The Dove

Algo que me llamó la atención de los pubs ingleses es que muchos han incorporado en alguna de sus estancias un restaurante tailandés. No inglés o indio, que podría haber resultado histórica o culturalmente más lógico, sino un restaurante tailandés. Pregunté por la causa, pero no encontré una explicación satisfactoria. El caso es que The Dove no es el único bar inglés que alberga una cocina de este país, pero sí era el más cercano al lugar donde nos alojábamos y la decisión fue fácil después de ver que tenía buenas críticas.
La cocina iba a cerrar pronto, con lo que pedimos rápidamente un arroz con verduras, unos pad thai con gambas (¡ñam!) y una sopa de pescado que vino servida en un tipo de olla que ya había visto en otros restaurantes de este tipo: de hojalata y con una tapa que creó expectación al levantarla por ver lo que había dentro. Como acompañamiento pedimos una «pinta de patatas fritas», sólo por ver un vaso de pinta llena de las susodichas french fries. La comida en sí estaba bastante buena, en especial los pad thai, que es algo en lo que flojean algunos restaurantes. Al gustarme tanto la comida tailandesa, no soy muy exigente, pero en este caso, aunque no lo recuerdo como la mejor cena thai de mi vida, sí quedé satisfecha.
Agua y cerveza fue lo que bebimos y estuvimos un buen rato disfrutando con el pelo erizado por el calor de la sopa y el ligero picante de los platos. El restaurante tenía al fondo un pequeño balcón decorado con primor y algún toque budista que contrastaba con las paredes empapeladas, los espejos y los sillones de otro siglo del lugar, creando un balance que me gustó bastante.
Respecto al resto del local, una banda de música se puso a dar un pequeño concierto en un momento dado y parecen contar con infinidad de cervezas de distintos tipos. Resulta un pub al uso, pero bastante conveniente por la cantidad de mesas que tiene fuera, para así ver pasar a los viandantes en pleno Broadway Market en estos días de buen tiempo.

I almost gave this place five stars, but I like to reserve that for when I’m truly blown away. Still, it was very good. Truly impressive bar, including quite a bit of good German beer. The food all satisfied, with the fish and chips in particular being the best we’ve found so far in London. We appreciated the menu’s Thai influences and the well-​kept unisex bathrooms, although parts of the décor were a little quirkier than my tastes. Still, service was very friendly and we were very happy here. I heartily recommend it.

Following a Saturday afternoon trip out to Broadway market, my girlfriend, her sister & I dipped into The Dove. This was largely based on the possibility that I could enjoy a vegan meal with my two meat-​eating cohorts.
Initially, as advertised outside the pub, I wanted to order their beetroot & blackbean burger that was vegan friendly. However, upon ordering I was told it came WITHOUT a bun (as the bun was brioche) and there was no bun to replace it– so, in my eyes, this isn’t a «vegan burger», right? No «vegan burger» for me then.
Instead, I was on the spot and only had one option remaining — Quinoa chilli. So that’s what I had. The girls had chicken pad thai. The food that came was nice enough– nice vegetables, good portions, good flavour.
Nothing special, nothing fancy & unable to have what I initially intended to go in for– a simple vegan burger.
The pub has a really nice interior, buzzing with locals and a great atmosphere. Good beers on tap too. I would come back for drinks, but not for food. The Unilocal two star rating sums it up — «Meh. I’ve experienced better».

Can’t get enough of this place… Sunday roasts are not to be missed!
Board games for a rainy afternoon and so many types of beer to try!

A perfect pub in a perfect location that will make you feel like a regular as soon as you step in.
The Dove is wonderful, a really charming find smack bang in the middle of Broadway Market. Jumped in here on a Sunday evening and were greeted with a comforting smell of roast meats and a lovely live jazz trio playing some great tunes. The bar is very well stocked, plenty of beers and some really unique finds that I’ve yet to see anywhere else. The Cherry Beer was certainly a favourite! Although we ate elsewhere, the passing food looked excellent, very healthy portion sizes that made us instantly regret our decision not to dine.
We ended up spending most of the evening here and this is a credit to the staff, all more than helpful and really friendly. They’ve got an excellent selection of board games and to be honest what’s better for a sunday than a few pints and a cluedo challenge, love it.
Certainly planning to go back next weekend, the food menu is mine!

Lots of great beers on tap and in bottles. Nice tables outside that look into Broadway Market. Great for kids as long as you go early, as they cannot be in there past 8pm. The restaurant part toward the back is lovely.
ORDER THE THAI FOOD specials. The chef (or perhaps the owners, or maybe both) is Thai and the soup that I had was so delicious and authentic. The whole back part kind of reminded me of Thailand.
No pretensions at this place. Good food, good beer, nice service. Will definitely return next time i’m in Hackney.

