Perfil de Doireann

Convenient branch offering all the usuals of this chain-store, plus a newly opened post-office that’s apparently open on weekends. Friendly staff. Stationary, cards, magazines, CD’s, books.

This place in handy and worth noting in the area specifically because it’s open 24 hours. Only a hop, skip and jump from tube station and right beside the number 8 bus-stop.
They stock basic grocer supplies - you can get most things here; milk, bread, breakfast cereal, sauces. There’s a good batch of fruit and veg outside. Wide range of beers and wines and most importantly - all the different varieties of Haribo mixes (which earns extra respect in my book!)
It’s a nice local and staff are friendly and actually abit mad…but in a good way….
They have most phone top-ups, but don’t do any travelcards,Oysters, etc
Only stock one local newspaper.

I really like this place. From the outside, it just looks like your garden variety trendy-ish after work pub. Well, in a sense it is.
But it’s just a little cooler really. I think it’s mainly the decor.
It’s just fantastic. They’ve got all this sort of strange wallpaper - like what you’d find in kid’s bedrooms in the 1980’s and lots of kitsch ornaments on the walls made out of household objects. Just a bit different really. It tends to get crowded on Thurs, Fri and Sat evenings, but there’s a couple of floors to filter out the crowd. Cosy corners to sit.
Although, to get to the bog, you have to brave passing the somewhat danegrous happenings of the pool table. They serve beer too.

This is yet another exciting commercial space on Vyner Street - the small alleyway close to Hackney that you would never know has apparently circa 20 galleries. This one shares a large warehouse-looking building with Fred and One in the Other. All worth checking out.
David Risley shows a range of various different art forms - photography, painting, drawing, installation and sculpture.
Showing at the moment are drawings and found-object sculptures by Mexican artist, Jorge Sosa.
The gallery seems to snap up some exciting emerging artists from the UK and abroad.

This is a good, average, ‘you know what you’re getting’ type pub. It’s quite close to Victoria station, along a quiet enough street in the Pimlico area. Quite a nice bar to sit outside and have a pint on a summer evening. Mind you, all pints are £3 plus, but there is a wide enough selection. Food is also served, however I haven’t had the opportunity to try. Good place to watch the football, I imagine, if you’re into that sort of thing….
Quite chic, but cosy decor. Nice big couches to relax with an after-work beer. It may not be the most exciting and happening place in town, but that perhaps is why it’s nice.
Worth a look

This is a very trendy indeed design shop just off the Bethnal Green Road and a hop skip and a jump away from the Tea Building. They generally have a rotating programme of exhibitions that mainly include illustration, design and animation work. All very cool. At the moment they are showing work by eBoy. These guys produce unique pixallated animations of London, Tokyo and LA. You may recognise them; they’re usually sold as posters in quirky, designy type household accessories shops. I’m going get the Tokyo one for my wall…..

They also sell a range of t-shirts, badges, posters and various bits and pieces. All quite original and cool.

Love this place! The best sandwiches in London! They also serve a variety of pasta dishes, jacket potatoes and salads to sit in or takeaway.
But the hot sandwiches… .mmmmm…..dreamy! They have all these different specials - I’m a huge fan of Flo’s special..all are shamelessy covered in mozzarella with various sauces lashed on generously. Ununusal combinations you may think at first glance, but believe me they work! Not badly priced either.
At lunchtime, there’s always a huge queue out the door down Rivington Street. There’s a reason for this. As a result lunchtime is almost a like a stage performance with a carefully rehearsed routine put into action and you always get a wink at the end when you finally get your sandwich:)

This place looks like it might be nice from the outside - there’s a bench with a parasol, the shutters are spray-painted with trendy colourful tags and there’s a sign advertising ‘Costa’ coffee for comparatively cheap prices. However, don’t know if it’s just me, but I found this place a little grotty inside. Now, I’m no neat freak and my cleanliness isn’t always up to my housemates standards, so if I’m saying a little grotty, perhaps it could be too much for a lot of people. There’s a mustiness and the seats are really icky. The coffee is …..hhhmmmm….ok.
Everything is just…hhhhmmmmmmm….ok.
But there is internet and I think there’s a deal of when you buy a coffee you get 30mins free internet or the other way around.

This is a great little place serving lots of good proper meals; a range of fried breakfasts, sandwiches, jacket potatoes, pasta and rice dishes. All are quite reasonably priced and servings are quite generous. So much so, in fact, that when coming here regularly for my lunch at one point, the waitress used to scold me for not eating it all. I noticed she did that with everyone if you didn’t eat your bacon or your greens. You bend your head in shame and say sorry mom. So basically, remember that if you’re eyes are bigger than your belly.
But it is quite a friendly place and seemingly overlooked, because it’s generally not so crowded at lunchtime compared to neighbouring cafes which aren’t as nice.

Nice little ‘genuine English pub’ complete with musty smell, sticky carpet and aloof barman. But it’s also quite cosy. More of a ‘get in out of that weather and av a pint by the fire’ sort of winter pub. Too dark for summer. But then again it’s London. Saying that, there is a nice little beer garden out the back for the occassional summer day beer.
Also, it tends to be a post-private view haunt for arty people in the area. These motley crues tend to pile in here on Thursday evenings around 9. You have been warned.
Otherwise, yea, you can’t go wrong for a good honest pint.