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How to spend the perfect weekend in East London
Nov 27, 2017
The East End may be known for club-lined Kingsland Road and hipster haven Shoreditch, but go off the beaten track and you can find beautiful green spaces and adorable boutiques galore. Here’s how to have the perfect, family-friendly weekend in East London - home of November's 58 Gin!
Saturday
Morning
Image: @deeneys via instagram
It’s Saturday morning, so have a lie in! When you’re ready, roll out of bed and hop on the Overground to Haggerston Station. Grab a coffee at Curio Cabal (258 Kingsland Road, E8 4DG) and head down to the canal, which you can follow all the way to beautiful Broadway Market. Pop in and out of the independent shops that line this local treasure, picking up artisan goods – and even some antiques, if you can carry them!
Noon
After breakfast, take a stroll up to Stoke Newington. Grab a coffee to go (L’atelier Dalston, at 31 Stoke Newington Road, N16 8BJ, is a Craft Gin Club favourite) for a straight meander up Stoke Newington Road to Stoke Newington Church Street, a beautiful high street lined with independent boutiques, butchers, vegetable stalls and wine shop – including an outpost of Borough Wines. Pick up fare for a light picnic (and a few drinks) at expansive Clissold Park (916 9HJ), where you can while away the afternoon basking on the grass or nursing a tea at the historic Clissold House.
Night
As the sun starts to sink, dust yourself off and head back to Stoke Newington Road, where you’ll find neighbourhood haunt Wolf (110 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 7NY). Serving up seasonal Italian fare, it’s a gorgeous spot to enjoy local produce and experience some of the exciting innovations happening in the Hackney restaurant scene. After dinner, head home with the little ones or pop by Original Sin (129 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 0PH) for a nightcap.
Sunday
Morning
Get an early start and head down to Columbia Road Flower Market, where London’s most beautiful blooms are sold right on the street. After you stock up on affordable blossoms, hop on the Overground and go three stops to Dalston Junction Station. Just outside the station you’ll find Café Route (Gaumont Tower, E8 3BQ). Sit outside or in the window and enjoy a delicious Mediterranean Breakfast, with salty halloumi and tasty Turkish sausage, or avocado on toast.
oon
As the afternoon begins, stop in at The Cat and Mutton (76 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ) for a traditional Sunday roast with all of the trimmings. Then walk off your meal with a stroll through the famous London Fields. Turn out onto Mare Street, the main thoroughfare to Hackney Central Station, and pop in for a drink and a mid-afternoon showing at the plush Hackney Picturehouse (270 Mare Street, E8 1HE).
Night
After your film, it’s time to put on some lipstick and head out for the best meal of your life. Just a seven minute walk from the cinema is Pidgin (52 Wilton Way, E8 1BS), Hackney’s first Michelin-starred restaurant. This restaurant offers just one thing: a weekly tasting menu of four courses, plus amuse-bouche (a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre to ‘amuse’ the palate). The service and food are both spectacular, the atmosphere is inviting and the house Negronis are a gin lover’s dream. And, at just over £60 per person, this is truly accessible haute cuisine. Once you’ve eaten your fill, head home for your final sleep in this unique neighbourhood.
