I’m not too well equipped really to go into too much depth about Ombra as I didn’t actually have any food here, I just got a drink and the reviews don’t tend to be too good, although for what it’s worth I did think the dishes looked and smelled good. Inspired by a Venetian bacaro [...]

Ok it’s true there is nothing so special anymore about salvaged china tea cups and cakes on pretty cake stands but you have to trust me when I say that Mouse & de Lotz is special. If you were to wander around East London these days, taking in the wonderful array of cafes, there are [...]

My absolute favourite places are the ones that pop up in the middle of nowhere, little places dreamed up by people who have for years fantasised about owning a café and then manage to far outshine the bigger budget more centrally located ones. Violet is one of these places, a simple little cafe with a [...]

Before Andor Bureau came about this spot was a series of greasy spoons ranging from great to awful, it was only a matter of time before it became somewhere that sold Victoria sponge cake rather than fry-up’s though with the art gallery infested Vyner street opposite and The Last Tuesday Society shop of weirdness next [...]

A peaceful little spot with not too much coming and going and Spanish music playing in the background, it’s not your typical ‘overindulged girl who loves to bake cakes’ kind of place although it does seem to be very buggy friendly and my tranquility has been disturbed by Rainbow, a vile 5 year old who’s [...]

There is something about this café which feels different for Hackney, there are no push chairs which is weird, every nice café in Hackney is rammed with push chairs and the decoration is a bit eccentric. On top of that it feels exceptionally laid back, no immaculate piles of fancy cupcakes or cakes on glass [...]

So I’ve recently moved house, my flatmate got a cat that peed on everything, I couldn’t handle it so it was a ‘me or the cat’ situation. The cat won, I moved out. Oh well it worked out better in the end as now I’m nearer to good places to go for breakfast, a couple [...]

The best places always tend to be the secret places I think, the ones that only attract the same sort of people and friends of those people. I’ve got to be honest, I’m not a fan of diversity. I like what I like and who I like and that’s that. Anyway, one day a friend [...]

Blitz feels like a little piece of New York City. I couldn’t tell you what it was exactly that makes me say this, perhaps it’s the sophistication and service? Excellent service! super friendly, American style, the store assistants look like an extras from a Russ Meyer film, where do they find these people? Best described [...]

Nightjar is the kind of subterranean speakeasy people love to tell their friends about, probably (unfortunately) because places like this are few and far between. Sandwiched between two awful sandwich shops next to Old Street Roundabout, the entrance to Nightjar is little more than a heavy wooden door with a small gold plate with an [...]

The times when I seem to find the best places are when I’m killing time waiting for Rafael. This time we’re going to see a band. I rarely if ever go and see bands. My days of that are long gone unless I know someone in the band. These days I prefer to sit and [...]

Jambala is a most welcoming little shop, chockablock full of books with shelves crammed to bursting and piles stacked up in every spare corner I can never walk by without sticking my head in and having a look around, no doubt finding a well loved JD Salinger or such like. It’s run by the London [...]

Now this is one hell of a jam-packed junk shop, things piled to the ceiling, be careful, don’t touch anything, it’s likely to come crashing down ontop of you. This is where you will find a crazed old local buying used towels or some such oddity, I found a big lightbulb with the word LOVE [...]

Situated on a quiet residential street, The Florist Arms isn’t the kind of place I would suggest you should go out of your way for but it’s definitely worth knowing about if you live or you’re staying in the area. It’s a friendly little place with red boudoir style wallpaper, velvet stools and big leather [...]

Oh the Palm Tree, what a beauty. It’s a fitting name as the Palm Tree is stuck on a desolate patch of nothing. It’s got the canal to oneside and then well, nothing to the other. This is an establishment that harks back to another time that’s for sure. Alfie the owner is as authentic [...]