Hackney City Farm

One of the best brunch spots in East London. Great quality ingredients as you would expect.

Original place where you can visit and learn about the farm animals such as pigs, goats, sheeps, etc. AND also have a delicious bite. I recommend the vegetarian brunch — who wants to eat meat after having seen the cute pigs — and the pecan tart (you will need to be very hungry though). The atmosphere is relaxed and this is perfect place for families. Arrive early on the week-​end. They tend to be quite popular!

You get to see pigs! Only not a 5 because they always run out of the fresh eggs unless you’re there at the crack of dawn.

loved the pigs

Tucked away in the middle of busy Hackney, this is a secret gem that has so much to offer.
Whether you’re 3 or 30, it’s a great place to visit.

Love this little farm– gret place to hang out and see some furry friends.

Visited London so many times as an American tourist that I lost count and I never knew this place existed! A *farm* in **London**!! (You have to imagine Matt Smith/​Eleventh Doctor saying that last sentence to get my level excitement at this novelty. Well, novelty to me, at least.)
What a lovely place. Goats, chickens, and other livestock, plus, it’s just precious watching the children being delighted and fascinated.
The restaurant is simple, with long rows of tables, order at the counter, etc. and the food is pretty good. I had lunch there with a friend and it was an enjoyable experience.
Bathrooms were available and decent, if I recall correctly.

The cutest little farm you’ll ever city in London. After walking through the gorgeous flower’s market you end up in this funky place which at first will amaze you completely. It’s colorful, sort of indie/​hypster ish and eco friendly kind of crowd ! Perfect on a sunny sunday with your friends or your family.
A nice refreshing bubble of country side in the middle of the city !

Funky place! Very unique … I had the half chicken roast shared with my mother but £18 is a bit steep for half a chicken… Love the idea of all sustainable organic locally sourced vibe. Great for family and kids. Very alternative indie east london creative customers. If you want to escape the city and try something new while feeling like you are on a farm give this place a whirl !

I grew up in a small (ish) town in what some might call «the country.» I didn’t grow up on a farm, but it wasn’t hard to find one nearby…
And sometimes big cities can feel a bit — lacking in the farm life, if you know what I mean? No? Ok maybe just me? Sorry, bear with me!
Hackney City Farm is a delight. It’s a small little agri-​enclave carved out of Haggerston Park, easily accessible, child-​friendly and charming. On a recent walk up to Broadway Market we took a few moments to peruse the poultry (live, of course!) and piggies, and gallop with the goats. Ok, not really galloping but I like alliteration.
It’s very well kept, albeit small (obviously — we ARE in London). There are many signs telling what behavior is or is not ok.
For the record:
*leave the farm cats alone! There are about 100 signs saying this, I assume this means someone was mauled by an angry farm cat back in the day, so best to leave these buggers to chasing mice and laying in the sun. Look only, no touching. If you want to pet a cat, adopt one from Battersea Cat Home. (good idea!)
*This kind of goes for all the animals. Don’t try to pet them. They aren’t dogs. They are fun to look at – and an oddity in the middle of a city, but it doesn’t mean that the goats want to be bothered either. Just say hello. They probably are fine with that.
*Shhhhh! They already have to deal with traffic and annoying sounds. They aren’t fragile, but don’t shout at any of the farm inhabitants.
*WASH YOUR HANDS before leaving. There are sinks and also toilets if you need them (pro-​tip if you are around this area as well, they aren’t very bad if you are in a pinch!)
Anyway…
There is also a nice farm café (Frizzante) that I will be back to check out + seasonally they offer eggs, etc right from the farm. Regardless this is a nice little stop on a walk or a good place to take the kids for 20 minutes before they try to pet a farm cat, then it’s time to go.

Hackney City Farm is the perfect fit for those moments when you have just a bit of free time and a desire to see something — anything — slightly different. It’s pretty easy to get to, and the juxtaposition of a city sidewalk and the entrance to a farm is rather delightful (you start to get a whiff about a half block away, to confirm that you’re in the right place). Turn in, and all of a sudden you’re walking next to chickens.
A few notes, to prevent any disappointment or confusion. For starters, it’s not huge. If you are easily bored, you could probably walk in and out in ten minutes. My pals and I spent about 30 minutes there, which seemed to be on par with the small children visiting as well. Also, it’s not a petting zoo, although I did see a number of people petting the sheep while they drank water.
There are pigs, donkeys, goats, sheep, ducks, chickens, and pigeons trying to pull off the chicken look. Except for the chickens, all the animals are doing their animal thing behind a wooden fence. Those chickens, though, really seem to have the run of the place. They’re everywhere!

There is also a huge farm
shop selling different kinds of products that produce from the garden and farm.
Surely a 100% fresh, good quality and direct from the farm. And when you feel
hungry, there is no worry because there is a café that offers variety of foods
at very reasonable price. You will surely enjoy your visit when you come at
this place.

