Before I talk about Dalston Lane, I want to briefly hark back to the last piece, ‘Can instant coffee be ‘premium’?’, in which I mentioned being around age 8 when I started drinking coffee. I didn’t add the below photo, but I should have. So it’s in this week’s piece instead.
On to Dalston Lane.
The sun kisses the cheek of the maestro
As he walks down Dalston Lane
He came here from Forest Hill
Lookin' for the Greyscales
Lookin' for a place to stay
When I moved to a flat on Dalston Lane in May 2019, I was pleased that I would be living on a road that is mentioned in the song above. I’m an L.A. Salami fanboy and I’m also a big-time fan of lyrics referencing real places that you can visit. Another perk of Dalston Lane was its proximity to several *top tier* pubs that I was already frequenting pre-move. The Pembury at one end, the Spurstowe and the Three Compasses at the other. Dalston Lane is a good spot to base yourself.
From here, there’s a familiar story arc. Pandemic happens, I start working from home and routinely umming and ahhing about staying in London or moving out. I chose the latter, eventually. In November, just before Christmas, I abandoned my flat that had a garden AND a living room and moved back to Southampton to sit out the second (third?) lockdown.
I don’t really miss the flat, but I do miss the Lane. I miss the pubs (I miss ALL pubs) and I miss the coffee shops.
The coffee shops were an unexpected perk. This is because Dalston Lane isn’t a cosy lane or a gentle lane. It’s not like the nearby Broadway Market where you can pick up a coffee and go for a quiet stroll. Dalston Lane is a thoroughfare. It links Hackney’s Kingsland Road with the more residential climes of the Pembury Estate and Hackney Downs. It provides ambulances with the quickest route across from Islington to the major Homerton Hospital. So there’s traffic, there are blue lights and there’s noise.
I already knew when I moved in that I would be making a regular pilgrimage to Allpress Espresso, which has its main London roastery and cafe in the old J.S. Gould building on Dalston Lane.
That’s exactly what I did. Allpress benefits from its building being set back from the bustle of the road and has one of those garden’s out the front that seems to be perpetually full and finding a seat is reminiscent of getting the best-placed sun lounger around a pool on holiday. It feels like a genuine achievement when you nab a spot and can beam with smarm for the rest of your time there. When coffee shops in the U.K. are allowed to seat customers outside from next Monday, the Allpress garden will no doubt be full again. Other coffee shops on Dalston Lane won’t benefit as much until indoor seating is allowed, potentially from the 17th May.
Hash E8 and Healthy Stuff sit together a bit further up the lane and crucially closer to my (former) flat. Neither are coffee shops in the truest sense, but both serve a good cup of coffee. Hash E8 is a cafe and, true to its name, serves what are possibly the world’s greatest hash browns. It’s worth a visit for that reason alone. I also liked them for their refillable filter coffee. You could sit there and have some brunch and then stay to read a book or do some people watching out of the window with a constant top-up of coffee.
Healthy Stuff is not a cafe or a coffee shop really. It’s a grocery shop, selling the usual provisions of plant-based milk and organic vegetables but they do have a nice shiny coffee machine behind the till. The presence of tables and chairs outside the cafe are testimony to the coffee and also the very solid range of pastries/brownies on offer. You’ll go for some groceries, but you’ll want to stay for a coffee and a snack. Healthy Stuff is also a stockist of Climpson and Sons coffee which is an added perk. Located halfway between Dalston Junction and Hackney Downs Overground stations, both Healthy Stuff and Hash are perfect for dropping in quickly before a commute.
I’m planning on moving back to Hackney in the near future and I’m looking forward to walking along Dalston Lane again, even if I won’t be living directly on it anymore. It’s a street typical of London in that you can find gems like Hash and Healthy Stuff on an otherwise unassuming road, not to mention the added bonus of Allpress.
That’s all for The Mosaic this week. If you aren’t already subscribed, you can sign up below or if you know someone who might enjoy receiving The Mosaic in their inbox each week, please do share it with them!