Red Hand: A Bar Under an Ancient Irish Symbol
Red Hand: A Bar Under an Ancient Irish Symbol | A Dalston bar carrying the Red Hand, the ancient and dramatic heraldic emblem of Ulster and the O’Neills of Ireland
Tag: Locations
The Speakeasy: A Bar That Plays at Prohibition
The Speakeasy: A Bar That Plays at Prohibition | A Dalston bar whose name conjures the hidden, illicit drinking dens of Prohibition-era America – secrecy, glamour and a password at the door
The Nelson’s: A Hoxton Local in the Admiral’s Name
The Nelson’s: A Hoxton Local in the Admiral’s Name | A Hoxton pub whose possessive name makes it, warmly and simply, the admiral’s own – and a nod to the human legend behind the hero of Trafalgar
Sager and Wilde: A Wine Bar of Two Names
Sager and Wilde: A Wine Bar of Two Names | A celebrated Hackney wine bar whose name marries its two founders – with a happy echo of Oscar Wilde
Signature Brew: A Brewery Made for Music
Signature Brew: A Brewery Made for Music | A Haggerston taproom from Signature Brew, the London brewery that fuses craft beer with live music and band collaborations
High Water: A Cocktail Bar at the Tide’s Height
High Water: A Cocktail Bar at the Tide’s Height | A Dalston cocktail bar whose evocative name summons the high-water mark – the peak of the tide, and of the night
Prince George: A Pub for a Georgian Royal
Prince George: A Pub for a Georgian Royal | A De Beauvoir pub carrying the most Hanoverian of royal names, evoking the age of the Georges that shaped Georgian London
Ridley Road Market Bar: Drinks on a Historic Market
Ridley Road Market Bar: Drinks on a Historic Market | A Dalston bar named for Ridley Road Market, the vibrant, multicultural street market that has been the beating heart of the neighbourhood for over a century
The Red Lion: England’s Most Famous Pub Name
The Red Lion: England’s Most Famous Pub Name | A Hoxton pub carrying the single most common pub name in England, drawn from the red lion of royal and Scottish heraldry
Dalston Jazz Bar: Late Nights and Blue Notes
Dalston Jazz Bar: Late Nights and Blue Notes | A Dalston institution whose name says exactly what it is – a proper, late-night, unpretentious home for jazz and good times
The Virgin Queen: A Pub for Gloriana
The Virgin Queen: A Pub for Gloriana | A Haggerston pub named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen whose long reign gave England its golden age of Shakespeare, Drake and the defeated Armada
The Stag’s Head: A Hoxton Pub of Antlers and Music
The Stag’s Head: A Hoxton Pub of Antlers and Music | A much-loved Hoxton pub carrying one of the noblest heraldic beasts – the stag – and a reputation as a haven for live music
NQ64: A Bar Built Around Retro Games
NQ64: A Bar Built Around Retro Games | A Shoreditch arcade bar whose name blends Manchester’s Northern Quarter with the Nintendo 64, serving cocktails among the retro machines
The Hen and Chickens: A Pub With a Theatre Upstairs
The Hen and Chickens: A Pub With a Theatre Upstairs | An Islington pub-theatre whose homely old name sits below one of London’s best-loved fringe stages
Dalston Superstore: A Queer Landmark on Kingsland Road
Dalston Superstore: A Queer Landmark on Kingsland Road | A famous Kingsland Road bar and club whose ironic name belies its role as a cornerstone of East London’s queer nightlife
Farr’s: A Bar in a Former School of Dancing
Farr’s: A Bar in a Former School of Dancing | A characterful Dalston bar whose full name recalls a school of dancing, and the lost world of the local dance hall
The Talbot: A Pub Named for a Vanished Hound
The Talbot: A Pub Named for a Vanished Hound | A Dalston pub carrying the name of the talbot, the noble white hunting hound that is now extinct but lives on in heraldry and pub signs
Brilliant Corners: A Listening Bar Named for Monk
Brilliant Corners: A Listening Bar Named for Monk | A world-renowned Dalston listening bar named for Thelonious Monk’s 1957 jazz masterpiece – and for the four great speakers in its corners
Homeboy: A Cocktail Bar That Feels Like Home
Homeboy: A Cocktail Bar That Feels Like Home | An Islington cocktail bar whose warm, slangy name promises the welcome of an old friend from the neighbourhood
The Three Compasses: A Pub for the Guild Craftsman
The Three Compasses: A Pub for the Guild Craftsman | A Dalston pub whose name comes from the heraldry of the building trades, where the compasses stood for precision, skill and the mason’s craft
The Alma: A Pub Named for a Crimean Battlefield
The Alma: A Pub Named for a Crimean Battlefield | A Newington Green pub carrying the name of the Battle of the Alma, the first great clash of the Crimean War
The Edinburgh: A Pub for the Scottish Capital
The Edinburgh: A Pub for the Scottish Capital | A pub named for Edinburgh, the ancient Scottish capital of castle, festival and Enlightenment – or perhaps for the royal Duke who bore its name
De Beauvoir Arms: A Pub for a Landowner’s Name
De Beauvoir Arms: A Pub for a Landowner’s Name | A pub named for De Beauvoir Town, the elegant Hackney enclave that carries the name of the family who once owned the land
Troy Bar: A Name From the Ancient World
Troy Bar: A Name From the Ancient World | A Hoxton bar carrying the name of the legendary ancient city of Troy, of Homer, the wooden horse and the greatest siege in myth
A Bar With Shapes for a Name: Bauhaus in a Glass
A Bar With Shapes for a Name: Bauhaus in a Glass | A world-renowned Kingsland Road cocktail bar whose ‘name’ is literally three Bauhaus shapes – a yellow triangle, a red square and a blue circle
The Victoria: A Dalston Pub for the Queen-Empress
The Victoria: A Dalston Pub for the Queen-Empress | A Dalston pub named for Queen Victoria, whose long reign gave its name to an age, a style and countless pubs across the land
MAP Maison: A Stylish House of Drinks
MAP Maison: A Stylish House of Drinks | A Dalston cocktail spot whose name promises the polish and hospitality of a French ‘maison’ – a house that welcomes you in
Howl at the Moon: A Bar With a Wild Streak
Howl at the Moon: A Bar With a Wild Streak | A Hoxton bar whose name conjures wolves, full moons and a certain untamed, after-dark energy
Loading Bar Dalston: Press Start Up North
Loading Bar Dalston: Press Start Up North | A Stoke Newington games bar whose name fuses the video-game loading bar with the bar you drink at, pixels and pints together
The Shoreditch Arms: A Pub for a Reinvented Quarter
The Shoreditch Arms: A Pub for a Reinvented Quarter | A pub that wears the name of Shoreditch itself, the East London district that went from Victorian poverty to global byword for cool