A journalist, copywriter and editor, Donald specialises in Italy and travel technology, although he’s in the know about London too. He’s lived around the uber cool Hackney and Shoreditch areas with his family for years and can point you towards all the best, hidden places to eat.
I’ve lived in Hackney for about 15 years, a period of time that has spanned some lively late twenties and the first decade of parenthood. I don’t remember ever being bored here; it has pretty much everything I need. I mean, everything we need. Hackney’s reputation as a party borough is deserved, but what a most people don’t know is that this is a great place to live with children too.
Hackney is one of London’s greenest boroughs, making it perfect for active families. Victoria Park has a big playground that my kids love and a boating pond; there has been a heated outdoor swimming pool at London Fields since 1932.
One of our favourite family cycle routes follows the banks of the River Lea from Clapton to Hackney Wick. Get onto the towpath at the end of Millfields Road or Daubeney Road and head south. It’s an easy ride, wedged between the wide-open Marshes and the high-density housing and remains of East London’s industrial past. The only noises you’ll hear will come from the occasional dog walker or chug of a canal boat.
I generally keep going until we reach Crate, one of the new generation of London micro-breweries. The vibe is young - and yes, a little bit hipsterish - but there are outside tables right on the riverfront, the beer is great and they have a pizza oven that’s fired up and at work all day.
On the other side of the borough, in Haggerston, the canal between Broadway Market and the Kingsland Basin is another patch of peace in a busy borough. Finish up at the Towpath Cafe (next to the bridge at De Beauvoir Road) for coffee or a light bite.
Another regular lunch spot for me is the Kashmiri hole-in-the-wall at 5 Ridley Road, right opposite Dalston Kingsland station. A steaming tray of biryani hits the counter around noon, six days a week and I can eat my fill there for under £5.
Sure, we don’t have the marquee museums of London’s West End, but the Museum of Childhood is a special collection. Glass cases and interactive exhibits focus on toys and games through the ages, from the hobby horse to Harry Potter. I sometimes find myself wondering “Who’s having more fun here, me or the kids?” (Actually I’m cheating slightly here as the museum is just outside Hackney’s borders in Bethnal Green.)
You want art? I pass the Dalston Peace Mural almost every day and often notice a little detail that I’ve never spotted before. It was designed by renowned muralist Ray Walker in the 1980s and has plenty to say about the radical political history of Hackney. These days it’s probably best known from the cover art of local band Rudimental’s album, Home. You can find it just across the road from Dalston Junction station.
For a crash course in the borough’s local history, it’s instructive to spend an hour or two in the Hackney Museum. Exhibits focus on Hackney as a place to live and work for migrants from the West Indies, Vietnam, India and all over the world. My family love the reconstruction of ‘Cooke’s Eel, Pie and Mash Shop,’ which was once a fixture of Dalston’s main street. You can pick up an old phone and hear the former owners speak about life and work in the shop. Cooke’s closed in the 1990s and is now Shanghai - our local choice for dim sum or noodles.
If you want to try traditional pie and mash - with or without the green parsley “liquor” - my favourite place is a surviving F. Cooke on Broadway Market.
On Saturdays, the same Broadway Market is the place to head for loftier (and certainly pricier) treats: homebakes, handmade preserves, meat and cheese. It’s all tempting and gets busy with food lovers from across London. The Netil Market is a nearby favourite for one-off designs, jewellery and accessories – the sort of portable odds-and ends that will fit in carry-on luggage.
On Sundays there’s an eclectic little market along Chatsworth Road with Persian street food and banh mi, plus clothes and bric-a-brac. Be warned, outdoor cafe tables become prime real estate here on a sunny weekend.
My kids already like to shop, so we keep things fairly affordable at the vintage and second-hand stores like Traid and Beyond Retro, both in Dalston. Along the same street, the art deco Rio Cinema runs a Saturday morning film for kids every week at 11am. Once we’re done there, Mangal Turkish barbecue is a family favourite for lunch. The bread is home-baked, the salad freshly chopped and prepared and the taste of meat cooked simply over open coals is something that even the fussy eater of the family won’t be able to resist.
