An Alternative Travel Guide to Hackney
Spending a Saturday exploring the vibrant neighbourhood of Hackney in East London is always one of my favourite day trips. There are some outstanding breakfast joints, marvellous markets, terrific bars, obscure curiosities and so much more…so let’s get started!
Breakfast at Jim’s Cafe
Can you possibly think of a better way to begin your day than with a big plate of breakfast goodness and a strong cup of coffee? No, me neither and that’s why I would highly recommend kicking off your Hackney adventure at Jim’s Café.
Based on Chatsworth Road, gasoline and caffeine are what fuels this Clapton based biker café. If like me, you have a strong interest in motorcycle culture then you are really going to love it here. It’s run by the Hackney Motorcycle collective Black Skulls and you will regularly find a line-up of impressive motorcycles outside.
Grab a booth and order from their delicious custom-built menu, whist admiring the fantastic motorbike memorabilia and artwork around you. They have all the breakfast classics here, but the standout for me is always the hearty Full English or Salt Beef Hash, paired with a damn fine cup of coffee for good measure.
It’s the ideal neighbourhood drop-in to experience some true local culture and fuel up for an exhilarating day ahead!
A few of my other breakfast highlights in the area include: Lele’s for their all-vegan brilliant brunch offerings; Hatch for their creative setting and seven seeded sourdough and Well Street Kitchen for their breakfast baps and builder’s tea.
Hackney Wandering
From Jim’s Café meander down Chatsworth Road towards Homerton High Street and take the time to check out a few of the local independents as you go, including: A Flower Shop for their seasonal bouquets, Patina for their unusual and unique antiques, Sweet Interiors for their vast range of mid-century furniture and 46b Espresso Hut to pick up a coffee whilst you wander.
At the end of Chatsworth Road take a right onto Homerton High Street and follow it down until you reach Sutton Place on your left. The quaint street lined with terrace houses will guide you to the entrance of Hackney Churchyard, where you can wander through the hallowed ground to exit on to Mare Street.
It’s here that you’ll find one of my beloved vintage shops Paper Dress Vintage, which is loads of fun to rummage through. If you are a collector of vintage clothing like me, there are also a couple of cool shops on the nearby Amhurst Road, including House of Vintage Hackney and Preloved by Melina, which I would also recommend swinging by.
Bohemia Place Market
Next up, spend some time exploring the vibrant Bohemia Place Market, which is a lively open-air affair, filled with a range of local independent traders. You can find pretty much everything here, from vendors of delicious street food, to alternative vintage stalls, wonderful coffee, artisan gifts and glorious taprooms including: Verdant Brewing Co., Brew Club and Hackney Church Brew Co.
Pophams Bakery
After browsing the stalls in the market, continue south on Mare Street until you reach Hackney Town Hall. Take a right just afterwards onto Reading Lane and then cut through on to Hackney Grove, to bring you out on Richmond Road. Take a right to eventually find the lovely Pophams Bakery! It’s the perfect hangout spot whilst indulging in one of their freshly made pastries and flavourful coffees before enjoying a stroll through the park.
London Fields Park to Netil Market
Continue west along Richmond Road until you reach London Fields Park to your left. Take a saunter through the park and if the sun is shining it’s a nice pit-stop to sit, relax and watch the world go by for half an hour.
Exit at the Southeast corner onto Westgate Street where, just over the road, you will find the humming Netil Market. It’s a jam-packed space full of renowned street food shacks and boutique pop-up stalls. I really enjoy the buzzing atmosphere of this tiny, but well-curated market and love taking my time to explore.
If you are getting a bit peckish then you must head to The Bagel Guys, their bagels are so heavenly it would be a crime to miss out! Their signature Lox bagel is what it’s all about here and as if it couldn’t get any better, they even stock different flavours of the much-loved stateside sparkling water, La Croix, which is specially imported from the U.S.
Broadway Market
Next up, take a left back onto Westgate and follow it round a short distance until you hit the bustling Broadway Market thoroughfare. Here you’ll encounter a working Victorian market filled with 70 independents and a huge selection of artisan street food vendors and one-of-a-kind stalls. I like to do a loop of the market to eye up all the delicious delights that are on offer on any given day and then start back at the top, sampling as I go. I’ll guarantee that when it comes to lunch you really can’t get any better than the street food pop-ups of Broadway Market!
If I’ve whet your appetite and you fancy trying out a few ‘street eats’ then I would heartily recommend one of Deeney’s famous cheese toasties or a gigantic classic scotch egg from Finest Fayre.
Then to finish you off why not try a triple chocolate brownie from Bad Brownie or a tasty colourful treat from The Meringue Girls (who are located parallel to the main street on Broadway Market Mews).
