Hackney pubs
This inner city area has extreme contrasts: from beautiful Georgian houses overlooking Victoria Park to disintegrating council estates plagued by gang violence. Despite rapid gentrification the gap in wealth makes the area a crime hotspot. Consequently, the quality of the pubs varies wildly.
| The Cock Tavern, 315 Mare Street, E8 1EJ |
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This gets a lot of bad press, but I've always rather liked it. Archetypal dodgy boozer: blokes trying to sell you eastern european cigarettes and DVDs from plastic bags; mad old men in the corner; the hissing, spitting sound of silence as nothing happens for hours, no conversation, no action at the bar, not even any music, maybe some no-volume horseracing on the telly to lighten the atmosphere. A classic, in its own way
Reviewed by Fred Flange, Jan 2003
Telephone: 020 8533 6369
Nearest station: Hackney Central, Zone 2 (140 metres)
| The Dove, 24-28 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ |
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A posh one, this. Belgian beer on tap, fancy foodstuffs, dinky clientele. Small and intimate, with things hanging down from the ceiling, plenty of greenery, nice candles and little clusters of tables. It makes you want to stay. The only problem is, it's so far away from public transport...
Reviewed by Fred Flange
Telephone: 020 7275 7617
Nearest station: London Fields, Zone 2 (530 metres)
| Marie Lloyd Bar, Hackney Empire, 289 Mare Street, E8 1EJ |
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Aah Hackney. Beloved of Guardian journalists, who live in its posh, white southern part and boast endlessly about its 'multiculturalism' (i.e. all the other bits, which they never dare visit). The Marie Lloyd Bar is a case in point. Built on the ruins of the grubby but fun 'Samuel Pepys', and incorporated into the recently-enlarged Hackney Empire, it presses all the right buttons - retro 80s feel, mezzanine, Tracy Emin art, a nod and a wink to the Empire's dancehall past - for an exclusive white crowd that desperately wants to feel inclusive. The very things that attract them seem to put Hackney's other residents off, who always seem to give it a quick, curious look but then walk on by. It does what it does fairly well (although, when in a pub, I want CRISPS, not olives) and the rosta of DJ nights and live music events seem to please its adopted crowd, but I can't help feeling that its cultural and racial exclusivity is both a sad indication of the way this city is heading and something of a blown opportunity by those in charge of the design. Does food.
Reviewed by Fred Flange, Aug 2006
Telephone: 020 8510 4500
Nearest station: Hackney Central, Zone 2 (130 metres)
| The Old Ship, 2 Sylvester Path, Mare Street, E8 1EN |
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Not reviewed yet.
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Telephone: 020 8986 1641
Nearest station: Hackney Central, Zone 2 (130 metres)
| The Prince Arthur, 95 Forest Road, E8 3BH |
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Not reviewed yet.
Want to review it?
Telephone: 020 7249 9996
Nearest station: London Fields, Zone 2 (610 metres)
| Pub On The Park, 19 Martello Street, E8 3PE |
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Wonderful in summer, with the whole of London Fields as its beer garden. It also has the best pub toilet in London pub, marvellously clean with a mahogany toilet seat. These sort of things shouldn't matter but they do... Polished wooden surfaces abound, and there is copious foliage to hide behind should the need arise.
Reviewed by Fred Flange
I was in Hackney and went to this Pub on the Park which is possible the worst pub I've ever been to. Not purely because of the cheap, nasty and fat bacon that looked as if it had been boiled, but ALL THREE staff members were so, so rude and they acted as though they couldn't even speak or understand plain English when I complained. I must say it is a real shame because what makes it a really horrible pub is the staff working there. This is because my friend ordered a BLT sandwich and chips, which came suspiciously quickly and there was a horrible curly hair on one of the tomatoes. The chips (£2.50) looked and tasted as though they had been soaked in fat and oil.
I thought this was really unacceptable especially with the sandwich having a curly looking hair in it...so I complained. I was very polite and approached the bar lady with this and she shouted at me saying 'go to the kitchen!'. I thought ok, someone is having a bad day and just carried on, this time I tried to explain this to the older two ladies that were responsible for making the food and serving it. The lady with the lighter hair began shouting at me 'where's the hair?', she removed it and continued to dismiss my complaint.... also pretending that she could not understand me and even acknowledge why I was approaching them.
So I left the kitchen and that pub.... it nearly ruined my whole day! I will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER be going to that pub again and I hope other people don't either....purely because of the staff. I would rather be shot then have to visit Pub on the Park in Hackney.
Reviewed by Lillian, Sep 2006
Telephone: 020 7275 9586
Nearest station: London Fields, Zone 2 (110 metres)
| The Royal Inn on the Park, 111 Lauriston Road, E9 7HJ |
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Big wide windows for staring at the Park. Lovely food. Big tables. Gorgeous beer. Occasional weird lapses into jazz nights. Best on a Saturday or Sunday, but get there early...
Reviewed by Fred Flange
Telephone: 020 8985 3321
Nearest station: London Fields, Zone 2 (990 metres)
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