To Do List Local – Hackney Wick
Hackney’s Wicked cousin (see what we did there?) continues to grow as a unique and diverse community, just a hefty javelin throw away from the Olympic Stadium…
Home to ace theatre, tasty food, places to chill and places to dance the night away, Hackney Wick is everything you ever wanted from London disguised as a dilapidated industrial estate!
Check out our pick of the best places to spend unhealthy amounts of time in Hackney Wick…
JUST ADDED! Howling Hops
Another micro brewery for the Wick, this time boasting the UK’s first dedicated tank bar!
Take your pick from the Chocolate Stout, Ruby Red, Amber Deluxe, Smoked Porter, Pale XX, or the Old London Victorian Stout (to name just a few) – and if you’re hungry, why not tuck into a Big Fuck Off Tray of Meat (veggie alternative available)…
Britain Loves Bikes
Part outlet store selling Dutch, racing and vintage bicycles, but also a space to showcase some amazing vintage cycles of yore. A friendly, welcoming environment to find your perfect bike, or just gaze at some of the vintage classics adorning the walls.
Tue–Fri: 3pm – 7pm, Sat: 11am – 5pm // More Info
Counter Cafe
The independent, canal-side cafe against which all others should be measured. Residing in Stour Space (see below), Counter roast their beans in their own roastery, and serve up an excellent coffee alongside a egg-celent breakfast menu (nearly everything involves eggs – as they say, “if the Counter could lay eggs, it would…”).
Mon-Fri: 8am – 5pm, Sat & Sun: 9am – 5pm // More Info
CRATE Bar & Pizzeria
In their own words, a “one-of-a-kind up-cycled venue” – a tetris puzzle of reclaimed and repurposed railway sleepers, ladders, ratchet straps, bed springs, pallet benches and scaffold planks. But the real star attractions are the beer (CRATE is surely Hackney’s finest independent brewery – the CRATE Lager fuelled the writing of this very article), and the pizzas. Oh, the pizzas. The sage and truffle pizza comes highly recommended…
And it’s not all booze and grub! Hairstylist & blogger Ky Wilson, Senior Stylist at Percy & Reed, can be found occasionally in his pop-up Living Room hair salon – check out his Facebook page for more info!
Sun-Thu: 12pm – 11pm, Fri & Sat: 12pm – 12am // More Info
Forman’s
Specialising in Forman’s own smoked salmon and seasonal British foods, this riverside restaurant has all the bases covered: Saturday brunch (the obligatory Full English perhaps, or how about grilled kippers?), Sunday lunch (why not follow blinis and smoked salmon with slow-roast belly of pork?), weekday dinners (I’ll have the poached turbot with scallops & clams thank you very much) and, of course, cocktails (a Canary Mary should get you going!).
Thu & Fri: 5pm – 11pm, Sat: 10am – 5pm & 7pm – 11pm, Sun: 12pm – 5pm // More Info
KERB Clubhouse
KERB is a membership organisation for London’s most exciting street cooks – and the clubhouse, open to all, is their weekend getaway! Pop in for exclusive food creations, specialist cocktails, London beer, DJs & live music, and games.
Fri & Sat: 6pm – 11pm // More Info
The Hackney Pearl
A warm & welcoming, cosy local serving up superb coffee, tasty food, good wine and a selection of draught beers (including the excellent Five Points Railway Porter). The food menu changes frequently, using fresh seasonal produce. Their motto: “if we can make it ourselves (which we usually can), we do”.
Sun-Mon: 10am – 6pm, Tue-Sat: 10am – 11pm // More Info
London Centre for Book Arts
The UK’s only open-access resource and education centre dedicated to book arts, LCBA “fosters and promotes artists working in book form and self-publishing, offering access to specialist printing and binding facilities, and running workshops on a variety of subjects related to book arts”. Collaboration and dialogue is actively encouraged, and the exhibition programme highlights work both local and further afield.
Tue-Sat: 10am – 6pm // More Info
Number 90
Since we previewed the opening weekend back in March 2014, Number 90 has gone from strength to strength. A spacious canal-side bar and restaurant serving up great food (all produce locally sourced) and drinks, Number 90 – founded by founded by local residents Remi and Bruno from Half Baked – also boasts an event programme packed with the best local and international music, art, comedy, film, theatre and more…
Wed-Sun: 12pm – 11:30pm // More Info
Schwartz Gallery
The Schwartz Gallery was founded in April 2008 by artist-curators Patrick Michalopoulos and Ismail Erbil, and has quickly developed into an important platform and forum for emerging contemporary art practice and debate in East London.
Thu-Sat: 1pm – 6pm // More Info
Stour Space
A socially minded organisation offering exhibition, performance and studio space for the development of creative enterprises, Stour Space is commited to the promotion and production of art and design, performance and innovative business, and works in collaboration with local enterprises, residents, artists and committees.
Stour Space holds monthly exhibitions (free for local artists), regular markets and workshops, and also promotes the positive capacity of the creative sector through ongoing consultancy and lobbying with local government and public development initiatives.
Vinyl Pimp
Vinyl Pimp is the place to guy if you want to or sell vinyl! They are dedicated to helping individual collectors, DJ’s and companies sell the the current market price. Their retail shop is a great place to find some rare gems!
Mon, Wed, Thu & Fri: 12pm – 8pm, Sat: 11am – 8pm, Tue & Sun: 12pm – 6pm // More Info
The White Building
The list of reasons to visit The White Building does not stop at the CRATE Bar (above). It also claims to be “London’s centre for art, technology and sustainability”, and “an incubator for discursive and innovative thought, a testing ground and creative lab for artists and creatives whose work engages with technology”.
The Yard Theatre
An award winning theatre venue conceived by Jay Miller, The Yard is a converted warehouse made with recycled and reclaimed material. In their own words, The Yard is all about “new ideas (work that portrays contemporary visions of who we are, where we’ve been and where we’re going), new writing (work that prioritises specificity of the artistic voice, work that explores how text is written (and performed) and the eventual reception of that text by an audience) and the live event (work that in some way acknowledges that it is in a theatre with an audience)”.
Main Image Credit: jeffmann – http://hdrcreme.com/photos/39572-Hackney-Wick
About Stuart Wilson
I am Joint Editor at To Do List. I like: nice pubs, film marathons, not doing real marathons, bad comedy, plays/musicals with shorter second halves, and the Oxford comma.