A Hackney bar whose name evokes the Empire – and above all the magnificent Hackney Empire, one of the great variety theatres of the land
The Prat’s history desk takes a bow at The Empire Bar, a Hackney bar whose name cannot help but evoke the borough’s grandest and most beloved landmark – the magnificent Hackney Empire, one of the great variety theatres of the land. It is a name with real theatrical splendour behind it, and the naming desk raises the curtain with pleasure.
The great Hackney Empire
The Hackney Empire, on Mare Street, is one of the finest surviving variety theatres in the country – a magnificent building of 1901, designed by the great theatre architect Frank Matcham, and one of the glories of the golden age of music hall and variety. In its heyday it hosted the biggest stars of the variety stage, and after a long and dramatic history it survives, gloriously restored, as a working theatre and a genuine landmark of Hackney. To evoke “the Empire” in a Hackney bar is to summon all of that theatrical grandeur – the gilded auditorium, the great performers, the roar of the variety crowd.
The age of variety
The naming desk relishes the whole world the name conjures. The variety theatre and the music hall were the great popular entertainment of their age – riotous, warm-hearted temples of song, comedy and spectacle, where the working people of the cities gathered for a night of pure delight. The Hackney Empire was one of the finest of them all, and its survival is a genuine treasure. A bar named the Empire borrows a little of that grand, warm, theatrical spirit, a nod to the age when the variety stage ruled the night.
The theatrical local
The Empire Bar serves its patch near the heart of Hackney with a name that carries real grandeur and local pride. Whether as a pre-show drink before the theatre or simply as a characterful local, a bar evoking the great Hackney Empire wears its neighbourhood’s proudest landmark in its name. Its solid rating reflects a genuine local following, gathering under a name that echoes the gilded splendour of the variety stage.
Saving the palaces of variety
The naming desk salutes the survival of theatres like the Hackney Empire, for it was never guaranteed. The great variety theatres and music halls fell on hard times as the age of cinema and television dawned, and countless magnificent buildings were demolished or left to rot. That the Hackney Empire survived – rescued, restored and returned to life as a working theatre – is a genuine triumph, a testament to the people who fought to save it and to the enduring value of these gilded palaces of popular entertainment. A bar that evokes the Empire honours not just a theatre but that whole story of survival and restoration, and the naming desk raises a grateful glass to every grand old theatre saved from the wrecking ball.
The verdict
A rating of 4.3 across some 90 reviews marks the Empire Bar as a well-established and much-loved Hackney fixture. A bar whose name evokes the Empire – and above all the magnificent Hackney Empire, one of the great variety theatres of the land – is the history desk’s kind of grand, theatrical heritage. The Prat orders a pre-show pint, imagines the roar of the variety crowd, and toasts the gilded splendour of the Hackney Empire.
Mei Lin Chen is a student writer whose satire explores identity, modern culture, and social nuance. Her work reflects academic curiosity and engagement with London’s diverse perspectives.
Expertise is growing through study and practice, while trust is supported by clear intent and responsible humour.
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