Flea Pit, Shoreditch

pub details:

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location:

Shoreditch

address:

49 Columbia Road, E2 7RG

phone:

0871 258 8823*
* calls cost 10p/minute, click here for more about 0871 numbers.

nearest stations:

Shoreditch High Street (opens 2010) London Overground station
(790m) - zone 2

Bethnal Green London Underground station
(920m)

Cambridge Heath railway station
(940m)

Whitechapel London Underground station
(1.2Km) - zone 2

Old Street railway station London Underground station
(1.2Km) - zone 1

bus routes:

26, 48, 55

how to find it:

Not very close to any station, its in the middle of the flower Market on Columbia Road. From Cambridge Heath station, turn left onto Hackney Road and turn down Ravenscroft Street, which is approximately the 10th turning on the left. The Flea Pit is at the end. The 26 and 48 buses from Liverpool Street go along Hackney Road and pass the top of Ravenscroft Street. The 55 does the same from Old Street.

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nearby attraction(s):

Geffrye Museum (500m)

Mentioning a trendy, retro-styled organic vegetarian café bar, complete with a back room showing obscure foreign films might sound like an unsubtle caricature of the Shoreditch scene. It also might make some die-hard drinkers run a mile. For us however, there were no such problems. For starters, there's a good choice of hard-to-find beers, including a selection from the excellent Battersea, Pitfield and Freedom breweries; mainly in bottles, there's a couple on tap, too. All the couches, chairs, tables - even the salt and pepper shakers - have been deliberately and carefully chosen, ranging in era from the mid 60s to the late 70s. Out the back, interesting live music, art and film all make their presence known at random occasions. Overall, in the wrong hands a place like this could be cliquey, elitist and pretentious, but instead has managed to be a genuinely interesting, friendly and laid-back venue. It can veer from totally empty to entirely packed, with event days naturally more busy. Just watch out for odd opening hours - we've seen it closed Saturday night more than once.

reviewed:
04/12/2009