48 hours in . . . East London, an insider guide to land of the hip and happening
The hipster capital of Europe
East London is land of the hip and happening. Creatives flocked to areas like Shoreditch and Bethnal Green in the Nineties and Noughties and have kept on coming, moving further out into Hackney, Stratford, Leyton and beyond. It means the vibe is very different to West and Central London – younger, cooler and a little bit shabbier (in a good way).
Come to East London for the best markets in the capital, atmospheric old-school boozers, history, street food, street art and envelope-pushing restaurants (many of them now with Michelin stars). It’s a great place to wander and take in the atmosphere and characters, especially because it’s easy to get from one place to the next – so you can spend your time above ground taking in your surroundings.
Hot right now . . .
Alison Taylor, our resident expert, offers her top tips on the hottest places to eat and drink, plus the best things to do this season.
Eat
Brat (1/F, 4 Redchurch Street; bookings online only) – a hip restaurant named after the colloquial term for turbot in old English – was awarded a Michelin star in October 2018, just six months after opening. It’s the first solo spot for Tomos Parry (of Kitty Fisher’s fame) and wood-oven grill cooking is the focus: seafood, including whole turbot, and creamy native-breed beef. Watch the chefs at work in the big open kitchen, where the action is centred around a giant butcher’s block.
? The best restaurants in East London
Do
EartH (13 Stoke Newington Road; 020 7422 7505), short for Evolutionary Arts Hackney, is a multi-arts space in Dalston’s lovingly restored Art Deco Savoy Cinema. The amphitheatre-style main space is breathtaking, with a curved upper tier of wooden step seating. There’s a diverse music programme, theatre comedy and a monthly flea market, amongst many other cultural delights.
? The best things to do in East London
Drink
Another newly anointed Michelin-starred hot spot is bar and restaurant Leroy (18 Phipp Street; 0207 739 4443), from the guys behind Hackney’s much-loved Ellory (which closed last March). Come for the classics and new-wave natural wines, as well as the perfectly formed fish and vegetable-focused small plates, such as cured mackerel with beetroot and basil and pumpkin with spinach and chestnuts.
? The best nightlife in East London
48 hours in . . . East London
Day One
MORNING
Dive head first into East End life with a fry up at E.Pellicci (332 Bethnal Green Road; 020 7739 4873). This is your proper, old-school Italian greasy spoon. Run, raucously, by the same family since 1900, the grade II-listed Art Deco café (expect a walnut-panelled interior with Formica tables) is an institution round these parts – a warm, personality-filled time capsule that retains a bracing old-school charm in the face of gentrification all around. Oh – and the Krays used to have their breakfast here.
After breakfast, you can walk to the V&A’s Museum of Childhood(Cambridge Heath Road; 020 8983 5200) and reminisce about all the old toys you used to play with. It has a great shop, too (especially if you have any children's birthday presents to buy). From here it’s a short walk to Victoria Park(Grove Road; 020 8985 5699), East London’s grandest green space. The Pavillion Café does great coffee and has trestle tables lined up alongside the lake.
AFTERNOON
After a stroll through the park you can wander to Hackney’s Broadway Market, by way of Regent’s Canal. The canal is busy with both joggers and cyclists, so keep your wits about you, but it’s a scenic route, with an industrial backdrop and plenty of graffiti to admire. Broadway Market is a street that also happens to host a vibrant food and vintage clothes market on Saturdays, which is when I suggest you visit.
Try Shrimpy for soy-grilled or dill-battered shrimp in brioche buns and The Meringue Girls for rainbow-coloured meringues. Also visit Broadway Vintage, which runs horizontally opposite Jackman Street, and has a good selection of timely second-hand pieces. The street itself, though, is worth a trip any day of the week for the independent book shops (Artwords and Donlon Books) and cafés (Climpson & Sons is your archetypal artisanal hipster coffee and pastry joint).
LATE
There’s no better way to segue from day to night than to have a pint at one of the pubs on Broadway. The Dove (24-28 Broadway Market; 020 7275 7617) and The Cat and Mutton (76 Broadway Market; 020 7249 6555) are both great starts to any evening – always busy with the market crowd and buzzing with optimism for an eventful night ahead. Then, you could happily stay on the street for the evening – you can grab a delicious (and cheap) pizza atFranco Manca(52 Broadway Market; 020 7254 7249), or an Argentinian steak from Buen Ayre (50 Broadway Market; 020 7275 9900).
