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.
The Peanut Vendor is a bright, spacious, modern interiors shop just next to Victoria Park, with a coffee shop within. They take their coffee as seriously as their furniture - the head barista serves Alchemy Coffee alongside guest roasters. They also sell smashing pastries, cakes (from Yeast bakery and Victoria Yum) and grilled cheese sandwiches which are definitely worth a try before perusing the shop. There you'll find a mix of refurbished furniture, modern homewares (including some great books and unusual glazed mugs) and house plants. The Peanut Vendor is a bustling place, usually filled with dog walkers stopping off before or after a walk in Victoria Park and we hear there are plans to add a deli and host talks in the space.
