Dove

Bars and pubs, Gastropubs South Hackney
Recommended
4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5 stars
(21user reviews)
1/4
2/4
3/4
4/4

Broadway Market’s Dove is Belgian beer heaven. The building has the feel of a Continental tavern: it’s an old-fashioned building decked out in oak with the always oversubscribed bar the focus of the action. There are a few optimistic picnic benches peppering the front pavement. To finish the effect, a distinct waft of yeast hits you as you enter the room. There’s certainly no messing around on Dove’s tome-like menu filled with Trappist, gueuze and fruit beers: it’s an exhaustive list celebrating the best of a proper beer culture.

There’s the expected Broadway Market trendy community present at most times, as the Dove makes a perfect post-market pitstop or afternoon party venue. Steaming bowls of moules marinière fly from the kitchen just as steadily as pints from the bar. Craft beer done the time-honoured Low-Country way.

By: Laura Richards

Posted:

Venue name: Dove
Contact:
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Address: 24-28 Broadway Market
London
E8 4QJ
Opening hours: Open noon-11pm Mon-Thur, Sun; noon-midnight Fri, Sat. Food served noon-10pm Mon-Thur, Sun; noon-11pm Fri, Sat
Transport: Tube: London Fields rail
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Average User Rating

4 / 5

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star:9
  • 4 star:9
  • 3 star:2
  • 2 star:0
  • 1 star:2
LiveReviews|21
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1 of 1 found helpful

Superb pub, with second to none choice of vegetarian mains. That's on top of one of the finest selections of Belgian beers around, and top quality food on the whole.

1 of 1 found helpful

Perfect local. Great beers, delicious food, friendly and knowledgable staff.

1 of 1 found helpful
Tastemaker

Sister pub to the Dove Tail in Farringdon, it has an excellent beer selection and that is all that matters. Don't go here for the food or the ambiance, but do go for the best selection of Belgian beers on tab anywhere in London. They even have Brugse Zot -literally translated as the idiot from Bruges- on tab! Try it! And it is cheap too (for London that is)! 

1 of 1 found helpful
Tastemaker

This beautiful little treasure chest of a pub is right smack dab in the middle of Broadway Market. With plenty of good beers and yummy snacks it makes for a great mid week escape from the sometimes harsh vibe of London. The atmosphere is really easy going, it’s full of slightly beaten wooden tables and worn down seating. Also there’s a great beer mural on the ceiling (I won’t ruin the surprise, you've got to see for yourself.)

1 of 1 found helpful

A rambling wood-panelled warren of a pub at the canal end of Broadway Market that's hugely popular with local Hackneyites and occasional confused-looking tourists. A pub specialising in Belgian beer? Fine. A bar with attached dining room offering home-cooked Thai specials? Sure. But both together in the same establishment? Well, why not? It works a treat. The range of beers is dizzying, covering the gamut from brown beers to amber ales, blond beers, lambics and geuzes. Get Brugse Zot – brown or blond – on tap and dozens of bottled beers from the familiar Chimay (Red and Blue) to much less often spotted delights as Grottenbier, Troubadour, even Verboden Vrucht. They’ve even got all the glasses, though it’s pot luck if you get the right glass with the right beer. There’s an extensive pub food menu too, but the standout dishes are the daily Thai specials. You can eat (and drink) in the spacious dining room or the busier pub and either way your food will be brought to your table by friendly staff. This could be – whisper it because we wouldn’t want it to be any more popular than it already is – the best pub in the world.

1 of 1 found helpful

nice and qualty place to be at dove pub worth a try

fast line mini cab service 0208 5332727

1 of 1 found helpful

I had a meeting at the pub on Tuesday when we ate bar snacks. They were truly awful. Obviously prepared long in advance, dried up and barely even heated up for us. I was Ill all night and the next day. I went and talked to the manager on Wednesday. She was totally uninterested and tried to say that all food was prepared as needed. She didn't offer to refund the cost, she did take an email address but we haven't heard a thing since. I wouldn't recommend anyone to go here if they value their health.

1 of 1 found helpful

I have known this pub for 22 years, it developed it's reputation for 2 main reasons. They have a very large selection of belgian beers and it's woman friendly, which isn't so unusual now but 20 years ago was very progressive. All else is secondary. The food has been somewhat variable, and you need to know what they do consistently well. Whatever the price you won't find a better selection of belgian beers to improve your appreciation of this unusual country.

1 of 1 found helpful

Favourite pub around Broadway Market. Great food as well, served in a separate room so you can get a seat even if it's busy. @Leonard Rees: If you don't want to pay £4.95 for your beer, don't order imported American hipster pale ale!. A can of lager will cost you £1 in a supermarket but £3 or £4 in a bar. That's kind of how it works. A supermarket is not a pub.

