This short strip of Mile End Road in the heart of the East End features 11 fast food joints. The majority are of the halal fried chicken variety, but there’s a chinese takeaway, a pizza shop, a greasy spoon, a sandwich bar and a pub. With other words, for the ca 10000 humans living in the direct vicinity there is no reason ever to venture into a supermarket to buy an apple. Or to cook.
The (former) Hayfield
Atmosphere Aplenty
I work in the East End, and all around me, pubs are dying. That means that these days I have to venture ever further to have my once a week post work pint. So today I walked for 30 minutes before finding it. I ended up at ‘INDO‘, and I don’t think I’ll ever leave. The punters might be a bit different, the music might be on the rubbish side of ‘ecclectic’, but the beers are heavenly, it’s quiet on an weekday night and it’s better than everything else around.
Praise indeed.
On a recent trip through the East End I passed the green tiled entrance of a pub that had caught my eye before: a slightly grubby entrance with big, golden letters over the door announcing to the world that behind the the slighty grubby and not particular welcoming face of the building there lurks a place where people can rest, spelled in French. Inspired by the positive comments in the Michelin Guide for “Eating Out in Pubs “
But it gets better: their catchy slogan ‘real chefs, real food’ is probably a dig at the recent revelations that rhere is a plethora of pre-cooked, off-site produced food out there, but on my second vist after only 3 days the menu had already changed, but the food was just as excellent as before. Even the best girlfriend ever was impressed and probably added the place as another reason to move to Stepney or Bow. But it gets even better: they have a lovely collection of ‘Meantime‘ beers on tab and in bottles (including an amzing wheat AND a framboise) that promise to light up any rainy Saturday afternoon.
Top Marks.
The East End of London has a pretty bad rep. Not quite without reason, but what people often don’t realise that how pretty the area is away from the grimy main streets full of fast food joints and mini cab offices.
An abandoned pub, the Katherine Wheel has been converted into some flats. Shame. Looked like a nice boozer.
St. Dunstan on a bright winter’s morning. Indeed, that too is the East End, just 300 meters from one of the major arterial roads. A quiet and friendly space that invites having a seat and contemplating about the change this amazing urban space has been going through over the last millenium.
Messaged from the Outhouse 