Hackney is well-known for being one of the greenest Boroughs in London, in fact there are over sixty parks, gardens and open spaces in Hackney. The range is as impressive as the quantity; from the largest concentration of football pitches in Europe at Hackney Marshes to the beautiful and historic settings of Springfield and Clissold parks; from the wonderfully hip and happening London Fields to the sedate walled garden and the Hackney City Farm within Haggerston Park.

However, there is now a new green space in Hackney and it is a little bit special. Tucked away on what used to be an old railway line is the little oasis that is the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden. 

I realise that describing it really doesn’t do it justice – It’s small, there are birch and hazel trees, butterfly bushes, herbs and fruit and veg  and little sculptures and odd bits of art here and there and a beautiful glasshouse called the ‘Pineapple House’ – but it is so much more than just that. Dalston itself is incredibly busy at all hours of the day and wandering into the Garden feels like you have entered another land. The noise of the traffic disappears and for a little while your cares and worries have left too.

There are regular events and workshops (for both adults and children) if you want to join in or you can just sit, enjoy a coffee and relax. But, be quick as the developers have their greedy eye on it.

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Dalston Eastern Curve Garden | Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Free
13 Daston Lane,E8 3DF
11:00 – 18:00 daily

There are many moments in Londoners’ lives where we get very annoyed at the little things: people who stand on the left rather than the right of escalators for example (very annoying).  However spending a few minutes in Postman’s Park with the Watts Memorial will make any cynical Londoner re-evaluate the important things in life.

Unveiled at the beginning of the 20th century, the Watts Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice is a haunting collection of ceramic tablets commemorating those people who sacrificed their lives for others. Along with the names of the heroes, the plaques record the stories of how they sacrificed themselves – often for total strangers. Some people drowned to save others, while others perished by fire or were trampled by runaway horses.  

The park itself is quite small and easily overlooked by tourists rushing to St. Paul’s or the London Wall. Personally, I think spending a half hour for reflection here will have more impact than any tourist destination London can offer.

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Postman’s Park | Relaxing | Free
Little Britain and King Edward Street
08:30 – dusk daily

Despite its relative small size compared to the more famous Hyde Park or Richmond Park, the area of Holland Park boasts many draws, including a playing field for pick-up games of football or cricket, an ecology centre, rugged woods for brisk jogs, and a hostel. The park even hosts opera performances in the summer! Look out for performances of ‘Madame Butterfly’ and ‘The Elixir of Love’.

My favourite part of the park is the peaceful Kyoto Garden, which is like a tiny pocket of Japan inside an English setting. When I first moved to London, my apartment was only minutes away. I would often spend time here to get away from the cramped space of my flat and the noise from my busy street.

The garden was opened in 1991 as a gift from Kyoto to commemorate the long friendship between Japan and Great Britain. The garden is carefully designed to reflect key traits of Japanese gardens, including stone lanterns, tiered waterfalls and plenty of fish. The crashing water is occasionally mixed with the squawks of peacocks who wander around the park. Despite these occasional birdcalls, a few minutes in the Kyoto Garden will have a restorative effect to your spirit.

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Kyoto Garden | Relaxing | Free
Ilchester Place W8
07:30 until 30 minutes before dusk daily

Fine art lovers (particularly those who love Impressionism) have few better places to spend an afternoon than the Courtauld Gallery in central London. In just a few rooms of this compact gallery, visitors will encounter such iconic works as Cezanne’s “The Card Players“, Manet’s “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère” and Van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait with a Bandaged Ear“.

Fans of other works of art will not be disappointed. Although the compact gallery specialises in Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, the gallery does cover a range of art styles from Renaissance to Modernism. Other highlights include marble and ivory sculptures and a stunning silver collection from the Courtauld family.

The recent spring exhibition involving Picasso’s life in Paris in 1901 was very popular with Londoners. The new temporary exhibition on German Picture Bibles might not have the same celebrity factor but promises to be engaging.  

One tip when exploring the gallery is to always look up – the ceilings themselves are works of art! You may get a stiff neck, but the Courtauld Gallery shows that not all beautiful art are enclosed in frames.

