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From the minds of Night Tales, this café-by-day/cocktail-bar-by-night has a similar vibe to its bigger counterpart in Hackney Central: good food, DJs and (obvs) innovative cocktails.
Up just enough stairs to remind you that you haven’t been to gym lately, the space channels warehouse chic, softened with leather chairs, communal tables and potted plants, all bathed in a pink neon hue that renders Instagram filters redundant. It’s like hanging out at the New York-style apartment of a friend who’s cooler and more successful than you.
NT’s cocktail list includes interesting twists while managing to remain unfussy: no bells and whistles for the sake of it. Bar staff get through a small forest of straws with their perfectionist tasting – bad for the environment but good for your tastebuds. The Con Man – fusing rum, bitters, ginger and whisky – tastes seductively medicinal but trust us: it’ll do you more harm than good in the long run. Coriander Southside had an interesting herbal bite, but not enough to make us feel like we’d stumbled into a curry house.
Food, like the drinks, is kept simple, while the beats are sexy and funky. While there might not be a dance floor, stay long enough and you’ll see a suitably lubricated crowd take the mood from laidback lounge to house-party good times. NT’s does everything right. Go there.