Market Cafe - Broadway Market

Market Cafe, Market Cafe do I like you or not?

I certainly come here a lot.

 As uninspiring as it may be, the name is pretty accurate: Market Cafe is a café on Broadway Market. Another café in Broadway Market? Indeed, but this one is a bit different and, I have to say, was much needed. The first time I visited was when it hadn't opened yet: they were giving away free pasta tasters in the street, out of enormous metal pots. There was nothing inside yet, but I very much disliked the previous interior so nothing was still a huge improvement.

The pasta was great, the staff young and lovely and the atmosphere really festive. Thumbs up then, but there was much much more to get done before the opening day, and they could still very much fuck it up. 
Instead, they put together really nice bric-à-brac   furniture and, well, have the best windows you can ask for, they are huge and go all round. In the day it's just bright and gorgeous and in the evening it's cheerfully Hopper-esque.

The food - the food is really nice, the sides here are quite something in themselves; try the polenta or just the side salad - delicious.

The coffee is good and they can whip up an amazing whisky sour.

So why am I not sure I like it?

Well, the prices are a bit of a joke. An evening here can be a real blow to the wallet's heart and it's not like we're at the Boundary's rooftop patio, we're down the road in Broadway Market, we didn't expect a blow here.

I'm sure this  encouraged the desired fauna: why have normal Hackney when you can have Alexa Chung? True, after the first unexpected blow you know what to expect and can choose not to come here... but can you?

Market Cafe is a bit of a magnet: it's packed with cheerful people, it's pretty and fun, the tastebuds are happy... if you live around here you might just end up there whether you planned to or not.

L'Entrepôt - Dalston Lane

Route 38, can't help but love you. A little further up the road from Healthy Stuff, on Dalston Lane, just before Hackney Downs station, something just popped up out of the blue - Borough Wines's big cousin - L'Entrepôt.

I am a fan of the original wine-stop nestled in Wilton way -  I used to go there for their much acclaimed house wine refills straight from the barrel tap - the only problem is that the place is really just a booze stop, no sitting, no food, nothing.Which, for a place with such character, seemed a bit of a shame. No more! They must have noticed that too. With L'Entrepôts round the corner, Borough Wines is now free to be itself and can redirect any out-chillers there. 

L'Entrepôt does everything Borough Wines does (wine, wine, wine and tap wine), with the addition of tables and chairs to sit at, nice breakfasts in the morning, coffee, nibbles in the afternoon and some proper food in the evening. With the food, try not to look around too much: the staff eat things you are not allowed to order, things that look delicious and are not in the menu... like pasta, for example. I managed to look miserable enough about this that they gave me a sample dish, and boy it was beautiful. But I was told to keep schtum about it so don't go telling anyone, ok?

Another thing that's really stimulating here, both to work in the day and to appreciate the wine (or both together, even) is what they did with the space.  

They talk about it on their blog where there's a 'before' picture, the warehouse is narrow and long and I frankly can't remember ever seeing it there, right next to the supermarket, under the railway bridge. They painted it all white and sprinkled nice, clever touches all over - the wooden floor is made of reclaimed school gyms flooring, the bar top of wine crates, the lights of bottles, the ceiling partition of old stained windows.

 In the evening, this place is full of pretty dressed up people, dressed up properly, like grown ups and not like clapton urchins. Is this good? I don't know, but I like it so far. Try it!