[title]
The phrase one-stop shop might spring to mind when you’re contemplating Mick’s Garage, opening on November 20 right next door to Crate’s Brew Shed in Hackney Wick. There’ll be a coffee roastery, obvs. And the Jarr Bar, serving own-brewed kombucha. And ‘Shukshuk market BBQ’ from the team behind Berber & Q in Haggerston. And what was once a warehouse is turning into a music venue. And the odd supper club. It’s pretty much new-look Hackney in a single space.
If you’re scratching your head about kombucha, scratch no more. Kombucha is a somewhat vinegar-like drink made by fermenting tea, green or black. Because the stuff tastes so, um, challenging, it’s mixed with fruit juice. People who get their medical wisdom from folklore and anecdote think it has therapeutic properties. Doctors, those boring old farts, point out that there is no clinical evidence of health benefits but there are reports of adverse effects from drinking kombucha brewed in non-sterile conditions. Good news: the kombucha bar is made from recycled chipboard, which is to Hackney what Carrara marble is to Dubai.
The kombucha part of the offering here is strictly optional, of course. That presents no problem for us. We’ll have a couple of beers, and smoked chicken shawarma with middle eastern slaw on the side. And coffee to finish. For amusement we’ll watch all the health-conscious peeps in the Jarr Bar ‘enjoying’ their kombucha.
If fermented tea isn't your, er, cup of tea, take a look at Islington's new hot chocolate café.