed to its eccentric look.
From the enormous cheeseplants to the luscious pink and green icing on the cakes, the vintage marble-topped tables and exposed brick walls right down to the pink paper in the till, every tiny detail is geared towards aesthetic nirvana (2016 edition). For better or worse, it’s been called ‘London’s most Instagrammable café’.
’s also a terrific place to eat, with a compact menu of small plates, each more brilliant than the last. At the helm is heavily tattoed, blonde-hair-pulled-into-a-scruffy-ponytail Magnus Reid: more surfer dude than chef and owner. If you can, sit one of the four stools of the ‘kitchen bar’, and ask for advice on the short but appealing wine list – his laid-back appearance belies the extent of his expertise and enthusiasm – then watch him work.
Every dish is a delightful tumble of texture and taste: superficially simple but using bold, bright combinations that elevate them well past the ordinary.
24 lokal ang nagrerekomenda
Legs Restaurant
120-122 Morning Lane’s also a terrific place to eat, with a compact menu of small plates, each more brilliant than the last. At the helm is heavily tattoed, blonde-hair-pulled-into-a-scruffy-ponytail Magnus Reid: more surfer dude than chef and owner. If you can, sit one of the four stools of the ‘kitchen bar’, and ask for advice on the short but appealing wine list – his laid-back appearance belies the extent of his expertise and enthusiasm – then watch him work.
Every dish is a delightful tumble of texture and taste: superficially simple but using bold, bright combinations that elevate them well past the ordinary.
Drinks & Nightlife
One of Hackney’s hidden gems, this eclectic boozer draws a crowd of loyal locals to an interior that mixes candlelit antiques and modern curiosities.
Food during the week comes courtesy of Beast Feast, alongside tasty, traditional roasts on a Sunday. Beers look like they could be a draw, with Kona Big Wave Golden Ale, Berlin Pilsner and Brooklyn Lager just some of those on draught.
Keep an eye out for quizzes on Tuesdays, plus DJs playing at the weekend.
Kenton Road
Kenton RoadOne of Hackney’s hidden gems, this eclectic boozer draws a crowd of loyal locals to an interior that mixes candlelit antiques and modern curiosities.
Food during the week comes courtesy of Beast Feast, alongside tasty, traditional roasts on a Sunday. Beers look like they could be a draw, with Kona Big Wave Golden Ale, Berlin Pilsner and Brooklyn Lager just some of those on draught.
Keep an eye out for quizzes on Tuesdays, plus DJs playing at the weekend.
There’s no faulting the beer at this grand old corner pub, which had lain derelict for a spell before being revived by the Individual Pubs group in 2006.
The 16 handpumps on the long bar are rarely all in operation, but there’s usually a wide selection of ales: regular guest ales join the core collection from Cambridge’s Milton Brewery, from the gentle Minotaur mild to the lively, pungent Marcus Aurelius stout, and three beer festivals a year (March, July and November) bring further variety.
Despite the best efforts of the staff and the presence of a bar billiards table (there’s also pool and board games), the beer is certainly the main attraction.
53 lokal ang nagrerekomenda
The Pembury Tavern
90 Amhurst RdThere’s no faulting the beer at this grand old corner pub, which had lain derelict for a spell before being revived by the Individual Pubs group in 2006.
The 16 handpumps on the long bar are rarely all in operation, but there’s usually a wide selection of ales: regular guest ales join the core collection from Cambridge’s Milton Brewery, from the gentle Minotaur mild to the lively, pungent Marcus Aurelius stout, and three beer festivals a year (March, July and November) bring further variety.
Despite the best efforts of the staff and the presence of a bar billiards table (there’s also pool and board games), the beer is certainly the main attraction.
The sizeable Cat & Mutton sits proudly at the helm of Hackney's Broadway Market, and has been welcoming its costermongers and consumers for 300 years. Over the centuries it has evolved into an establishment of two kinds: downstairs is a traditional pub, serving ales and roasts to thirtysomething locals. And up a spiral staircase is Pearl's cocktail lounge: a crepuscular bar with creative drinks, heavily draped windows and panoramic views of the market below. Both floors have comfy mismatched furniture, retro mirrors and old ceiling features made of tin. Broadway Market never really stops being busy, even when the stalls aren’t set up, and the pub reflects this: it’s always got a welcome buzz
149 lokal ang nagrerekomenda
The Cat & Mutton
76 Broadway MarketThe sizeable Cat & Mutton sits proudly at the helm of Hackney's Broadway Market, and has been welcoming its costermongers and consumers for 300 years. Over the centuries it has evolved into an establishment of two kinds: downstairs is a traditional pub, serving ales and roasts to thirtysomething locals. And up a spiral staircase is Pearl's cocktail lounge: a crepuscular bar with creative drinks, heavily draped windows and panoramic views of the market below. Both floors have comfy mismatched furniture, retro mirrors and old ceiling features made of tin. Broadway Market never really stops being busy, even when the stalls aren’t set up, and the pub reflects this: it’s always got a welcome buzz