I’m talking about Hoxton Street in particular, where in the
past year some fantastic new café style eateries have popped up, properly
interspersed with the local butchers, bakers, greengrocers and candlestick makers along the road, helping the street retain its edge and
character. It all feels very friendly and very approachable. Moving away from
the overstyled Shoreditch and City hotspots, and the too cool for school
Dalston dive bars, Hoxton St is genuinely always a real pleasure to stroll
along at the weekend, or chill outside on a pavement table on a balmy summer
eve. It’s also the home of the free Shoreditch Festival, this year (the twelfth)
a sunny weekend of music, street entertainers and double the amount of vendors
as usual.
I have whittled it down to eight of my favourite Hoxton
St. hotspots, starting at the bottom end towards Hoxton Sq. and walking up
towards Dalston… if you haven’t yet visited - go go go! And let me know if you
enjoyed any of these little delights:
Monikers – 16 Hoxton Square
I was going to skip over Hoxton Sq altogether, as it’s not technically
on Hoxton St, but I couldn’t pass up a mention about one of my all time
favourite E. London joints – the fabulous Monikers. In my humble opinion, the
only place really worth eating at on Hoxton Sq. Sublime seasonal food, unique
venue (in an old, converted school - blackboards on the wall, cocktails in glass
milk bottles, double decker bus inside…!), relaxed yet refined vibes and some
of the friendliest staff known to man. When I go to eat at Monikers, I know I’ll
probably end up staying all night, going OTT on the cocktails, graffiti-ing the
top deck of the bus and wobbling home in an undignified manner - but hell it’s my local!
Hallelujah.
Open Kitchen – 40 Hoxton St
An unassuming, informal restaurant where trainee chefs for the London City Hospitality Centre cook and serve yummy meals at reasonable prices - you could easily pay just £20 for a three course meal with wine. The food is good, simple and sometimes a bit retro in presentation, but it's a great midweek option. Open 5-9pm Wed-Friday, I believe you need to book in advance. They also have a Loyalty Card scheme running: one stamp for every tenner spent, and 10 stamps = £20 off a meal or a free Evening Cookery Class. Bing!
Every Saturday, 9am-4pm (although I’d recommend swinging by
closer to 11am if you want all the lazy traders to be up and about). HSM is a
relatively new addition to the local scene, and as such is still growing – so don’t
expect the breadth and variety (or hecticness) of Broadway. However it’s a
great local gem, and is only going to get better. Read more about it here.
I regularly head there on a
Saturday morning to get fresh eggs from the egg man (the first time you buy
eggs he’ll write that price on the box, and you just keep bringing the box back
to get more at the same fixed price - £1.40 for 6 pour moi), fantastic sourdough
or spelt fresh loaves from the fantastic Hoxton Bakery and other nibbly bits to munch on over
the course of the weekend. At the last count I spotted, amongst others,
churros, cakes, pinxos, foie gras, a Korean BBQ, the Caribbean van, a gnocchi
man, a halloumi man and a coconut lady. After the food stalls and some vintage
and artisan jewellery traders, come the more traditional cheap as chips marketeers
and Hackney locals selling and bargaining over flowers, fruit, clothes and other bits and bobs. You’ll quickly realise
you really do need 5 tubes of toothpaste for 3 pahnds mark my words.
Café Olive – 120 Hoxton St
A small and sweet little café, run by fun guys, please don’t pass this one by – they
churn out amazing and cheap pizzas, beaut homemade cakes and biscuits and
delicious coffee. It’s warm and cosy inside on a cold evening, or you can grab
an outside table and watch the world go by. Or take a couple of pizzas to go,
and avoid the countless cheap & nasty takeaways that litter Hoxton! I got quite irritated
when the boring Barrel Boulangerie opened up next door, also flogging pizzas.
Don’t go there – go to Olive!
Hoxton Fruit & Veg – 183 Hoxton St
As a rule, I try not to buy any of my fruit and veg from
supermarkets. It’s all bland, overpriced and been sat in cold storage for
years. Why would you? Hoxton has tons of small shops that sell fresh goods, but
this is the big daddy of them all. Look for the green and white striped awning.
Huge range, good value, and you can get 4 packs of pitta breads for £1.20. What’s
not to love?
See above. Meat pumped full of fats, water, shredded cow’s vaginas
etc, lying under Tesco’s strip lights… Hmmm. Better to buy from a friendly
local butcher, rarer than hen’s teeth nowadays I will grant you. But this small but
perfectly formed halal butchery does great meat, and it’s affordable. I
recently got 3 absolutely huge chicken breasts, for £3.50 from these dudes.
Not to be confused with A. Cooke’s of Goldhawk Road fame,
but just as good. What could be more Landan trad than a nice big pie with
creamy mash and a lagoon of liquor. Hell, why not take a pie or two to go and eat it in Shoreditch Park, a mere 10 minute stroll away...
This bad boy packs a meaty punch – mouthwatering, giant steaks,
big and brassy brunches, no skimping, no shirking. This is the real deal. Come
here for a right good feed and a chilled ambiance. It’s a great place to bed-in
on a hangover, and you won’t get the hordes that plague other spots further
down into Shoreditch. They make a mean liqueur coffee too. Hoping this one
doesn’t get too popular too quickly if I’m honest as I’d like to keep it all to
myself…
And beyond…
Also worth a nod, are gastropub Bacchus at number 177 (Hoxton
St’s classiest addition, if a tad overpriced) and the new 100 Hoxton (at number
100 funnily), by the team behind Zilouf’s in Islington. The White Horse pub (number
153) also appears to have closed down and is bound to reopen with a bang under
some guise sooner rather than later… keep your eyes trained on The Street innit.
For a full rundown of all of the local amenities head to Real Hoxton's website.
For a full rundown of all of the local amenities head to Real Hoxton's website.
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