Hester's guidebook: local Shoreditch and Hackney

Hester
Hester's guidebook: local Shoreditch and Hackney

General scene round the flat

You're in the East End of London Zone 1, right in the middle of a very fun part of London. SHOREDITCH: If you turn right out of the flat and then wander left down one of the streets, you'll find yourself in the oldest social housing estate in London, the 'arts and crafts' Boundary Estate, now sought after flats. From there, you can wander further south from the flat to groovy Redchurch Street, then on to Shoreditch Station, the famous container constructed Boxpark, for brilliant shopping and eating, and, veering slightly to the left again, down into Brick lane (an 8 min walk). Left from the flat, in the other direction, you have Columbia Road proper: famous for its huge flower market on Sunday when the whole world arrives, including, often, film crews and celebrities... Check out the little cobbled courtyard left off Columbia Road, about 500m from the flat, and the wonderful restaurants there or nearby, literally two minutes away: Brawn and Campania. HACKNEY: If you continue down Columbia Road, following it round, crossing straight over Hackney Road and passing Hackney City Farm on your left, you hit the canal (8-10 mins walk) - you can descend to the towpath from the cat and mutton bridge, and walk for miles east or west.... Walking west, there are tonnes of cafes, bars and comedy clubs, while east is a little wilder, though I dare you to find the Palm Tree pub, the last surviving building in a particularly viciously blitzed neighbourhood - it's an eccentric surviving cockney gem with a niche following, and regularly plays live music in the evening. If you ignore the canal (your loss!), Broadway Market is right ahead of you (altogether 10 min walk). A huge Saturday market, and on non-market days, tonnes of cafes, boutique shops, even a cockney fishmongers with fresh oysters, with the famous Cat and Mutton pub at the end. It leads, of course, to London Fields, a beautiful tranquil park, sometimes a little over-populated by hipsters... At the north west corner of London Fields there's a lido - an open air swimming pool - the only one in the city that's heated all year. Entry is not too expensive, and kids are welcome. Round the south of London fields, there are antique markets and some pretty fun night spots - they regularly change, so I'd encourage you to explore. Other than that, there are billions of local restaurants/bars to sample, here are a few in the Old Street/Kingsland Road direction (turning right from the flat)...
A yummy vegan restaurant nearby.
Unity Diner
60 Wentworth Street
A yummy vegan restaurant nearby.
Delicious, succulent, proper pizzas, linked to the well-known celebrity members' club, Shoreditch House, located upstairs (the club itself is only open to members of Soho House, sadly, but if you are a member, there's a rooftop pool)
252 helybéli ajánlásával
Pizza East Shoreditch
56 Shoreditch High St
252 helybéli ajánlásával
Delicious, succulent, proper pizzas, linked to the well-known celebrity members' club, Shoreditch House, located upstairs (the club itself is only open to members of Soho House, sadly, but if you are a member, there's a rooftop pool)
Now a franchise, Dishoom, which specialises in South Asian street food, is a fun place to eat. I think this is the original brach
475 helybéli ajánlásával
Dishoom Shoreditch
7 Boundary St
475 helybéli ajánlásával
Now a franchise, Dishoom, which specialises in South Asian street food, is a fun place to eat. I think this is the original brach
A great local Vietnamese restaurant (if you walk up Kingsland Road, there are a number of Vietnamese restaurants in a row, they are all good, this is just an example of one of them).
14 helybéli ajánlásával
Hanoi Cafe
98 Kingsland Rd
14 helybéli ajánlásával
A great local Vietnamese restaurant (if you walk up Kingsland Road, there are a number of Vietnamese restaurants in a row, they are all good, this is just an example of one of them).

