Popped in for some food. As a few other have said - it's a…read moregood mix between a more modern food menu and the good/cheap beer and look of an older London pub. I got the bangers and mash while by wife got the cottage pie. I think I got the better meal as the sausages were really tasty and the whole grain mustard in the potatoes was a great way to elevate the potatoes. Her cottage pie was fine but didn't have a ton of flavor. Food came out surprisingly quickly, but we also had an order of chips which was crazy slow to come out of the kitchen. The chips were quite good but we'd both finished our entire meals and most of our beers by the time we got them. Beer options were solid, some good German choices. Beer was cheap too.

Though it is located just a short walk from the many attractions of Brick Lane, The Carpenters Arms…read moreretains a very local feel. This place is not trying to play up on an image like many of the bars in this areas and sticks instead to the important business of being a damn fine pub. Being quite small there is a naturally cosy feel to the place and this is complimented by the decor wuth lots of wood panelling and comfy seats. The bar has a great selection of draft and bottled beers and, for the summer months, there is an excellent beer garden. I've yet to try the food but they do serve traditional pub grub between 12 and 5 Tuesday through Sunday. With a great atmosphere, warm and friendly bar staff and an excellent range of drinks, The Carpenters Arms is a brilliant place for a relaxing evening or a great stop-in after a hard days shop.

Great pub. Amazing selection of beers. fantastic meat and cheese boards. Nice staff and great…read moreenvironment.

Amazing selection of beers. Great place to grab a pint and some snacks. The place has a nice charm.read more

Rather outspoken establishment, sports a regal theme (very difficult to pull of). Enjoyed bar…read moresnacks and a Lager, suspiciously hard to locate... this is both a pro and a con as long time guest stray from fake tourist types. Overall great environment, would recommend!

Tourists don't come to pubs like The Old Kings Head. And that's a good thing…read more Tucked away in a side street, people spill out onto the pavement in the warmer evenings and just have a chat with friends. It's not a place to be seen (a relief, as we know what this area can be like), but somewhere to enjoy a few drinks, perhaps before heading elsewhere. Inside it's a traditional East London pub; wooden, sport on TV and some friendly older female bar staff. The type of lady that was confused by my ordering of a 'lager top'. She might have even mocked me, but I'm ok with that. The outside is unique - green tiles and hanging flowers. It's got a nice feel to it this place, especially in the summer where the street is full of drinkers from here and the bar over the road.

The Shakespeare is located on Bethnal Green Rd. in East London. I have to say, my favourite name…read morefor a dive pub must be 'The Shakespeare'. I think the contrast between William Shakespeare and a grimy East London pub is quite notable, and there is a hilarious Irony involved in its title. This pub is by no means a classy establishment. It is a real East End boozer that is not for the faint hearted. It kind of has a social club feel, maybe in its décor. It is also quite musty and dank inside. I love how it is referred to as the 'Shake's'. I find it an appropriate abbreviation, as the shakes can be applied to this kind of place in quite a few different ways.

This is a friendly locals pub, that seems to prefer cricket to football (it is always worth knowing…read morea place like that!). They did switch it over for 1 horse race unfortunately. I really hate horse racing, but it only lasted a couple of minutes, so I'll let them off. Had a couple of ale pumps, but no real ale was on unfortunately, just from the lager taps a couple were available. No food here, not even crisps. In the end the friendliness wins it for me. I enjoyed chatting to the locals about the cricket and would happily come here again to watch a match.

Had lunch at this wonderful pub! The server, Danni was great and got our order correctly and…read morequickly, and always had a beer ready to go. Highly suggest the Scottish egg! Also did the pie sampler and the pies were wonderful!

Stopped in for dinner with my kiddo. I had the meat pie and they had a burger. We also got the…read moresourdough bread as well. Everything was tasty. The meat pie had a nice flaky crust and savoring gravy in the pie. I imagined before trying it, that it would be similar to an American pot pie. This was denser with meat and the crust was thicker. I am so glad I tried it, I want it again! The atmosphere here is traditionally pub like with lots of beers to choose from. I had an aperol spritz which is my go to in the summer time. It was well made and I could have had 5 more. :)

I'm a bit hesitant to write a poor review of this place as the girls here are really hardworking…read moreand as attentive as one can possibly be to hundreds of people in a day. But, the chaos I walked into on a Sunday has ensured that I never walk into a crowded pub like this again. It took almost 15 minutes to flag down one of the servers to ask about getting a table, to which I was told, "If you see a spot, grab it." As soon as I saw a couple get up I threw my stuff down- hoping it wouldn't get stolen- and went to order at the bar. That took another 5 minutes. Given how crowded it was, I ended up having to share my table with 4 other people; which wasn't bad, until I ended up getting my food more than 15 minutes after I'd ordered it, and then realized I was the only one eating at a table full of strangers. The food itself wasn't bad, but for a pub that claims to have the best Sunday Roast in London, it certainly didn't compare to those that don't claim that and are less of a hassle to eat in. And at £17 a pop, you can bet the experience wasn't worth it for some chicken and Yorkshire pudding.