An absolute gem, hidden in the heart of Hackney.
Wandered by on a recent trip (read: failed picnic attempt) to London Fields, and decided to come on in while waiting for the sun to come out (it didn’t). Though we were the only ones here not under the age of 3, nor wearing army green or ironic bindis on our foreheads, we still enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, traipsing around the farm yard among the loose chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons (?). There are also enclosures for sheep, giant pigs, donkeys, and goats… but you can’t get too close to these guys (probably for good reason. They are Londoner animals, after all).
What I love most about this place is the real community feel it has to it. There are volunteers/​employees, obviously, who help with the gardening and animal care, but it seemed like random visitors kept popping in and helping out as well. A little city farm with a lot of country spirit! (And I’ve heard the café is damn good, as well…)

I loved walking into the courtyard and having all these adorable and ridiculous geese greeting you.
then the ginormous pigs. pigs are in my heart. i love them so, so much (i stopped eating them years ago when i realised how much i love them. i might be persuaded to eat cow again one day, but there is no amount of money in the world you could pay me to start eating pig again!), and these two giants were oh so adorable (& sleepy!)
this is a lovely city farm, but i can’t help comparing it to spitalfields city farm, which is just up the road and full of the most charming farm animals i’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.
if you are really lucky when you visit hackney city farm though, you will bump into the squirrel man who hangs out in the park along side it. he has the squirrel trained to climb up on him and eat turkish pistachios from his hands and pockets. the squirrels literally run FULL PELT when they see him coming. it is adorable and hilarious in equal measure. i guess if you don’t like squirrels then this may not be a reason for coming to hackney, but for me it made my day!

So, a friend told me about the farm an age ago, so I thought it was time for me to go down and cast my beady eye over it. Needless to say it did not disappoint.
If you’ve got your nieces, nephews or have no little people at all, it’s worth trotting over and perusing Hackney’s west county oasis.
The chickens and ducks are the first to greet you (see figure 1&2). The rabbits and guinea pigs ignore you (see figures 3 – 5). However beyond the courtyard is the piece de resistance — giant pigs! Figure 6 depict my new best friends.
This is a real family friendly afternoon out, and the café offers a good selection of inexpensive lunch items. There is also the cutest little farm shop selling the produce of the garden, however if like me you enjoy fresh egg then don’t like me, arrive after 11am as they sell out fast.

My friend took me here on Easter and it was such a great experience. The pigs were HUGE and were relaxing in the mud. The lambs were so cute that I wanted to pick them up and hold them but it was not allowed. The geese were drinking water out of the cracks in the ground. The garden was lovely and had many beautiful flowers! I cannot imagine visiting London and not coming here. I agree with Eamon B. about the bearpigs.

This is potentially my favorite place in all of London. Nothing puts me in a better mood on a Sunday morning than spending a few minutes staring at the biggest goddamn pigs in the world. I’m not joking– any time someone visits me in London, taking them to the farm is on my must-​do list, and I always tell em these pigs are huge, and even though they think they’re ready for them, they still end up freaking out when they see them. I think they are part bear, part pig. Bearpigs.
They also got chickens and sheep and goats and a donkey and chickens and ducks and all sorts of other fun things. It is great, and it’s amazing that it is all right there in Hackney.
And once you’re done looking at the pigs, head over to the Columbia Road Flower Market and get yerself an amazing bacon sandwich and try to forget that you were just hanging out with Babe’s obese cousins.

Oh the good ol Farm! :]
Coming to this small little farm, reminded me of back home on the farm. This place has pretty huge hogs, goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits, geese, and i believe there is even a donkey! (though he wasn’t there when i was). Not only did it make for a fabulous afternoon, but a lovely day. Walking around checking out the adorable animals, just makes you so happy. Right behind the farm there is also a little park to wander around in.
Mark S and I ended up finding a park bench and relaxing on it under the sun surrounded by nature, it was lovely. We then headed back to the farm to check out the sleepy hogs to find big ol papa pig waking up to get himself a nice gulp of water. It was such a good time.
There is also a beautiful garden filled with numerous veggies and fruits along with small areas to take a seat. We ended up bringing our books and read a few chapters in the lovely garden with the sounds of roosters and clucking chickens near by.
I loved this place, not only was it a nice little break from the city, but it was a lovely little farm that took me back to my hometown. Gotta love the good ol country in the midst of the city. :]

While many remember the rubbish weather on the most recent Bank Holiday, I remember walking through the farm among the animals and laying in the sun. There is not much more I can say about the farm except «gimme more benches!»
I do recommend the garden benches though for some shade or sun depending on your preference, but beware of bugs crawling on your shirt! Maybe I shouldn’t have worn bright yellow — hmmm.
And of course, there are the massive pigs laying peacefully together in the cool, wet mud and daydreaming no doubt of more… cool, wet mud…
While I daydreamed of bacon.

Book, book, book, book, bugger, bugger, bugger, bug-​gaaaar! Snuffle, snort, oink, oink, squeeeal… Baaaaa, baa, baa.
That was me last Sunday communicating with all my animal friends. A very nice man was mates with the white chickens with the fluffy bloomers. He had a can of corn and we shared it with the girls. it was a great Sunday.
I crave animals. I was brought up with chickens in my back garden and cows in fields less than a five minute bike ride away. In London you don’t bump into to many animals. I do like to chase the odd cat and squirrel but they normally seem me coming and run a mile. Not here. The animals are lovely. It’s a great place to wander around.