By now you all probably know about the great range of beers and the pretty good quality of food.
However, what I wanna mention here is customer service. A grumpy and irritable white, short hair, in his early thirties British c**t did not mention the 2 for 1 Thai Tuesday when I ordered the food. The lovely Asian chef came to our table for letting us know about the deal but the over-​mentioned frustrated barman did not apologies or repair but said: «You had to know and ask».
What would you do in that case?

Very good selection of beer on tap and in bottles, as it’s a Belgian place, it’s right up my alley. The chorizo burger was tasty and the chips were cooked well without being soggy as so many Brit pubs do. This is a great Saturday spot if you want a drink while checking out the Broadway Market.
The only reason it’s not a 5 in my book is that I wasn’t blown away, it’s exactly as it should’ve been. 5s *(for me) are when there is something unexpectedly wonderful, so 4 is typically the best I will give. I will definitely be back, and to the other location Dove’s Tail off Clerkenwell (and easily accessible on my walk home from the office).

I will hopefully change this review soon to 5 stars. The reason being that I haven’t tried the food yet (though it looks amazing) and haven’t spend the afternoon playing board games yet. Two brilliant things to do when you have great beers.
Being Belgian myself, a place like this is heaven for me. We’ve been twice already. Last summer on a Saturday when the market was on. This is a perfect opportunity to try out lots of different things and foods on the street and take a break in the sun with a good beer on their outdoor space.
The second time was when we were doing a walk along the canal not that long ago. Broadway market is the perfect location to take a break in between the walking and go for a drink. The Dove Freehouse is almost next to the canal.
Their selection of beers is truly amazing and a lot more than the average bar in Belgium. I always try the ones I definitely can’t find somewhere else or in the supermarkets.
One tinny snobbish comment: my second beer wasn’t served in the right glass last time. I know, sound absolutely ridiculous, but we Belgians are quite fond on that! ;)

This place does such an amazing amount of beer!
The food is also really good, bison burgers — Kudu sausages and even organic full english breakfast on Saturday morning with an awesome bloody mary, it’s great breakfast food.
Other places on Broadway market take music, loud groups while The Dove Freehouse seems to just love all things that are great to do with beer. You can talk, have a great drink and some lovely food in an unpretentious relaxing vibe.
The dining room is relaxed and the staff very friendly. My only gripe is that it is sometimes hard to get somewhere to sit down. On the street is always an option and gives you a chance to watch the strange, odd and sometimes beauitful people go by.
I would recommend The Dove Freehouse for a medium size of friends who want to enjoy a chilled out weekend meal

Wandered in here during a storm to escape the rain — a lot of other people had the same idea so it was packed but nice. It was darker inside so you felt like you weren’t in an insanely crowded place, even though we were.
We drank some beers and chatted and waited for the storm to pass. When it didn’t for awhile the bartender was nice enough to call us a cab.
Great service and great selection of beer.

Hilfe! Ich bin betrogen worden. Von außen sieht es aus wie ein typischer britischer Pub. Von innen sieht es aus wie ein typischer britischer Pub. Wenn man aber auf der Karte die Vorspeise Waaterzoi liest, dann ahnt man schon was. Das hier sind keine Engländer!
Mitten in Shoreditch gelegen, gingen wir auf Empfehlung eines Freundes in eine Seitenstraße des Hotels und landeten in einer Straße im Umbruch. Das alte Eastend wandelt sich. The Dove ist ein urig gemütlicher Pub, der anscheinend nach hinten erweitert wurde. Neben recht pubbigen Raumen, verliert es sich teilweise in eher an Wohnzimmer erinnernde Nebenräume.
Die Speisekarte weist deutliche belgische und andere europäische Einflüsse auf. Z.B. das Duivelsbier mit seinen 8 Prozenten schmeckft sehr lecker. Versucht es aber erst gar nicht korrekt auszusprechen. Der Burger war vor allem Dank der belgischen Fritten eine Wucht.
Preis-​/​Leistung ausgezeichnet.
Personal: sehr freundlich.
Fazit: Wucht!

And now, for some spoken word: Belgian beer, intimate candle light, friendly bar staff? What a nice pub! *bow* *polite clapping*

Errrrrr me thinks we have stumbled upon our new «Jam Factory» of London!
1. Great great selection of beers, with a strong focus on belgian beers.
2. Intimate interior
3. BOARD GAMES!!!
We sat there for hours drinking our beers, pigging out on chips, and playing Trivial Pursuit. What a way to have a lazy Sunday: D

If you like the Dovetail (in Clerkenwell) you’ll love the Dove. Into Trappist beers? They’ve got Chimay, Westmalle, Orval, Rochefort, Achel and La Trappe. Triple lovers will be pleased to know that they have Straffe Hendrick (a personal favourite).
This pub’s especially nice to pop into after lunching in the stalls of Broadway market (Banh Mi 11, Lucky Chip). And if the weather’s nice, you can sit outside and bask in the sun!

