The Spurstowe Arms

Sunday lunch was perfect — a free range chicken for the family cost £35.00 with vegetables, gravy and delicious bread sauce. We added Yorkshire puddings for £2.00. Friendly service. Wobbly table and chairs but who cares? Recommended

The Spurstowe was actually a random find, perfectly placed to avoid an August downpour but for once we were glad it rained as this is a great little hang out.
Quite busy for mid-​afternoon and with an excellent selection of beers, wines and spirits, we easily lost a couple of hours in here. Although slightly few too many drinks the night before meant we stayed clear of the hard stuff, the menu and various chalkboards displayed some pretty interesting cocktail options. Loads of selection.
The setting and décor of this place was a huge win. Large horseshoe shaped bar with plenty of seating options dotted around the place. Awesome old school paintings, vintage lamps and London memorabilia drip from the walls and its certainly a cool place to spend some time. The rain prevented any outdoor action but it did look like a nice garden was boasting out back too, certainly worth a re-​visit when summer returns!
What really stood out here was the food — From the snacks and light bites to the main dishes, all the options looked more than tasty. We weren’t particularly hunger but some traditional flatbreads and hummus was a lovely addition to the couple of drinks we had. Nicely charred, and obviously fresh, you need to get here to try the grub out.
Location wise its really close to London Fields and as its a little street away, should be a nice place to escape if the busy park and broadway market is too much.
More than a find, if only it rained when passing pubs more!

Lucky to have this place as my local for the past year. It get a nice crowd in there and always good vibes

Great pub, with big garden. A bit inconvenient to get to with public transportation, but well worth it! Tried the burgers and spaghetti, which were ok but not amazing and a bit overpriced for the quality. Nonetheless this is a great place to have some drinks with friends, especially when it’s warm enough to be in their garden! Friendly staff and good vibes.

This is a quality pub. This pub has quality food. And that, my friends, makes me a happy person.
We stopped in just for a quick snack and maybe a drink over the weekend, but dammit if we didn’t stay and eat a full meal because the menu looked too solid. I mean, they had mussels and frites on the menu. What kind of pub does that?
It was packed on a Saturday night when we went to eat but luckily it was a lovely day outside and we sat on one of the many picnic benches outside. You order at the bar and then grab your number and place it on your table. They found us right away when the food was ready, and it was tasty.
I had the mussels (mmm) and the sauce was excellent. Mussels could have used a little more flavour but what can you do. My girl got the mushroom rissoto which was cheesy and warm on the brisk but lovely night. We also got some focaccia bread. Woah mama, perfect with the mussel sauce. They actually cut us off only end pieces and when we asked about it, they brought us another basked full of bread. Nice.
Food is reasonably priced. Maybe a little high for the area but the quality is worth it. Cocktails can be crazy high at £9 a pop? What? That’s high even for the city. But still, classic pub, great atmosphere, excellent food, I will be back.

Popped in for a sunday afternoon pint yesterday, what a hidden gem! Was really quiet– we were the only ones inside, the beer garden was almost full– and is gorgeous! A decent size and lots of tables for dining, but not too cramped. We had a bloody Mary and a lager shandy which were on the pricey side, 9.90 for the pair (guess that’s standard for london) — but the service was quick and friendly. The food looked gorgeous, good roasts– a place to take the parents I reckon next time they visit. We’ll be visiting again soon, a shame it isn’t open weekday lunchtimes though.

I’ve been a few times and the pub is always busy and pretty friendly, can be hard to get food at busy times especially on a Sunday. For beers and atmosphere always good. Overall it’s fairly expensive but good quality.

First time in this place last Sunday. Some friends arranged to meet there for a nice afternoon drink. We arrived before the others and could only find two seats at the bar. It was full! But soon a table became free and we settled in. Oh and how we settled. The pub is very convivial, it sort of encourages you to stay. Is it the fellow punters?, the food? the staff? or the friendly layout?. They all contributed but probably it was mostly our own group having a good ol’ catch up, but the pub helped no end. The food looked great, but we kept to the beers and while the ale selection was fine, that of lagers was poor, offering lager beers that are more associated with the large pub chains (you know who you are). One ‘odd’ thing that we noticed was for a pub located halfway between Dalston and Hackney it was strange to see no black or non white customers. Nonetheless I can see why people would make a special trip there and if they only upped their beer selection I’d give it 5 stars.

I love this pub. Some people may find it a little bit pretentious but if you’re a Hackney local, you’re probably more likely to appreciate it’s lovely little beer garden, good choice of wine and friendly staff. Candlelights and all round delights.