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Courtauld Gallery | Art & culture | Admission £ 6
Somerset House, The Strand | +442078482526
10:00 – 18:00 daily

Macaron shops have been appearing over London for the last few years. These baked treats seem to be the new fashionable trend for those with a sweet-tooth. I have done my duty as a good Londoner (much to the disappointment of my dentist) and sampled a few macarons around town and my favourite is, without a doubt, those of Ladurée.

This Parisian chain of confectionery shops has four stores in London (the others are in Cornhill, Harrod’s and Covent Garden). However I think the Burlington Arcade shop feels the most French. Just looking into the windows of Ladurée seems indulgent (much like looking at the neighbouring jewelry and cashmere shops in the arcade). The shop assistants are dressed impeccably, and the edible window decorations are sumptuous to behold and just oozes sophistication.

The flavours of the macaroons cover a range from vanilla and pistachio to rose and Madagascar chocolate. They are pricey for their small size (£ 1.60 each), but they are worth it once you bite into these pillowy pockets of sugar.  There are also gift boxes to purchase which would make tasty presents for your friends.

There is not much seating space, so I would recommend buying a selection of flavours and share them with a friend while promenading through Burlington Arcade. I guarantee that all of the Ladurée macarons will disappear by the time you finish your walk.

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Ladurée | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks | Macarons £ 1.70
71-72 Burlington Arcade | +442074929155
Mon – Fri 08:30 – 18:30, Sat 09:00 – 18:30, Sun 11:00 – 17:00

Chatsworth Road in particular (and Clapton in general) is going through a transformation and it has, slightly surprisingly, become one of the great London roads for coffee lovers.

In recent years we have had the trail blazing Venetia’s, followed quickly by L’Epicerie, then the ever-popular Creperie Du Monde, Cakey Muto and the gorgeous little 46b Espresso Hut. All have their own merits and all serve very good coffee.

Now, however, they have been joined by the excellent Cooper & Wolf which serves great Caravan coffee and home made Scandinavian inspired dishes. It looks great and tastes just as good. I had the homemade Swedish meatballs and beetroot salad on sourdough bread recently and it was lovely… and actually, enormous. Almost too big for a lunch, but then that really isn’t ever a criticism, is it? 

The Swedish take on a fry-up is almost highly recommended. The pickled beetroot really helps with the hangover! But, weekends get busy so arrive early, grab a table and watch the world go by. 

Cooper & Wolf looks out onto a small park and is an ideal starting point if you come to visit the weekly Sunday market that Chatsworth Road now has. The market has vintage, homewares, food and drink and, of course, take-away coffee! In fact, starting at one end of the road on a Sunday and taking in the coffee haunts along the way could become a new pastime – the Chatsworth caffeine crawl. 

To keep up with the ever-expanding cafe market in Clapton check the Wily Badger.

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Cooper & Wolf | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Open sandwich £ 6
145 Chatsworth Road E5 0LA
Tue – Fri 08:00 – 18:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 18:00

Violet has had a stall on Broadway Market for along as I have known it and the stall invariably sells out every week. Luckily, that success has meant that alongside the weekly stall Violet now has a permanent home just around the corner from the market on Wilton Way. (By the way, go to Broadway Market if you get the chance, it’s great!)

Wilton Way is itself an interesting place. The sort of non-high street that usually and unfortunately ends up with as a row of closed shops. Not here though. Wilton Way is now home to a thriving little community thanks to The Wilton Way Cafe (go and try the fabulous avocado on sourdough toast with lemon and chilli), Borough Wines, Toppers of Hackney, the other side of the pillow and, of course, Violet itself. 

Violet are famous for their cupcakes – and rightly so, they are delicious – but the new home has meant there is time to sit, relax and watch the world go by as you have a coffee or tea and indulge in a piece of chocolate cake or the sticky treat that is the fresh ginger and molasses cake. My favourite however, has to be the gorgeous cinnamon buns, but the quiches are great too. Mmmmmm, quiche…

The cafe is small – very small – small enough to watch the bakers go about their business, but there are seats out front, in the courtyard garden and, thankfully, upstairs.

