Spurstowe Arms

Picture the scene: it’s late July, you’ve spent all week working in your sweatbox of a flat, you’re looking for somewhere breezy to cool off at the weekend. The place to go? The Spurstowe. Not only does it have an expansive beer garden (which is great for people-watching), it’s extremely close to London Fields. Hello, ice-cream vans. Food is always a strong point too, with the Dough Hands pizza lot slinging out their celebrated slices from the kitchen at present. Predictably, a favourite haunt of Hackney’s most put-together young creatives (it makes frequent appearances on zeitgeisty local meme account Socks House Meeting) and it no longer takes bookings, so get down early doors on the weekend if you don’t want someone treading on your Margiela Tabis as you try and elbow your way through the crowds to find a table.