Broadway Market on a Saturday is a snap shot of what life in Hackney is all about. A true mix of styles and cultures, young and old, traditional and new. It is a microcosm of what living in a truly global city is all about. 

Broadway Market is not a large street yet the market on Saturdays see this street crammed with life. The weekly stalls attract the crowds, but the shops, the pubs, the restaurants and cafes all join in. It is what I want a weekly market to be. Lively, but offering something for everyone. Go for the shopping, stay for the people watching!

The market is primarily a specialist food market where you can get organic meat, fruit and veg alongside fresh fish, cakes, bread, cheese, sausages… but you can also get vintage clothes, furniture, hand made brooches, bike repairs/spares or hit the shops instead of the stalls and get art books at Artwords, fabulous coffee at Climpsons, all your sewing needs at Our Patterned Hand or a proper East End pie and mash at the historic Cooke’s. The choice really is that varied.

Personally, I always make sure I pick up at least one samosa from the Gujarati Rasoi stall as they are simply the best I have ever tasted. But be aware, if you only get one you will have to go back and get another, and at £ 1 each why not?

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Broadway Market | Bars, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Various)
Broadway Market,E8 4PH | East
Sat 09:00 – 17:00

When you think of Danish design and hygge cafes you do not think of Hackney Downs, but that might soon change as Chase & Sorensen is a Danish modern furniture shop and cafe on a very non-stylish junction in Hackney Downs. That combination implies Chase & Sorensen shouldn’t really work, but somehow it isn’t just working but actually thriving. 

The collection of modern design classics are sourced directly from Denmark every few weeks which has meant Chase & Sorensen are very competitively priced. They claim on their site to ‘provide customers with reasonably priced, well-crafted and aesthetically on-point pieces of furniture’ and while they seem to be doing that very well indeed it is the inclusion of the Scandinavian coffee bar that make this place a step ahead.

The seating is the shop and vice versa. You are eating and drinking on the chairs, the sofas and the tables they want you to buy. Be that a £ 800.00 Edvard Kindt-Larsen teak sofa or a £ 300.00 Børge Christoffersen occasional chair. And I like that. I like it a lot.

Added to that they are using the walls of the shop as a gallery and have quite a few reasonably priced smaller items such as Royal Copenhagen vases, Fog & Mørup lamps, teak mirrors and vintage leather bags. One of the best decision they have made, however, is to sell the wonderful Cinnamon buns from local baker Violet.

Design classics and good coffee and cakes – a winning combination.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Chase & Sorensen | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks | Latte £ 2.20
238B Dalston Lane,E8 1LQ | East | +442085335523
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 17:00, Sat 08:00 – 18:00, Sun 10:00 – 17:00

Victoria Park Village (obviously not a real village) is a little leafy secret in East London on the edge of Victoria Park. Consisting of just the two shopping streets, Lauriston Road and Victoria Park Road, this ‘village’ feels somehow different. Perhaps it is the proximity to the park itself (which is Britain’s oldest public park, built in 1842!) or the lack of through traffic, but whatever it is, it is definitely working.

House prices around the village are now sky high and the shops do tend to have an upmarket feel to them, but there is a very varied selection of (mostly) independent shops, pubs and restaurants. 

The Royal Inn On The Park has an excellent selection of draught beers and is packed for the very good Sunday lunch. The Lauriston has DJs and excellent pizzas to go with their beers. The Empress Of India is a fantastic restaurant open for brunch onwards, serving meat from the award-winning Ginger Pig butchers across the road. For fish you can go to Jonathan Norris Fishmonger or if you don’t want to cook it yourself head across to the Fish House for a good old fashioned fish and chips! 

Coffee, cakes and snacks are to be found at Elbows Cafe, the lovely Amandine Café and Loafing; excellent Vietnamese can be had at Namo; Su Sazzagoni has traditional Sardinian food; Bottle Apostle excellent wines; The Deli Downstairs is great for fresh bread, cheese and hand made pies; while Haus makes sure your own home is tastefully decorated and furnished. Lovely.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Victoria Park Village | Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants (Various)
Lauriston Road,E9 7HJ | East
Depending on location

The area around Liverpool Street Station in East London was once associated with poor slums and the scene of the crime for the Jack the Ripper murders. While the pub Jack’s victims use to drink at still stands, The Ten Bells, the area itself is now very popular with London’s artistic and unusual.

