5 Things to do on Brick Lane
For fresh visitors confused, lost and wondering what to do on Brick Lane, here are some of our top recommendations (in no order of preference):
Brick Lane is full of culinary delights, designed to keep every foodie full each day of your stay. Not surprisingly, a lot of our recommendations centre around food. But there’s more to Brick Lane than just filling your face with nosh. See below for more:
1. GRAB A FRESH BEIGEL
Beigel Bake is a 24-hour bakery and shop founded in 1974, on Brick Lane in Spitalfields, London, England. Its menu is focused on beigels, baked in the traditional Jewish style with fillings such as hot salt beef with mustard, chopped herring, and cream cheese and salmon. It also serves pastries and sweets such as Danish rolls, apple strudel, Eccles cakes and cheesecake, as well as white, rye and black bread. Beigel Bake produces 7,000 beigels every day.
The restaurant was rated three stars by Time Out London magazine in 2010 (four stars by the magazine’s online users). It was also featured as a location in the photographic pictorial Life in the East End by London-based cabaret duo EastEnd Cabaret.
The bakery offers traditional jewish bakery staples, and most famously their Salt beef bagel. Costing around 5 pounds, they also offer bakery staples such as Challah, a sweet jewish bread, eaten on Shabbat. They also offer 4 kinds of bagel: plain bagel, poppy seed bagel, poppy seed platzel, and onion platzel.
WHEN: 24/7
WHERE: 159 Brick Lane, London, E1 6SB
2. THE WEEKEND STREET MARKET
Brick Lane Market, whose stalls are to be found on weekends at the top of Brick Lane, is now actually five different markets (at last count), all come together, selling everything from fresh curries to vintage records, and more. The streets really begin to throb with people, as the whole upper section of Brick Lane is closed off to cars. Visitors from all corners of the globe swoop to browse the many stalls, indulge in some people watching and get their Insta-pics.
Venture down Brick Lane and you’ll see openings, doors that lead down into a rabbit warren of covered markets where you can get lost in the myriad of shops selling all things vintage, as well as wares from up-and-coming designers and creatives. Think Camden Market, but multitudes more hipster – and not in Camden.
WHEN: Saturday 11am – 5.30pm, Sunday 10am – 6pm
WHERE: Upmarket, Ely’s Yard, E1 6QR
3. ENGLAND’S NATIONAL DISH – GRAB A CURRY
Anyone who has ever been on a summer holiday in Ibiza will be familiar with the people working outside the clubs trying to lure you into their establishment. Well, it’s the same thing here on Brick Lane, except it’s delicious curry rather than shots and goodness knows what else.
Brick Lane is home to some of the best curry houses in the land, from top to bottom of that long lane. Quality is generally high, but the best places are The Standard (try their lamb madras and thank us later), Preem, Lahore Kebab House (ignore the relatively bland interior – the Nihari lamb chops are amazing).
Get ready to haggle at the door too. The usual discounts include free first round of drinks as well as 20% off the final bill. If you’re good, you might be able to swing free poppodoms plus dips too!
Curries are generally hotter and spicier here on Brick Lane than in other parts of the country, as well as in other parts of Europe, so ordering the vindaloo without a run-up is probably unwise.
WHEN: lunctime till 11pm
WHERE: The entire length of Brick Lane
4. OLD TRUMAN BREWERY
The Truman Brewery, East London’s revolutionary arts and media quarter, is home to a hive of creative businesses as well as exclusively independent shops, galleries, markets, bars and restaurants.
For over twenty years the Truman Brewery has been regenerating its ten acres of vacant and derelict buildings into spectacular office, retail, leisure and event spaces. The finely tuned mix of business and leisure has created an environment unique in London, making the Truman Brewery a destination in its own right.
WHEN: dawn till late
WHERE: Old Truman Brewery (Just look skywards for a huge chimney with ‘Truman’ painted on it)
5. GET THAT TATTOO
There are several tattoo parlours on Brick Lane, as well as on the narrow streets that lead off it.
Cloak and Dagger, on Chesire Street, is probably the pick of the bunch and hosts international tattoo artists, as well as home-grown ones, whose Instagram account follower counts are in the tens of thousands. Walk-in appointments can sometimes be found – just ask at the counter. If you’re a Hells Angel, maybe you’ll prefer East Side Tattoo at the top of Brick Lane.
WHEN: late morning till dusk
WHERE: General Brick Lane area
