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GETTY, REX
LONDON
FEATURE
Counter Café
One of
Hackney Wick’s best
hangouts: a laid-back
café by day and
tapas joint by night,
with views across the
canal to the Olympic
site. 7 Roach Road,
+44 (0)7834 275 920,
thecountercafe.co.uk
E5 Bakehouse
The best bread
in Hackney, plus
home-made cakes,
and a sell-out supper
club. Arch 395,
Mentmore Terrace,
+44 (0)20 8525 2890,
e5bakehouse.com
Hackney Pearl
A
cool crowd, lovingly
produced food and
somewhat erratic
service. 11 Prince
Edward Road, +44
(0)208 510 3605,
thehackneypearl.com
London Fields
Lido
A 50-metre
outdoor pool, open
year-round and
heated to 25ºC. Entry
is £4.30. London
Fields West Side, +44
(0)20 7254 9038.
Wilton Way Café
A small, coffee-
fuelled hub for locals;
great brunches. 63
Wilton Way, www.
londonfieldsradio.com
Hackney & Victoria Park
With the Olympic site lying directly to the east,
Hackney will be at the thick of the action come
summer – though it’s hard to imagine hipster
hangout Broadway Market could get any busier.
The day to visit is Saturday, when fashionable
Hackney descends en masse to browse the
food and vintage stalls, or nurse pints outside
the pubs that line the stretch; old-timer the
Dove (www.dovepubs.com) has the best beers.
Leading on from the market there’s swimming
at the lido (see right) and lounging at London
Fields – a barbecue-scorched, 31-acre patch of
parkland, whose every square inch is occupied
on sunny afternoons. Various small businesses
have sprung up around the eastern periphery,
from the E5 Bakehouse (see panel) to the
London Fields Brewery, which throws the odd
beer festival. North, there are small-scale gems
on Wilton Way, like the café at no. 63 – also
the HQ of the local community radio station.
For more of an Olympic buzz, head east
of Broadway Market to Victoria Park – an
enjoyable cycle ride along the canal. Stretching
across the East End, from Bethnal Green in the
west to Hackney Wick in the east, the park’s
grassy expanses are a designated Live Site for
the London Olympics – with big-screen feeds
of the events, live music and sporting activities.
Like everything else around here the park has
been spruced up: £12m of regeneration work
was completed in May. By the lake, the Pavilion
Café (www.pavilion-cafe.com) is famous for its
breakfasts, while leafy Victoria Park Village is
lined with chic shops and cafés.
Beyond the park’s easternmost reaches, on
the doorstep of the Olympic Park, Hackney
Wick has a different feel.The former industrial
site is now artist’s enclave. Along with art shows
and other events (look out for flyers), there
are lively cafés and bars, such as the Counter
Café and Hackney Pearl (see panel). The Yard
at Queen’s Yard (theyardtheatre.co.uk) is a
warehouse space turned theatre, while See
Studio on Prince Edward Road (www.seestudio.
com) has terrific large-scale art installations.
HACKNEY
& VICTORIA
PARK
BROADWAY MARKET
IS BEST ON SATURDAY.
BELOW:
THE PAVILION
CAFÉ IN VICTORIA PARK
JUNE-JULY 2012
WIZZ MAGAZINE
55