Sightseeing

This is a wonderful place to go on Sunday! You just walk out of the front door and turn left. There is usually music and food and fun, as well as flowers... if you go into the market and turn left down a side street around half way through the market, you'll find a tiny square usually with musicians - and there are a couple of lovely restaurants and fun shops there too.
1660 helybéli ajánlásával
Columbia Road Flower Market
Columbia Road
1660 helybéli ajánlásával
This is a wonderful place to go on Sunday! You just walk out of the front door and turn left. There is usually music and food and fun, as well as flowers... if you go into the market and turn left down a side street around half way through the market, you'll find a tiny square usually with musicians - and there are a couple of lovely restaurants and fun shops there too.
This is a lovely place on the canal, with great food. You can grab a beer or coffee here and watch the world go by, or have a whole meal. It's worth walking along the towpath to get a feel of East London - if you go far enough east, it gets quite wild, while if you go West there are restaurants and fun places to hang out and you eventually get to Islington.
216 helybéli ajánlásával
Towpath Café
42 De Beauvoir Cres
216 helybéli ajánlásával
This is a lovely place on the canal, with great food. You can grab a beer or coffee here and watch the world go by, or have a whole meal. It's worth walking along the towpath to get a feel of East London - if you go far enough east, it gets quite wild, while if you go West there are restaurants and fun places to hang out and you eventually get to Islington.
A wonderful Saturday market, with street food, clothes, music, you name it! On other days of the week, it's a great place to go out to eat, with many restaurants and cafes with outside tables. There is also a chemist here and a medical centre if you need one.
1735 helybéli ajánlásával
Broadway Market
Broadway Market
1735 helybéli ajánlásával
A wonderful Saturday market, with street food, clothes, music, you name it! On other days of the week, it's a great place to go out to eat, with many restaurants and cafes with outside tables. There is also a chemist here and a medical centre if you need one.

Local cinema

This is a great place to watch a movie, or hang out in its lovely restaurant. Owned by the same people as Shoreditch and Soho house, it's well designed and cosy.
120 helybéli ajánlásával
Electric Cinema
64-66 Redchurch Street
120 helybéli ajánlásával
This is a great place to watch a movie, or hang out in its lovely restaurant. Owned by the same people as Shoreditch and Soho house, it's well designed and cosy.

Green spaces

This is a lovely park where you can hang out and take a picnic, or explore the interesting things around it.
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London Fields station
429 helybéli ajánlásával
This is a lovely park where you can hang out and take a picnic, or explore the interesting things around it.
Victoria Park is a wonderful park - it's a walk from the flat, but you can join the canal near the flat and do a lovely walk along the towpath to the park in around 15 minutes. The park has great facilities for kids -an adventure playground and lots of activities in summer. Or it's just nice for a stroll or a run. There are cafes and pubs on the north side of the park in the extremely pretty 'Lauriston village'.
61 helybéli ajánlásával
Victoria Park
Grove Road
61 helybéli ajánlásával
Victoria Park is a wonderful park - it's a walk from the flat, but you can join the canal near the flat and do a lovely walk along the towpath to the park in around 15 minutes. The park has great facilities for kids -an adventure playground and lots of activities in summer. Or it's just nice for a stroll or a run. There are cafes and pubs on the north side of the park in the extremely pretty 'Lauriston village'.

Exercise

A heated outdoor swimming pool in a lovely park.
591 helybéli ajánlásával
London Fields
London Fields West Side
591 helybéli ajánlásával
A heated outdoor swimming pool in a lovely park.

Shopping

A very trendy place to shop - with designer clothes, food, and cosmetics, all inside containers. A fun place to wander around.
377 helybéli ajánlásával
BOXPARK Shoreditch
2-10 Bethnal Green Rd
377 helybéli ajánlásával
A very trendy place to shop - with designer clothes, food, and cosmetics, all inside containers. A fun place to wander around.

Night time/going out

A small but fun late night bar very close to the flat.
35 helybéli ajánlásával
Looking Glass Cocktail Club
49 Hackney Road
35 helybéli ajánlásával
A small but fun late night bar very close to the flat.
A teeny eccentric and amazingly, crazily, over-decorated place for cocktails
40 helybéli ajánlásával
The Bridge
204 Castelnau
40 helybéli ajánlásával
A teeny eccentric and amazingly, crazily, over-decorated place for cocktails