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Regent's Canal towpath
© Sara Melhuish

Haggerston area guide

Keep busy in east London with our guide to Haggerston's best attractions, pubs, hotels, restaurants and bars.

Written by
Things To Do Editors
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Squeezed between Shoreditch and Dalston, and almost merged with Hoxton, Haggerston has long been overlooked as a thoroughfare between one east London hotspot and another. It does this slight but packed area of the capital's East End an injustice.

The rejuvenated railway arches of the Overground now play host to a number of excellent eateries and cafés, which are handily in close proximity to pubs both impeccably hip and comfortably ‘EastEnders’ grimy. 

Haggerston also offers a great entry point for the Regents Canal towpath, with some popular canal-side cafés and bars popping up. The canal provides easy access to nearby Broadway Market, Angel and the lush greenery of London Fields and Victoria Park. If you're really up for a walk, you can march to Stratford in the east and Camden in the west.

While Dalston might get all the props for night time excursions, gay pub The Glory, the brainchild of drag legend Jonny Woo, provides more than enough queer anarchism and some epic lip syncs to make it a destination. But for more family-friendly fun, enjoy the joyously trippy experience of pigs, goats, cockerels and more marking their territory in Hackney City Farm.

RECOMMENDED: London by area

Things to do in Haggerston

Regent's Canal

Regent's Canal

Haggerston is the perfect entry point for a stroll along the canal, with a number of spots to eat along the way. 

Draughts

Draughts

A bar and café with more than 500 board games both old and new available to play at customers' leisure.

Seventeen

Seventeen

A modern gallery space that hosts regular exhibitions of contemporary art, artist discussions and films. 

Bars and pubs in Haggerston

The Glory

The Glory

A new bar and venue co-opened by drag legend Jonny Woo. The Glory will host everything from cabaret to performance to DJ nights. There's a bar for casual...

Fox

Fox

  • 3 out of 5 stars

Until recently, the reveller on their way up to the more fashionable nightspots of Dalston could have passed the Fox right by. No more – it’s...

Proud Archivist

Proud Archivist

  • 3 out of 5 stars

It’s unsettling to walk along the Regent’s Canal towpath to find loiterers grinning at you – until, that is, you’re close enough to see the quality of their...

Shep’s

Shep’s

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • price 2 of 4

Dojo meets bar at Shep’s: a cocktail joint with a Korean food menu that’s kicking ass on Kingsland Road. It’s been opened by James...

Restaurants in Haggerston

Rotorino

Rotorino

  • 4 out of 5 stars

A laidback eatery up there with some of the best modern Italian restaurants in London.

Berber & Q

Berber & Q

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • price 2 of 4

A Middle Eastern grillhouse that stands out for its cool factor and quality food. 

Tonkotsu East

Tonkotsu East

  • 3 out of 5 stars

For a big bowl of comfort food in east London, this noodle joint fills more than just a hole in the wall.  

Chick 'n' Sours

Chick 'n' Sours

  • 5 out of 5 stars

Serving a mixture of traditional fried chicken a fried chicken with Asian flavours, with added cocktails. 

Hotels near Haggerston

Premier Inn London Hackney

Premier Inn London Hackney

Located opposite Dalston Junction Train Station, Premier Inn London Hackney provides en suite rooms with a bar and restaurant. This London hotel has a 24-hour...

Avo Hotel

Avo Hotel

This family run hotel may be small in size but it's large on cleanliness, friendliness and high-quality furnishings. It's also in one hell of a good location,...

Kip

Kip

You won't be getting much kip at this hotel which is located next to Hackney Central station and an abundance of restaurants, pubs, unusual bars (think...

The perfect weekend in Haggerston

Brunch: Towpath

Brunch: Towpath

  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • price 1 of 4

This canal-side café is the ultimate brunch spot, offering not just great food but perfect people watching. 

Play: Draughts

Play: Draughts

Grab a drink and partake in some epic board game action with over 500 games available to play.  

Party: The Glory

Party: The Glory

East London's most anarchic drag and cabaret bar also has a disco basement for boogieing the weekend away.