In the past decade, the owner or management of this corner pub has changed a few times. I live in one minute walk and the traffic in my street has increased more than 10 times compared with 15 years ago. It’s nice to see new blood and new concept of business in the area.
Since last year, it has become my local pub for the first time. A little bit uncommon in Hackney, this pub seems to seek an exclusive standard.
There is no Sky sport (unfortunately!) /​TV screen, so, footie lover gentlemen, you should avoid this pub! but the background music is nice (sometimes 60s, 70s…). It won’t excite you but make you nostalgic? …
Food is a modern English. They probably would like to compete Jamie O in taste and quality? Pricewise, yes, it’s on a high side in this kind of pubs.
Drinks are not inexpensive. So, those who drink a large quantity had better find any other suitable pub (there are many in Hackney/​Dalston).
Patio area is lively in the summer time. I have never been there but I like the design and layout.
Staff are friendly and handle the matters in a professional manner indeed.

for a change, a popular pub that doesnt keep a customer waiting !
on first impressions you imagine this is going to be one of those arrogant barstaff kind of pubs where they treat the whole thing like a big public performance of how ‘cool’ they are or something ridiculous, (i mean… its a pub right?)
but you’d be surprised that even when its rammed on a friday or saturday night, the staff are fast and attentive and 8 times out of ten you will get served having waited no longer than 3 mins.
they are also kind of nice and friendly, unlike a particularly arrogant pub down the road that really should be thinking about how empty they are these days and perhaps how The Spurstowe is now the place to be and clearly stiff competition.
overall i really enjoy my time there, although toilets pretty much are always out of loo roll at busy times, but i just put that down to their focus on serving people quickly.

Came here for a friend’s birthday. Had to call her to make sure I had the right pub as there is no signage outside. It’s a typical pub, nothing really that amazing about it. The staff are quite trendy I suppose. Good menu, I had the fish and chips. The fish and peas were really nice but my chips were either over cooked or had been recooked and it was rather pricey for pub food. There is a really nice looking beer garden at the back. The ladies loos are hideous, enter with care. Not sure if the management are going for decrepit chic or they are in the middle of a refurbishment. All in all an average pub but lifted by the company I was with.

Used to be in here all the time a few years ago before the Arthur opened. Initially we loved it, but over time we went round the corner.
Recently, it has had a change of management, and is packed at weekends with single speed cycling trendies. Seriously, this place needs it’s own multi-​storey cycle park. I don’t know where they all come from but have heard of people travelling across London to come here on a Saturday night.
Needless to say, I avoid this place when it’s busy but have been in a couple of times midweek for a drink and it’s nice enough. The beer garden now has wooden tables and feels less cluttered and thank god they got rid of that stupid, deserted ‘restaurant’ area.
I hear the food has improved, but so it should at these prices — no mid week meal deals though.
There’s no name on the pub anymore, but I think this makes it even trendier.

I like it. Not too new media and the staff are great. The food is very good and they have a nice selection of beverages. Nice enclosed yard out the back for lazy summer days.

A late drink on a Sunday evenin, music was good, nice’n relaxed and the staff were good craic; I’ll be back again

As Leanne suggests — quality beer garden (no grass mind), but pub is expensive, sometimes full of trendy types that have been dissed by others on the site (no offence to any of you lot) Food was expensive, but tasty. It has changed management since I was last there for food, and this may account for downturn in food quality per Leanne’s coments. Beer, wine etc all quite pricey for area, but accept it for what it is, and it’ll do a job.

Nicely done out pub, superb to be able to get a Mohjito in E8, great beer garden, but food overpriced and mediocre, staff indifferent. I lived near this place for a couple of years and we would go in once every 2 – 3 weeks with visiting friends etc but we were always greeted by staff who looked at us in the same way that French border police look at an illegal immigrant who’s been caught trying to get through the Eurotunnel on a clockwork dog in his mother’s nightie at midnight.
The Spurstowe Arms is great for a drink as there are not many other nice places to go near here, but I’d leave it at that.

The best thing about the Spurstowe is the beer garden, and i love coming here in the summer and sitting outside until last orders bitching with friends. The downside is that it’s expensive, for both food and drinks. Nestled down a little street off Graham Rd (by the small Costcutter) the ‘off the beaten track’ location of this pub means it’s usually frequented by locals only, which can be good and bad. I have only eaten here once, parting with a tenner for a mediocre burger, which put me off eating here again, but they do a cheese board and others i know really enjoy the food. it’s nearly £4 a pint though?! Good for the summer, or getting cosy if you manage to find a table in the winter, but don’t expect much change for your money, or the friendliest service in London either.