If you want to drink well in London, Hackney has long been one of the best places to do so. The pubs are unparalleled and you’re rarely more than five feet away from a small-plates restaurant with an erudite line in natural wine. Over the past decade Hackney has also been refining an excellent collection of astutely un-grotty dive bars, from the emo-adjacent Blondie’s in the far reaches of Clapton to the satan-worshiping Helgi’s, which you’ll find right next door to Mare Street’s latest booze hole.
The overall vibe is Sex and the City directed by Tarantino
Rasputin’s comes from, weirdly, the same folk as cult sandwich slingers Dom’s Subs. And though there’s not a single sarnie on the menu here, cheap hot dogs help place Rasputin’s somewhere in the middle of a niche Osakan mini bar and rowdy Texan drinking den. It’s a giddy little space, and one lit mainly by sultry red light but also TV sets pumping out cult movies. Film noir-worthy shutters on the front windows let in minimal distraction from the street, and the resulting effect is a chaotic kind of chic.
When we visit, it’s early on a Thursday night, and there’s a spaghetti western soundtrack to punters basking in the neon glow. Some are sat on mid-century sofas next to equally neat coffee tables, or perched by the long, well-stocked bar. Most are drinking sweet but powerful five olive martinis, which at £7 might just be the best value cocktail in town. The overall vibe is Sex and the City directed by Tarantino.
The rest of the menu is just as fun, with ‘mystery shots’ at £3, and a ‘recession special’ of one draft beer and two hot dogs for just £11. For an extra quid you can switch the pint for a martini. Welcome to the high-low dinner you’ve always dreamed of. Hackney just gained another banger of a bar – long may Rasputin’s reign.