Where do you live?
Hackney, London.
I moved to Hackney because…
All my friends were here and in London you have to be near your friends or you’ll never see them.
One of the best things about living here is…
The green space. We have London Fields and Victoria Park on the doorstep and Hackney Marshes a short cycle away.
On my downtime I love to go to…
Chatsworth Road of a nice Sunday. The market has some great food and is not as hectic as Broadway.
A stroll to Millfields Park and on to the Lea is great too. Otherwise I might cycle to The Barbican for a peaceful stroll by the fountains — so all very manly pursuits really.
One restaurant I love to go to is…
Wright’s in Spitalfields for oysters. Or for a treat I jump on the overground and head to The Dairy in Clapham.
It’s my uncle’s place but despite the family allegiance it really is amazing.
My local is…
The Gun on Well Street. Lots of people have strong feelings on gentrification/rejuvenation around here.
The original Gun was dying, was put up for sale and bought by a couple of younger lads.
Now it’s fancy beers and DJs which might put off some locals but I would rather see it in use than falling apart.
An insider tip on my area would be…
The playground in Victoria Park. It is without a doubt the greatest playground I have ever been in.
An insider tip on this insider tip is that if you throw some sand down the main slide before you descend you’ll go even faster (you’re welcome).
Best place to go for a first date would be…
The Palm Tree in Mile End. Proper East End boozer with older gentlemen crooners most nights of the week.
The place that I love to bring visitors is…
Broadway Market on a Saturday for people watching, delish food, a few pints and of course the opportunity to impress with vegetable puns.
If you try one thing in Hackney, try…
Butchies for some amazing buttermilk chicken in a brioche bun. It’s run by an Irish couple too.
A famed chicken burger from Butchie's on London's hipster thoroughfare Broadway MarketWhat do you collect?
Vegetable puns, dad jokes and combinations of the two.
My favourite shops are…
I love my local fruit and veg shop on Well Street and Well’s Butchers.
They make you feel part of the community (even if the butchers do stifle a giggle at clueless hipsters looking for cuts of meats they can’t pronounce from convoluted recipes they read on a Brooklyn-based food blog).
Biggest extravagance?
Cuts of meat I can’t pronounce that I read about on a Brooklyn-based food blog.
It’s just hard to get the right fat content for Navajo pulled elk.
If there was soundtrack to my area it would be…
Grime. You hear it pumping from all car stereos and houses all over the place.
Coming from Ireland where we don’t really have indigenous genres and scenes it’s pretty cool to be in a place that has a thriving local scene.
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