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LONDON
FEATURE
Blitz
Vintage ‘department
store’. 55-59 Hanbury Street,
+44 (0)207 377 0730, www.
blitzlondon.co.uk
Book Club
All-day eating,
late-night drinking, ping-pong
and club nights. 100-106
Leonard Street, +44 (0)20 7684
8618, www.wearetbc.com
Boundary Project
A hotel,
bakery, café and rooftop bar/
restaurant, set in a converted
warehouse. 2-4 Boundary
Street, +44 (0)20 7729 1051,
www.theboundary.co.uk
Song Que
Possibly the best
pho in town. 134 Kingsland
Road, +44 (0)20 7613 3222,
www.songque.co.uk
Sebright Arms
London-
brewed ales, local bands and
exceptional burgers from
Lucky Chip. +44 (0)20 7729
0937, www.sebrightarms.co.uk
White Cube
Art dealer Jay
Jopling’s East London outpost.
48 Hoxton Square, +44 (0)20
7930 5373, whitecube.com
SHOREDITCH &
AROUND
Shoreditch & Around
North of London’s financial hub the City,
Shoreditch feels like another world. Although
real estate prices have shot up as media and
design companies moved in, it’s still got an
edgy, urban feel. This is one of the best places
to see street art, with large-scale masterpieces
by the likes of Eine, Stik and ROA (much in
evidence on Hanbury Street).
Redchurch Street is dotted with boutiques,
cafés and interiors shops. Down a cobbled side
street, private member ’s club Shoreditch House
occupies one of the old Victorian warehouses:
another – open to everyone – has become the
Boundary Project (see panel), where you can
breakfast in the ground-floor bakery or sip
cocktails on the rooftop, weather permitting.
At the end of Redchurch Street you’ ll hit Brick
Lane, famed for its curry shops, bars, 24-hour
bagel joint and vintage emporiums. It’s at
its chaotic best on Sundays, when the street
market and indoor (Up) Market – in The Old
Truman Brewery – are in full swing. From the
brewery, it’s a short walks to Spitalfields, with
its own market, second-hand shops and pubs.
If you don’t mind crowds, Sunday’s the day
for Columbia Road Flower Market (see below).
Stalls are laden with foliage and cut flowers of
every description; come at closing time (2pm)
for the best bargains. Behind the traders are a
host of arty shops, galleries and cafés.
Shoreditch is also known for its nightlife.
Start an evening with beef pho in a Vietnamese
restaurants along Kingland Road, then move
on to the ‘Shoreditch triangle’ of Great Eastern
Street, Shoreditch High Street and Old Street.
Notable venues include the Book Club (see
below), XOYO and Village East: if in doubt,
head to the cluster of bars on Hoxton Square to
chat to a few locals and plan your next move.
TOP:
BRICK LANE IS AT ITS BEST ON SUNDAYS
– VISIT NEARBY COLUMBIA FLOWER MARKET.
ABOVE:
THE BOOK CLUB IN SHOREDITCH
“Brick Lane has
curry shops, bars,
bagel joints and
vintage emporiums”
JUNE-JULY 2012
WIZZ MAGAZINE
57