East London this weekend: a mid-March edit

East London weekend edit. The plan: stay east, eat well, see at least one band, drink in at least two pubs that have not been refurbished since the early 2000s. Here is the run.

Friday — Shacklewell, then dinner

The Shacklewell on Friday has a three-band lineup that I am quite excited about. Doors 8, headliner around 10. £8 if you book ahead. The room is the right size — small enough to feel something is happening, big enough to not feel claustrophobic. Sound is unfussy.

Pre-gig dinner: Berber & Q is two minutes walk and the queue moves faster than it looks. After the gig, there is usually space at Voodoo Ray's for late pizza if you do not fancy moving very far.

If the Shacklewell is not your speed, the Moth Club has a band on Friday too and the venue is a Working Mens Club refurbished into a gig venue, which sounds twee but the sequin ceiling does most of the work.

Saturday — daytime, then comedy

Saturday morning: Hackney Wick for coffee at the Yard Theatre cafe, then a walk along the canal toward Victoria Park. Stop for lunch at one of the food vendors near Crate Brewery (or, if it is properly busy, get a bao at Bao Borough back across town, but that defeats the point).

Afternoon: pub with a beer garden, the Crown or the Royal Inn on the Park, both fine. Or, if you fancy something quieter, the Geffrye Museum (now the Museum of the Home) is open on Saturdays and is sneakily one of the best free things to do in east London.

Saturday night: comedy at the Backyard in Bethnal Green. Alt comedy is what they call it but really it is just comedy that has not been forced through the panel-show filter. £10, six acts, you will love at least three of them. Card machine has been on the blink since Brexit so bring cash.

If comedy is not your bag, Moth Club Saturday is a sequin-ceiling disco with a live band and the right amount of nonsense. £12.

Sunday — Marksman or wander

Sunday roast at the Marksman in Hackney is the move. Two-week wait for booking, which is a slight pain, but the Yorkshire pud genuinely justifies the planning. If you missed the booking window, the Crown in Hackney is a very respectable backup and you can usually walk in around 2pm.

Quiet alternative: Sutton House in Homerton is a National Trust property hidden in plain sight. They run occasional folk gigs in the courtyard which sound twee and are actually lovely. Worth checking the listings.

Sunday evening: the Shacklewell sometimes runs a small pay-what-you-want gig at the back, and the Bill Murray in Angel does Sunday Edinburgh previews if you are willing to cross the canal into Islington (debatable east London, I will allow it for previews).

A note on transport

The Overground will probably be doing engineering works because the Overground is always doing engineering works. Check before you set out, do not trust the app, and consider the bus — the 26 and 55 cover most of the east-London arc and are quicker than people think.

For a fuller list of what is on this weekend, the London this-week page is filterable by postcode if you only want E1 / E2 / E8.

And on the dim sum

Special mention: Saturday brunch dim sum at Royal China in Canary Wharf is technically not east-east but it is east enough and the har gow is consistently the best in London. Worth the DLR.

That is east London this weekend. Stay east, save the tube fare, the booze is cheaper anyway. Largely.