Though I am not much of a beer or ale drinker, I will pop in when in the area, as it is such a lovely old pub. Loads of character and anyone who is a beer or ale fan will be spoilt for choice. I haven’t eaten in here; prices seem quite cheap, though I have noticed plates half finished, so maybe food isn’t their thing.
Good in the summer as there are lots of tables outside, and good in the winter, as is dark and cosy inside.

I’m deliriously happy they have Delirium Tremens on tap here along with a string of other pretty good beers (Duvel, Chimay, etc). Prices are quite reasonable with two pints and a glass of wine coming in at just a touch over £11.
The pub itself is quite winding with several levels and tables stacked in a chaotic yet somehow orderly fashion. The benefit of this system is readily apparent when you finally discover a table and realise its quite easy to have a conversation despite the pub being packed. Which brings up another point, this place was full on a Tuesday night and not a banker (myself excluded) in sight.
Sounds like a win.

To be fair this is a great pub for drinking: relaxed atmosphere, a great selection of beers and tons of board games. As a drinking establishment this place is 5 stars.
Last night, however, I had the unfortunate experience of eating here again (last time was 6 years ago and it was unpleasant which explains the reluctance to try the food again).
I ordered the classic burger, at almost £10 is wasn’t cheap. What I got was the nastiest burger I’ve eaten in a long time with the greasiest chips. My friend managed about 3 bites of his before abandoning it. Seriously, this was disgusting and afterwards I felt so sick that we had to abandon our London Fields pub crawl.
It’s such a shame because I love coming here for a drink. The signs were clear from the start though, the dining room was empty whilst the pub part was packed. Says it all really.

Nothing about this pub from the outside tells you what you’re going to find inside. It does look like a regular boring pub, one that you could be tempted to keep walking past in the hunt for something a bit cooler. But you’d be wrong.
Inside is a split level drinking-​come-​eating hole with a great range of belgian and continental beers on tap, as well as the regular tipples. It’s a big old place yet there were no tables available on a Thursday night at 8pm. Everyone was nattering away or eating or just unwinding. This is somewhere you can get over yourself and just have a beer.
I’m going to get back here when it’s warmer and fight for some the outside seating (which was also in heavy demand, in February).
Nice spot.

I sort of don’t want to write a review about the Dove Freehouse on Broadway Market, because then more people might know about it and it’ll get even harder to get a seat at the weekends. Selfish, I know.
The Dove is a local favourite situated on Broadway Market in Hackney. In the summer, it spills out into the street and on a Saturday you’ll get some of the best people watching in London standing outside and watching the hipsters go by.
They are famous for their range of Belgian Beers — particularly their Strawberry beer which is so strong they only sell it in half pints! But since I’m not a beer drinker, I love them for their Bloody Mary’s which are EPIC. They come in a pint glass and are actually the best I’ve ever tried, ever (see pic). They make them with port, horseradish and a secret ingredient (I can’t tell you, or I’d have to kill you).
On a Sunday, the roasts at the Dove are to die for. Order a whole chicken for £20 to share between two of you and grab a board game from the vast and random selection they have available. It’s the perfect way to spend a winter sunday.
Be warned though. Get there before 2pm or you’ll be waiting queuing for a seat. I’ll be the smug one in the corner who got there early.

This is physically the closest pub to my house. I could actually walk here in my slippers and it would be a little strange but do-​able. As for a local, I couldn’t ask for a better pub. As I was sat in there last night, it hit me that this pub was the most like home I’ve ever seen in London. I’m not talking about my living room here I’m talking about the pubs in the village where my parents live.
I’ve live around here for about 3 months now and this is the first time I’ve actually been in this pub. I’ve had a pint outside, but not eaten in. I feel so luck to have such a gem on my doorstep. Live music, a huge selection of real ales, ciders and beers, as well as fruit beers, a wonderful selection of home made foods, friendly service and cosy seats make this a prime pub for whiling away the cold winter evenings. I was going to invest in a sofa for my house, but now I’ve discovered The Dove, I don’t see the point. I have a living room right opposite my front door.

The Dove is one of my favourite pubs in London. It’s quaint, funky, cosy, and is filled with personality — everything you could hope for in a local pub! This Belgian pub has an extraordinary range of Belgian beers, ales and lagers, and a great wine. They serve great meals and bar snacks — my favourite are chips served in a pint glass — delicious!
My favourite thing about the Dove is the HUGE range of boardgames they have — I have spent many an hour hidden away in one of the many corners of the pub, playing Monopoly or Pictionary… just last week I won a game of Cluedo! Highly recommended, the Dove is a real gem.