Ridley Road Market Bar
Situated in a converted furniture and computer shop, the Ridley Road Market Bar is so laid-back that for some time after opening, the sign over the frontage still read 'Furniture and PC Sales'. They offer a quiet place for a midweek drink and a packed live music at the weekend, with a bar counter piled high with fresh fruit, a strict no-guest-list policy (after 9pm, expect to queue) and they're a Living Wage Employer, ensuring high staff morale and low turnover. In keeping with the place's tropical decor, their main beer is Red Stripe.
Cocktails are available, and their pizza is sold by pizzamakers Slice Girls from a woodfired oven in the street outside, so even those queueing to enter can be fortified while they wait.
The nearest Tube station is Dalston Kingsland (Overground), and the nearest bus routes on Kingsland Road are 67, 76, 149, 243 and 488.