If however you’re more inclined towards a sit-down lunch affair, then there’s also some stellar options. There’s the Cheesy Nick’s residency in the East Village style bar Off Broadway; wholesome brunchy lunches at the Market Café and perilously good pub grub at the Cat & Mutton or The Dove.
Regent’s Canal
Feeling pretty full? Take a post-lunch amble down the side of Regent’s Canal and be transported away from the hustle and bustle of the market to wallow for a while in much more peaceful surroundings. One of my favourite photo opportunities is from the bottom of the path to the left of the bridge, which runs down to the canal from the bottom of the market. From this vantage point you can get a really interesting shot capturing the tranquil canal with the imposing metal gasometer and the surrounding buildings in the background, all reflected in the serene waters of one of London’s most famous waterways.
If you fancy a leisurely ramble take the path alongside the canal, (which follows Andrew’s Road) and you will eventually exit back onto Mare Street.
The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History
Just a short distance from the canal, is your next stop, The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art and Natural History. This is an unusual and enigmatic museum featuring Viktor Wynd’s personal collection of extremely rare and pretty extraordinary curiosities from across the globe.
This is a real ‘off the beaten track’ establishment! As you enter, you’ll discover The Last Tuesday Society’s absinthe cocktail bar, with the museum hidden away beneath you in the basement. Stepping down the mysterious spiral staircase, I’d advise you to enter with caution as this exhibition is not for the faint-hearted… showcasing pieces intended to reveal both the horrors and wonders of the natural world!
You’ll be charged a small fee to enter but you will be able to spend hours in astonishment looking through bizarre and extremely rare artifacts, which make for a very surreal Saturday afternoon experience.
Suitably amazed, head back upstairs and enjoy a drink in Hackney’s most curious cocktail bar. Surrounded by more of Wynd’s mystical acquisitions, it really provides a unique backdrop whilst you sample their unusual absinthes and extraordinary elixirs.
Craft Beer at Five Points Brewing Co
If you have time and like me you’re partial to a craft beer, keep heading north on Mare Street and take a left on Bush Road to find the home of Five Points Taproom. It’s a great outdoor space for open-air beers and soaking up some local atmosphere.
If you want to learn about their brewing process and see exactly how it’s done they also offer an impressive brewery tour, which takes you through the Victorian railway arches underneath Hackney Downs station. Plus, you even get to take part in a beer tasting whilst exploring the brew house - what’s not to love?
Mare Street Market
Head back onto Mare Street and continue north until you reach Mare Street Market. It’s great to pop in here for a quick alcoholic beverage or a coffee and check out their in house-record store Stranger Than Paradise, deli and rotating boutique pop-up shops.
Dinner at The Spread Eagle
After a jam-packed day of discovering this neck of the woods, I can’t think of a better place to settle down to eat than at The Spread Eagle. Based back on Homerton High Street (where you were earlier in the day), it’s around a 25-minute walk, but if by now you’re tired out, I would recommend jumping on the 236 bus from King Edward’s Road to Glyn Road and it will drop you off pretty much right outside.
The Spread Eagle is famous for being hailed as London’s first 100% vegan pub! They dish up some of the best pub food around, creating innovative takes on traditional pub classics, which are all as tasty as hell!
As well as glorious food, the pub also doubles up as a late-night bar and has a lively atmosphere on a Saturday night. So, get the ball rolling and try some of their premium dessert liquors and after-dinner cocktails, which are also all completely vegan. Pretty impressive eh?
A few other worthy mentions in the area are the industrial chic pizzeria Lardo; Silver Lining for a wonderful wine list and seasonal small plates and the Nest Restaurant Hackney providing a unique dining experience with their specialist set menus.
Late Night Drinks at Blondies
So, the drinks are now in full swing and where better to end your night than at the tiny rock ‘n’ roll dive bar which is Blondies. Depending on what time it is and to save you getting lost after a few drinks, I’d recommend just jumping in a 10-minute uber to get you up to Lower Clapton Road.
Blondies is my absolute favourite drinking haunt in London, with their punk-rock spirit, alternative DJ’s and Blondies’ beers on hand, you’ll always have a riot of a night in here. Plus, it’s open til’ late!
If you do want to check out a few other bars in the neighbourhood Helgi’s serve up some killer cocktails in their psychedelic rock style venue and The Clapton Hart is a great atmospheric local boozer.
What a day! I hope that my alternative guide to Hackney has acquainted you with some new places to discover and that you enjoy walking through this spirited and creative neighbourhood, as much as I do. I’ve also included the clickable map below, so you know exactly where everything is located.
So, that’s my take on Hackney, I would love to hear about your own wanderings through the area and what your favourite local spots are! Thanks for reading and if you enjoyed the alternative guide please give it a share.
Thanks, V
