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‘Catastrophe’ writer and star Sharon Horgan shares her top Hackney haunts.
The Dolphin, Mare St
‘I’ve brought all sorts of people here. At first they’re like: “Why have you taken me here?” Then 15 minutes in they’re like: “I’m never leaving!” There’s a real mixture of people. Often they’ve just come out of prison.’
Charlie Wright’s, Pitfield St
© Ben Rowe
‘They play terrible music. You could end up having drinks with some gangsters. People take their tops off on the dance floor. I’m not proud of going there, it’s just a fun place.’ (This refers to the old Charlie Wright’s. It’s now moved to a new venue.)
E Pellicci, Bethnal Green Rd
‘Normally with greasy spoons you don’t think beautiful decor, you just think: hangover cure on a plate. But this is a really beautiful place. It’s run by these great Italians. The food is amazing and they serve great big plates of fry-ups.’
The Palm Tree, Grove Rd
‘It’s a hardcore old man’s pub that also does karaoke. The lighting’s terrible and there’s some pretty dodgy characters in there. It’s old East End London and it’s retained that. It proudly wears its edginess on its sleeve.’
The Last Tuesday Society, Mare St
‘This is a taxidermy bar. They do really good cocktails but they also have a lot of dead animals around. It’s not beautiful taxidermy: it’s taxidermy that looks a little bit wrong. Plus it’s nice and dark.’
White Horse Kebab House, Bethnal Green Road
‘It just does a very good kebab. Kebabs are everywhere but good kebabs are a thing to behold. Finding a good kebab is important.’