Dalston

Dalston is one of the coolest areas of London. It's still a bit rough around the edges (in a good way) but pop-up events, street art, great restaurants, nice bars and hipsters rule Dalston. In addition to nightlife, you can find all sorts of culture events here from theatre to jazz. Streets of Dalston are filled with really nice restaurants, cafes and bars. There's bit of a lack of green areas here, but it's all made up with the amount of roof terraces, secret gardens and cool outside areas of bars.

Culture:

• Arcola theatre is a small theatre in Dalston showing interesting plays with a small production. They've had productions with intense themes, such as Clockwork Orange and Purge. Every play I've seen has been an amazing experience.
• Vortex is a small and intimate jazz club with great bands performing serious jazz tunes. The entrance fee is often very reasonable. The audience is sitting around small round tables, which gives a nice mood for the place.

Clubbing & gigs:

• Cafe OTO is a large café/bar, that hosts nights with alternative music. Past performers include Mt. Eerie and Thurston Moore! You can get delicious microbrewery beers here.  
• The Shacklewell Arms is a really cozy pub with candles, pinball machine and a pool table. They also have quite good gigs and clubs from time to time. Good beers and food go without saying. 
• Servant's Jazz Quarters is a nice jazz cellar with a cocktail bar upstairs. Their music choises are not exclusively jazz. Check out their website for the programme, since they're not open every day of the week.

Cafés:

• If you want something sweet, Creams is definitely the place to go. They have a huge collection of different Italian style gelato ice creams, milkshakes, crepes and coffee. 
• If well-prepared coffee is your thing, Mouse & de Lotz is a great place to enjoy skilfully prepared espresso-based drinks. The café itself is quite small and simple, but nice enough to enjoy the flavours. 
• The Russet is a rustic looking café that also serves breakfast and brunch. The terrace outside is a great place to sit when it's sunny out. It's located in the über-cool Hackney Downs Studios, where you can find art galleries and places to fix your bike.
  
•  Reilly Rocket is a quite hipstery café with absolutely amazing coffee. The baristas really know what they're doing. They also have some delicious brownies, cakes etc. The upstairs is very nice.
• Ivy's is another cool Dalston hangout. The coffee is very good and they have sweet treats and good looking food. And what's more, you can get proper pancakes. They play cool music and the place is open quite late.

 Pubs:

• Lift is a great, quite big pub with a wide beer selection and interesting decorations. They host all sorts of events from open mic nights to comedy, quiz nights and film clubs.
• Hand of Glory is a cool pub with hamburgers and hotdogs, and excellent Five Points Brewery beers on tap! They also have excellent choices in ciders. Ask for their Somerset Shandy, a mix of real cider and a fizzy cider. They have outside areas in front and in back.
  
• The Victoria is owned by famous Jaguarshoes Collective. The pub is beautiful old hotel, they have great DJs in the weekends and they have delicious craft beers on tap. You can also choose a great burger from their extensive burger menu to enjoy with your beer. There's also a music venue in the back. The acoustics are not that great though.
• Brewer's Bar is a stylish converted butcher shop that now serves Partizan brewery beers, delicious wines and little nibbles. 
  
• The Duke of Wellington is a great neighbourhood pub with candles on the tables, excellent real ales and craft beer and a relaxed atmosphere. Music is not too loud so it's a great place to have a chat and a pint with your friends. 
• The Railway Tavern is a nice little ale house with great selection of craft beers and a laid back atmosphere.

Parks & Gardens:

• Eastern Curve Garden is a big community garden, where people are growing food. The best thing about this place is that they have a number of garden tables and you can buy great coffee, beer or food and have a great time outdoors.
• Finding green spaces in Dalston is not always that easy. King Henry's Walk Garden is a secluded little community garden that takes you away from all the noises. It's a great place to enjoy lunch or just gather your thought's when it's sunny out.
• Not exactly a park, but there is a fantastic roof top garden, called Dalston Roof Park, where you can enjoy street food, drinks and views over the rooftops of London. They even host some outdoor cinema or rooftop yoga there once in a while.
   

Eating:

• Mangal II is an excellent Turkish charcoal reastaurant. The food is delicious and very affordable. They also have good vegetarian options available.  
• Voodoo Ray's pizzeria serves delicious slices of pizza. It's a bit expensive for the amount you get, but it's so very good! They also have great beers to go with the pizza.
• Shanghai serves authentic Shanghai cuisine in a fantastic environment. The front room is an old Victorian pie & mash shop that has been converted to a Chinese restaurant. There is a larger, a bit more dull, area at the back. Everything from noodles and delicious sauces to dim sums.
• Evin Café, Bar and Restaurant serves delicious Turkish food. Their mezes are absolutely delicious.
• Dalston Yard is only open during the summer. It's a fantastic street food complex with a number of pop-up stalls serving delicious foods from around the world. There are also great options for craft beer and cocktails. 
• Salvation in Noodles is a great Vietnamese noodle place. They only have pho soups or bun noodle salads, but both are delicious. The unfinished looking brick walls give a nice atmosphere and they also sell some great craft beer to go with
  
  your meal.
• Viva is a beautiful small restaurant serving Mexican and South American food. They talk about tapas, but I think about 1.5 portions is already enough for one person, unless you're really hungry. They also serve cocktails that fit with the theme of the restaurant.
• Floyd's is a beautiful and cozy small restaurant that serves excellent, quite upscale food. The prices are not that cheap, but then again, it's quite fine dining, so if you want to try something exceptional, this is a great place for it. Changing menu offers exotic tastes.

 Shopping:

• Kristina Records is a small record store specialised in second hand vinyl. The store is fairly small, but they have much more albums than meet the eye. You can flip through their collections online and come to the store to get your albums. They sometimes have fairly good bargains.
• Eldica Records is a small record store with a great vintage look. They specialise in black music, such as soul, reggae, hip-hop etc.
• Harvest E8 is a fantastic organic food store. you can find a variety of fresh vegetables, fresh bakery, vegetarian foods and organic treats, both sweet and savoury. There's also a nice café in the shop.
• Wine Cellar is an excellent off-license to buy your alcohol. A great selection of wines and liquor, but a special mention has to be given to beer selection, which covers many of the capital's microbreweries.

 Cinema:

• Dalston has a great independent cinema, Rio Cinema, where you can catch alternative films, old films as well as some blockbusters. The theatre building looks fantastic.

Areas around Dalston: Hackney Central, Haggerston, Stoke Newington, De Beauvoir Town