Property

It conjures up an image of stones worn smooth millennia ago by trundling chariots, but Roman Road was in fact called Drift Street until around a century ago, when a dig uncovered remains that suggested the old road to Colchester lay nearby. This grabbed the imagination of the era’s planners and the road was renamed.

The thoroughfare – which stretches from Bethnal Green to the eastern end of Roman Road Market – is a down-at-heel, chiefly commercial parade, with housing limited to council blocks and flats above shops. Whether any of the 2012 cash being pumped out east will be spent giving it a much-needed facelift remains to be seen.
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So much for the cons. The pros are considerable: it’s a main artery to the heart of old Bow and steeped in East End tradition. It has a strong ethnic mix, is within spitting distance of Victoria Park and straddles Regent’s Canal. It also affords easy access to the City and West End. As 2012 approaches, signs of up-market creep abound: there is an osteopathy clinic, a laptop repair shop and countless estate agents. But if you have your heart set on being an East Ender, yet don’t fancy Stratford, Roman Road and its surroundings are ideal.

A Wild Cherry Café B Friends Organic C Zee & Co D Roman Road Market E Central Foundation Girls' School

Going out
There’s little of interest on the road itself – unless eels ’n’ mash or a kebab appeal – but the side streets hide a few gems. The Wild Cherry Café (241-247 Globe Rd, 020 8980 6678) serves up reasonably priced veggie food and the adjacent Thai Garden (249 Globe Rd, 020 8981 5748) is also well worth a visit. For a sup and a sing-song, head to The Palm Tree, on the eastbound canal towpath (3 Haverfield Rd, no phone).

Local shops
Saturday’s Roman Road market has everything from cheap fresh fruit ’n’ veg to trainers. For other foodie needs, there’s Friends Organic health shop (83 Roman Rd, 020 8980 1843) and fine Turkish grocery Can Supermarket & Offie (209 Roman Rd). Bow’s label kings and queens are catered to by a cluster of upmarket clothing stores near the St Stephen’s Rd corner, including Zee & Co (454 Roman Rd, 020 8983 3383), while the respected Rhythm Division record shop (391 Roman Rd, 020 8981 2203) has been selling vinyl to the urban music cognoscenti for years.

Schools
Malmesbury Primary School (Coburn St, 020 8980 4299) is rated as ‘satisfactory’ by Ofsted. Central Foundation Girls’ School (Harley Grove, 020 8981 1131) is a performing arts specialist school rated ‘good’. The C of E-affiliated Raine’s Foundation School (Approach Rd, 020 8981 1231) gets a ‘good-to-very-good’ verdict.

Transport
Bethnal Green and Mile End tube stations are both in Zone 2, on the Central Line and Central/ District/Hammersmith & City Lines respectively. The No 8 bus to Victoria runs the length of Roman Road.

Estate agents
Forte Homes (www.fortehomesbow.co.uk).
Look Property Services (www.lookproperty.co.uk).
Winkworth (www.winkworth.co.uk).