Inside Hackney
The borough has a long, if not illustrious, history of drinking: Samuel Pepys came to Hackney to drink at the famous Mermaid Tavern (opposite what is now Mermaid Fabrics on Mare Street), where he played shuffleboard, ate cherries and ogled the local girls; and Shoreditch, having always been a place of entertainment, has a long boozy past. It still has an awesome density of bars – as does Dalston – and Church Street in Stoke Newington is great for an old-style pub crawl (p32). Today it’s also possible to spend an evening drinking Hackney-made artisan beers and spirits.
47
Drinking