After a short walk from Liverpool Street Station, you’ll come across the Old Spitalfields Markets (105a Commercial Street) which is open every Sunday. Whilst these markets are definitely worth a peak, keep wandering towards Bricklane where you’ll find the Old Truman Brewery (91 Bricklane).

Inside the old brewery, you’ll discover up-and-coming designers selling a unique variety of handbags, clothes and jewellery. There’s also a few vintage clothing stores and chic boutiques dotted around the area, which is a refreshing change from the usual high street entourage of clothing stores.

After a spot of shopping, and a curry at one of Bricklane’s many Bangladeshi restaurants, keep your eye out for warehouse art exhibitions which seem to be popping up all over the place. And last but certainly not least, ensure you have a drink in the beer garden of Vibe Bar, before stumbling across the road to 93 Feet East (150 Bricklane). Whilst this place is sweaty and jammed, it has become an East End institution well known for its eclectic mix of live music and its intimate atmosphere.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Bricklane | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Shopping, Snacks, Restaurants
Bricklane | East
Markets open Sun, most clothing stores daily.

SCP is a recent addition to East London’s burgeoning selection of art and design gift shops. Yeah, there’s always been a good selection of crafty type stores that sell unusual items, but SCP is one of my favourites for hot products of a well-designed nature.

There are two stores: one in Notting Hill and this, the flagship shop, on Curtain Road. If I’m not in there salivating over an Eames chair or a Russell Pinch sofa, I’m usually there to pick up an original gift. Stock includes design from around the world, including soft furnishings, kitchenware, decorative items, clocks, prints and so much more.

Its spacious, airy store is split over two levels – the first floor is like a design lover’s fantasy with larger items like furniture seductively displayed, whilst downstairs caters more for gift buyers (I tend to stick downstairs, lest I end up leaving with £500 side table I certainly don’t need).

They’re the only London stockist of Kiosk products – some of my favourite things – a collection of interesting items from around the world, like motel keyrings, reproduction 1960s bottle openers and other curiosities. They also stock china with unusual illustrations (many by local London designers) as well as one of the best ranges of modern haute-design in London. Maybe even the world.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
SCP | Art & culture, Shopping
135 Curtain Road, EC2A 3BX | East | +442077391869
Mon – Sat 09:30 – 18:00, Sun 11:00 – 17:00

Ethical fashion has come a long way since the days of hemp skirts. There are now hundreds of fashion designers who design and produce sustainable, wearable fashion, and it’s the aim of 123 Bethnal Green Road to promote them.

But there’s so much more than this under this one roof. The Bunker Café hosts parties and events, and is one of my favourite places to go for cream tea at weekends. Huge scones are served with a variety of jams, there’s an enormous range of tea served in old china tea cups, and while you’re there you can browse through their enviable collection of British royal wedding books.

The ground floor has a dedicated room of knick knacks, perfect for gift buying ideas and packed full of unusual objects from Beyoncé paper dolls to scented candles and tea cups. The ‘scout hut’ – the larger room at the back – stocks a wide range of fashion including new London designers and reasonably priced knitwear for boys and girls.

Then there are specialist floors for womenswear (including lingerie and even more accessory ideas) and a smoker’s lounge-themed menswear floor to satisfy any gentleman’s tastes.

The store has a rolling arts and events programme, so have a look before you visit to see what’s on. And don’t forget to check out their collection of vintage posters that adorn the staircases – they’re breathtaking.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
123 Bethnal Green Road | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks
123 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch E2 7DG | East | +442077298050
10:00 – 18:00 daily (opening times vary)

Fans of all things vintage will love brand new East End concept store BLITZ. Heralded as the city’s first ‘vintage department store’, BLITZ is  set over two floors in an old warehouse space which will have even the most cynical non-hipsters wide eyed.

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that it’s damn expensive… with mens shoes retailing at £42 and childrenswear at a standard £20. But, it’s worth popping in to check out this glorious space and it would be my first destination if I was looking for something specific; a leopard-print shirt or a patent-leather Creepers, for example.

There’s also a good range of new books that meet the demands of the vintage-lover, a great selection of vintage movie posters, and one of London’s largest collections of actual designer vintage, with British brands covered from Biba to McQueen. It’s just down from Poppies Fish & Chips and off Brick Lane, so you’ve got nothing to lose by losing yourself for an hour amongst their unique collection of finds.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
BLITZ | Shopping
55-59 Hanbury Street, E1 5JP | East | +442073770730
10:00 – 18:00 daily