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Violet | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Cupcake € 0.90
47 Wilton Way,E8 3ED | +442072758360
Tue – Fri 07:30 – 18:00, Sat 09:30 – 18:00, Sun 09:30 – 17:00

The London Fields Brewery is, as you might expect, a small independent brewery in London Fields. They produce hand-crafted ales in a railway arch, my favourite of which is probably the Hackney Hopster. The beers themselves are well worth recommending, but what separates London Fields Brewery is the fact that they have a Tap Room open at the weekends serving the freshest brews alongside live music!

At the moment the Tap Room is only open on Saturdays and Sundays but they have live music on both nights with the Sunday session being normally live jazz with TJ Johnson and band.

It’s basically a little-known hidden local, with great beers. No bad thing itself, but they also have English wines and local snacks. During the colder months of the year the caterers serve delicious food made with fresh hand-picked ingredients. Last summer that meant The Dead Dolls Club were involved for what they jointly called A Summer Affair. It was good. 

The London Fields Brewery also have special events and one which is certain to be good (and packed) is the London’s Brewing Festival which is happening in May. It is a is a brand new festival from the London Brewers Alliance to celebrate London’s thriving and vibrant brewing scene. The festival will have over 100 beers from some 30+ breweries. 

The Tap Room is just around the corner from the picturesque (and hip) London Fields and is only a stones throw from Broadway Market so I would suggest spending a lovely Saturday in the area.

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London Fields Tap Room | Bars, Music | Per bottle £ 3
366 Warburton Street, E8 | +442072547174
Sat – Sun 12:00 – 00:00

Fernandez & Wells is a now a small chain of impressive cafes with three venues in Soho, a recently opened one in South Kensington for the museum crowd and, what I think is the best of the lot, within the magnificent East Wing of Somerset House.

Bigger and better (the setting obviously helps) than the others and with specially commissioned artworks by David Tremlett that vies for attention with the wall of hanging jamon, this is a perfect marriage of style and setting. It’s where I imagine Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem would stop for a while before doing something star-studded. “Oh, hi Penelope. Hi Andrew. Have you time to join us for a Rioja?….”

Great coffee, sandwiches, soup, the ubiquitous jamon, cheese, wine, cake. I could easily spend a lot of time and a lot of money here (it isn’t cheap), and despite the obviously stylish interior and setting this is basically simple food. Very good, well-sourced food (like the succulent, plump anchovies I devoured) but still quite basic really. There isn’t any fancy cooking going on here, just freshly made food and drink that make this an exceptional cafe/bar. 

Somerset House was always worth a visit before F&W took residence thanks to the art exhibitions, the location next to the Thames, the spectacular open air cinema in the summer, the ice rink in the winter, the Rizzoli bookshop and the Courtauld Institute of Art. But now, thanks to Fernandez & Wells, it is even better. 

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Fernandez & Wells at Somerset House | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Spanish) | Glass of wine £ 4
Somerset House,WC2R 0RN | +442074209408
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 23:00, Sun 09:00 – 23:00

Bradley’s Spanish Bar is a little (tiny actually) hidden gem just off Oxford Street a million miles away from all the chain pubs in the area. 

First things first, although it says it is a tapas bar on the sign outside, there is no food on offer. The toilets are also ‘an experience’, but these are the things that go to add to the charm of Bradley’s. The Bradley’s experience. It’s a bit tatty. It’s a bit run down. It will be difficult to get a seat. But for all that, it is simply one of the best bars in the area. 

The vinyl-only jukebox is quite rightly regarded as the star of the bar and it definitely attracts an eclectic soundtrack to the night – punk to funk in one difficult step is commonplace. Add in the draught Spanish beers, the decor and the general quirkiness of a place that seems quite out of its time and place and you have a bar that is a real star. So much so, that in the summer the crowd spills outside and the whole street is quickly rammed.

Unique. Eccentric. Tacky. Dirty. Tiny. Unusual. Am I selling it to you? Not sure? But, I love it and if I was going to meet anyone in a bar near Tottenham Court Road this is the one I would suggest, especially if they had never been themselves.

Nobody forgets Bradley’s.

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Bradley’s Spanish Bar | Bars | Pint £ 4
42-44 Hanway Street, W1T 1UT | +442076360359
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 23:00, Sun 15:00 – 22:30