1 of 1 found helpful

Nothing about this pub from the outside tells you what you're going to find inside. It does look like a regular boring pub, one that you could be tempted to keep walking past in the hunt for something a bit cooler. But you'd be wrong. Live music, a huge selection of real ales, ciders and beers, as well as fruit beers, a wonderful selection of home made foods, friendly service and cosy seats make this a prime pub for whiling away the cold winter evenings. I was going to invest in a sofa for my house, but now I've discovered The Dove, I don't see the point. I am going to spend all my time in there.

tastemaker

My go - to pub on Broadway Market. Very relaxed atmosphere, I can always find a place to sit and prices aren’t too crazy.

The fact that they serve even vegan fish and chips is just a bonus. I’m not even a vegan and I wanted to try it- it was surprisingly delicious!

Tastemaker

It hardly possible to get to the Dove during the Saturday market on Broadway Market, midweek turned out to be a perfect day to finally check it out. They have some quite unusual beers there, apart for widely known fruity Belgian beers, they have plum porter and banana and coconut beers. They have some decent vegetarian and vegan options, it was here that I actually tried seitan for the first time. Served with a tiny bowl of light pickles and satay sauce, it was delicious, tender and very tasty. The vegan battered chicken wings were surprisingly good too! There are a few days a week when they have deals, veggie Tuesdays – 2 mains or £15, other days for the same price you can get two Thai mains. The pub is old and has a nice vibe, but I suggest coming during the week, it’s more chilled out. 

tastemaker

The dove appears as quite a petit pub but once inside there are many tables at the back and space by the bar.  The decor definitely fits into east London chic selling an array of Belgium beers, which sets the tone for a great atmosphere. The drinks are averagely priced for wine and beer. The staff are generally friendly and good at what they do - we went on a busy Friday night and there were hardly ever any queues for the bar. The bench seating outside is nice in the summer months especially during the day having a Pimms and watching the world go by (especially great when the market is on but it does get very busy). Definitely worth a visit. 

tastemaker

The Dove is a very authentic pub located at the start of Broadway market in Hackney. The choice of beers is pretty amazing and the prices are very reasonable. The pub looks quite small but there's actually a lot of space at the back, as well as a lot of books and board games! A really good place to go to when it gets cold outside!

Tastemaker

Was feeling quite excited to visit the Dove as it's meant to have LOADS OF BELGIAN BEERS. My favourite kind of beers! But dear lordie, was it packed. And really, it only comes in 33cl or 77cl? 


The one 33cl beer that we stayed for was pretty nice, to be fair. Standing outside, on a mildly sunny day, watching Broadway Market-ers go by, little puppers milling about, it was really nice. So either get there early, to get a decent seat, and have a decent wad of cash to pay for all the 33cls' you'll be wanting. 



tastemaker

This turned out to be a fantastic finding in the middle of achingly hip Market Broadway. The paddle allowed us to sample a variety of 4 fine Belgian beers that ranged through the alcoholic spectrum from fruli to chimay. Amongst all the warm wood panelling, there's room for quite a few special Thai dishes. The snapper was delightful. I'm not a sweet potato fan but the sauce worked wonderfully. Unfortunately the figgy toffee pudding had a bit of plastic within it so I'm not sure it would be authentically considered homemade.

Tastemaker

Great pub find at the start of Broadway market. We went here on a Friday night and had dinner with friends, it's gets booked out pretty quickly, so be sure to book if you want to eat in one of the dining rooms. They have a huge selection of Belgian beers and all reasonably priced. The food portions were good and they had a special Thai night on and the pad Thai was the best ever, most similar taste I have had to Thailand! The portions were generous and the waiters were very helpful. I would've given this 5/5 but there was a bit of plastic in our figgy pudding dessert, which was a little disappointing. Go for the beer, not the food!

Tastemaker

I'm not cool enough for the Dove, not by a long shot! This is trendy, like really trendy...hang on is trendy even a cool word anymore? Argh, anyway, it's east London/Broadway Market area and is very chilled out and relaxed. It's got seating outside and lots of people standing on the street drinking (totes cas). Inside there was a huge queue for the bar (I was there Saturday afternoon about 5pm) but it was worth it when we finally got served. There were stacks of beer choices but we went for wine and sat inside just as a downpour hit. It's pretty big inside and we were lucky to get seats (I was there with two friends who are pictured). There's loads of quaint features like books, board games and also unisex loos which look a bit see through but aren't. See too cool for school - loved it.

Tastemaker

The selection of Belgian beers is amazing, especially Belgian sours which I love. The food is ok although on the bland side and the service is very average. The pub is full of hidden nooks and crannies and dark wood and one can easily spend a weekend afternoon there.

Tastemaker

Cosy pub perfect for wintery evenings. Haven't eaten here but food looks nice

Staff Writer

This place is the pits. It's always going to be full, because it's got the best spot on broadway market. But the staff are mean, they have a weird policy whereby the restaurant serves food to anyone in the pub, but you can't go for a drink in the restaurant (even when the pub is full of diners, and the restaurant is empty). Complain, and you'll be turfed out. There's a massive beer menu though - so if you don't mind standing within view of a room full of empty tables - you can drown your sorrows in fine belgian brews. 

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