About a week ago, I made the mistake of ordering some Nachos here. Honestly the saddest plate of…read moreNachos I've ever come across. The best description of it I can make is that it was that someone poured a bag of tortilla chips onto a plate, squeezed some awful American-style runny cheese over it all, then put some ready-made shop-bought guacamole on one end, what looked like ketchup but was salsa on the other end, and then the largest dollop of sour cream (almost tasted like fresh whipped cream somehow) in the middle. There was no attempts to layer anything. It was served on a baking tray which I can't really explain seeing as it was all completely cold. And they cost £12.50 which, tbh, is a disgrace. They were unfortunate to say the least. I should have sent them back but I was so hungry that I tried to make the most of it. Unrelated, but the bar staff were lovely, I'm sorry I had to give a bad review based off the food.

This pub is the first place I stumbled into upon arriving in Bethnal Green, instantly outside the…read moreunderground station exit. The place is old and run down, just like almost everywhere in this little pocket of East London, but rather then struggle against this handicap the pub has perservered and shone through as a local boozer where everyone knows one anothers name... and an outsider isn't always welcome. I ignored the alarms going off inside my head as I took my seat, watched beadily by about 10 locals all sitting at the bar swearing at each other. I was in their end now, so I have to be careful... The bartender however could not have been nicer, even when I was just sitting in there to watch the cricket (I came back later for a pint as homage to this good service.) The TV is projected (sports) onto a big screen and Led Zeppelin/David Bowie screams in the background.. awesome. Their are boxing posters all over the wall, looking back to a time when boxing was still a huge part of East End culture. An excellent little boozer.

So I've stood outside The Salmon & Ball many a time, waiting to meet friends at Bethnal Green…read moreTube Station. Finally, last week, whilst waiting in the arctic London temperatures, I decided it was better for both my body and spirit to wait inside. So into the Salmon & Ball I went. And it was rather pleasant. A traditional East-London boozer with the usual smattering of cool boys and old men that look like they've been glued to their bar stools since the late 60s. Bar staff were really friendly and my pint was ice cold, so no complaints here. A far better alternative than standing on the street!

Definitely what I would consider an "old man bar". The kind of place where you just sit at the bar…read moreand mull about your life decisions. They have a few bar food items on the menu, but not a lot. Beer selection is pretty alright.

Classic pub this!…read more And not just in a "ooh, savour the real-ness, the 'unchanged for years'ness, the locals, the banter etc" and all that jazz. This is just a quality pub. It hasn't had a refurbishment, because it hasn't needed one. There's benches and tables around the walls, the bar's 4 sided plonked in the middle. They have a darts board and screens up when there's sports playing. And even though we clearly weren't regulars, no-one told us off, or where to go, or made any nasty comments. They have cockles in a little dish on the bar. And I'd never even tried cockles before. And they're amazing, the finest compliment to a good pint of ale... ever! Well, they wipe the floor with ur hairy pork scratchings any day. Nope, absolutely nothing to complain about with this one. Prices good, service friendly. This isn't anything like you West End bars with fancy tapas menus, 'cause this is the real thing.

What a place ! Awesome ambiance and I was impressed at the food quality. I'm in town for the week…read moreand will probably be back every night. Great beer selection including hand pulled ales. Indoor and outdoor seating

Found this spot through a Yelp search. Nice place with a cute outdoor area. Pies were fantastic and…read morehearty.

The Sunday Roast options here were definitely better than the versions I've had at pub chains such…read moreas Wetherspoons. I ordered the chicken and the beef roasts and liked both, although I'd recommend the chicken since the meat was cooked to a much more tender and juicy state. Both dishes arrived with parsnips, carrots, kale, potatoes and a large Yorkshire pudding, all drizzled in a tasty gravy sauce and the chicken option also came with a bread sauce. I left that alone though, much preferring the signature brown gravy sauce. I don't think a pub can get more British than this - the name "The Owl and the Pussycat" itself screams quirky English. I had an enjoyable dining experience overall.

We just randomly popped in for a pint and another classic English pub. There's a nice garden out…read moreback where we perched. Had a few pints and laughs and definitely recommend.