Another stellar option is to head back to Bethnal Green to neighbourhood favourite Bistrotheque (23-27 Wadeson Street; 020 8983 7900) for French-accented bistro fare, potent cocktails and an up-for-it atmosphere. If you’re still going after dinner, head to Coupette bar (423 Bethnal Green Road; 020 8983 7900), back on Bethnal Green Road (opposite E. Pellicci), for a nightcap. Owned by Chris Moore, formerly head bartender at The Savoy’s Beaufort Bar, the drinks menu is focused on the liquors and liqueurs found behind the bar at French bistros, with Calvados (apple brandy) taking centre stage.
? The best restaurants in East London
Day Two
MORNING
Start the day early at Columbia Road Flower Market. It’s a pretty little street lined with independent boutiques, delis, galleries and design shops. The flower stalls run down the middle of the road in a riot of colour and noise. Grab a strong coffee to fuel the floral gauntlet run from Start Coffee, a hole in the wall at number 150 and next to furniture store Start Space.
Columbia Road gets really busy and can be a bit of a drag, quite literally, at peak time (around midday), as you shuffle along the stalls as part of a four-deep scrum. So, get there as early as possible, ideally 9am. The flower market is popular, yes, and not in any way a secret but it never loses its charm – for locals and tourists alike. It’s an extremely soulful and authentic experience. Be sure to eavesdrop on the market traders’ banter too. They’ll have you in stitches.
It’s worth exploring the side streets off Columbia Road, like Ezra Street, which houses wonderful vintage furniture shop B Southgate, with lots of mid-century finds, and Lilli Vanilli Bakery for artsy-and-delicious cakes. You could get a swift half-pint in one of the pubs – The Royal Oak or The Birdcage are both local institutions – before getting an early lunch at Beigel Bake (159 Brick Lane; 020 7729 0616) just a 10-minute walk from Columbia Road. This is another must-do East London experience and some say they’re the best bagels in London, with queues out onto the street to prove it. The hot salt beef with gherkins and mustard is the speciality but it’s all good, as is the no-nonsense service.
AFTERNOON
On Sundays, Brick Lane becomes a ramshackle sort of flea market, which is always worth a browse. Take a left onto Cheshire Street for a row of excellent vintage shops. If you walk to the bottom of Brick Lane you’ll reach Commercial Street, home to Spitalfields Market(16 Horner Square), which has been around for over 350 years in various guises and still does a thriving trade alongside the contemporary fashion retailers and 'it' restaurants that flank the perimeter of the market. The nearby winding cobbled streets with Grade II-listed Georgian terraced houses, like Fournier Street, home of art duo Gilbert & George since the 1960s, and Folgate Street, home to Dennis Severs’ house, are also worth a visit.
Nearby is another gem of an East End pub, The Golden Heart (110 Commercial Street; 020 7247 2158), the former hangout of the Brit Pack where you’ll find Tracy Emin artworks on the wall and Adnams and Leffe behind the bar.
LATE
Take a trip to the heart of hipster-land, Dalston, for an evening of culture. New arts venue EartH Hackney(13 Stoke Newington Road; 020 7422 7505) used to be The Savoy Cinema and has now been beautifully restored into a theatre and concert hall. Look ahead to see what’s on but comedy sits alongside theatre and music, and the building itself is breathtaking.
If nothing takes your fancy at EartH, you also have Hackney Empire (291 Mare Street; 020 8985 2424), an iconic music venue, andHackney Picturehouse (270 Mare Street; 0871 902 5747), a wonderful cinema, which regularly hosts events and has a buzzy downstairs bar.
After your culture hit, you’ll be spoiled for choice with places to have a drink or bite to eat, but try Lardo (197-201 Richmond Rd; 020 8985 2683) for seasonal Italian small plates and chic pizza, followed by Stoke Newington’s favourite basement cocktail bar with dancing, Ruby’s (76 Stoke Newington Road; 020 7923 3966), to round your night off. Friday nights are described as ‘1980s Brooklyn but Dalston’ with a focus on pi?a coladas.
? The best nightlife in East London
Where to stay . . .
Luxury Living
The delightfully eccentric Batty Langley’s– in the heart of gentrified Spitalfields – is the third from Douglas Blain and Peter McKay, who are behind the equally quirky Hazlitt’s in Soho and The Rookery in Clerkenwell. It is named after Bartholomew "Batty" Langley, an 18th-century architect, landscape gardener and author.
