At the crossroads of the City, Canary Wharf and the Olympic Park you'll find Mile End and Bow — the bustling residential heartland of the East End. Once gritty and rough around the edges — OK, still gritty and rough around the edges — the area has picked up in recent years with new places to eat, drink and shop joining the existing arts venues, charming parks and squares. While the likes of Nandos, Tesco and Starbucks have all started to muscle-in on the area, there's plenty of other places to head to if you're after genuine local experiences.
Since 1937, pies have been served at this shop on Roman Road, each one hand-made in their in-house bakery using a recipe passed down through three generations.
Hidden away down a narrow passageway linking Grove Hall Park to Bow Road, Carmelite Cafe serves up brunches, lunches and great Nude Espresso coffee.
Chisenhale Gallery prides itself in giving new, under-represented artists an opportunity - at the heart of their programme is a remit to commission new work, supporting artists from project inception to realisation. Each year they produce four major exhibitions including film productions, live performances, expanded cinema and cross-over activities with dance, music and theatre alongside painting and sculpture exhibitions. Keep an eye out for their open gallery events too - you get to explore the artist studios, rummage through some fascinating work and even meet the creators - well worth a visit.