Doubles from ￡330. 12 Folgate Street; 020 7377 4390
Designer Digs
The Shoreditch outpost of the Ace Hotel is still a premier hipster hotspot, from its co-working space for locals to the stylish rooms with unusual amenities for trendy travellers, and ever-popular restaurant Hoi Polloi for anyone wanting a good time. There's even a sauna to relax in when you want some downtime.
Doubles from ￡135. 100 Shoreditch High Street; 020 7613 9800
Budget Bolthole
Z Shoreditch has fantastic value for money in one of the capital’s trendiest districts. It's all about the details at this convivial Shoreditch pad. Think soundproofed rooms, handmade pillows, complimentary cheese and wine afternoons, and free ice cream after 11pm. You'll struggle to find better for the price in this area.
Double from ￡75. 136-144 City Road; 020 3551 3700
? A complete guide to the best hotels in East London
What to bring home . . .
Other than fresh flowers from Columbia Road, treat yourself and friends to cakes from royal wedding baker Violet Cakes (47 Wilton Way; 020 7275 8360).
When to go . . .
London is always open, as the Mayor would say, but spring and summer are particularly appealing because you can make the most of the city’s many green spaces and partake in a festival or two. Days are long and Londoners really do cheer up at the first sight of sunshine and once there’s the opportunity to start drinking outside. There is no summer exodus like in Paris or Rome.
Spring and autumn are cooler, but can be crisp and sunny and great for wandering around. Winter is cold and often wet, with short days. You can always find a cosy pub with a fire, though. Central London is very festive at Christmas, with lots of lights, trees and opportunities for ice-skating.
September and February are London Fashion Week months, which means which means the city is buzzy – but so are the hotels. The Frieze Art Fair has turned October into an unofficial art month. The quietest time is post-Christmas to late March and the busiest is July/August, when school groups arrive.
Know before you go . . .
Essential information
? London is huge so you will need and want to use public transport and/or taxis. You have a lot of options – the underground being the most obvious and probably most useful because you won’t get stuck in traffic like you can (and will) with the bus network and in a taxi. Head to tfl.gov.uk for all the information you could need, and to plan journeys, within the public transport network. You will need to purchase an oyster card (￡5 deposit for the card itself) and top up at machines in stations or online. You can also use most debit or credit cards to tap at tube barriers and on the bus network.
? A good tip for getting around, and making the most of opportunities to walk and actually see something rather than be zooming under the city, is the Citymapper app. You can plug in where you want to go and it will give you all the options, from buses, to tubes, to walking and even how much it would cost you in an Uber.
? Black cabs are handy for short journeys because the drivers really know their way around the city (thanks to ‘The Knowledge’ they have to study for three years). You’re also likely to get some lively chat, plus it’s a black cab so pretty iconic as far as the London experience goes.
? The tube now runs throughout the night on Fridays and Saturdays (most main lines) and there is also an extensive night bus service (not for the fainthearted). Again, tfl.gov.uk has all the info.
? London bus tours (go to visitlondon.com for info on service providers) provide a unique opportunity to appreciate the full architectural splendour of London's streets and monuments. Tour guides offer historical background and interesting facts, with commentaries available in several languages. Some regular bus routes are good for sightseeing too – try routes 9, 14, 15 and 22.
? If you’re planning to visit lots of museums and galleries, good news – most of them are free for the permanent exhibitions. For big attractions like the Tower of London, London Eye and Sealife Centre etc it’s worth investing in a London Pass, which has good deals if you know you plan to do several of these kinds of activities.
? When it comes to eating out, you won’t be short of options. But be sure to check whether you need to book ahead because some of the ‘it’ restaurants get really busy. There are also a lot of trendy no reservation places, which attract lengthy queues. Do a bit of research to find out best times to visit.
? Tipping is appreciated but not always necessary in London. It is customary to leave a 10-15 per cent of the bill as a tip when eating out, though some restaurants add on a service charge instead. Most hotel bills also include a service charge, if it is not added it is customary to tip 10-15 per cent of the bill. People often tip porters but not every single person who helps you as per the US model. It is polite to tip 10-15 per cent of the taxi fare to black cabs and licensed minicabs.
Visitlondon.com is an excellent resource for info on all of the above and more.
The basics
Currency: Pound sterling
Telephone code: 00 44
Author bio
Alison Taylor moved from Yorkshire to London 18 years ago and never looked back. She will mainly be found eating and drinking in East London, or grabbing dumplings in Chinatown and a taking wander through the reassuring madness of Soho.