Addison Lee are 30% cheaper than some Stoke Newington taxi services

You are in for a treat. No really. Original Sin is not just one of our favourite bars in Stoke Newington, it’s one of our favourites in London. Set up by the guys behind the multi-award winning, sometime best bar in the world Happiness Forgets in Hoxton, Original Sin is everything you’d expect from these fine purveyors of extra decent cocktails. Fortunately, unlike its sister bar, you won’t require a reservation to get in. Just pitch up and sink deep into the leather clad booths of this dark, cavernous cellar bar. Fancy a game of pool while you’re here? Step right up, if the table’s free (vacated) then the table’s free (won’t cost you anything). Probably – no definitely – the best place to go for a cocktail in Stokey.

129 Stoke Newington High St, N16 0PH
www.originalsin.bar/

You may remember just a short while ago – but a paragraph back – we fingered Original Sin as our absolute favourite cocktail bar in Stoke Newington. We’re here to tell you now that there are no absolutes in the world of bars, and we’ve got lots of favourites – deal with it. High Water on Stoke Newington High Road is another top notch, impeccable cocktail bar and drinking den. Hugely popular with the Dalston end of Stokey, this place takes enormous pride in creating some of the most innovative cocktails in London. The atmosphere is snug and inviting but this time with more of a rustic feel to the decor.

23 Stoke Newington Road, N16 8BJ
highwaterlondon.com/

Sick of all these fancy cocktail parlours with their frothy drinks and nuanced aromas? Step right up to the Jolly Butchers. Not a ‘proper pub’ in the traditional London sense – it doesn’t rely on sawdust and bad odours to stake its claim – but it does have an enviable selection of real and craft ales. Sister bar to the supremely popular Crown & Anchor in Brixton, these guys mainly focus all their efforts on serving the absolute best beer and cider from all around the world. They also have a kitchen which knocks out some surprisingly ambitious dishes.

204 Stoke Newington High St, N16 7HU
jollybutchers.co.uk/

If you’re one of those people who thinks the whole ‘burger and craft beer’ thing has been done to death already and you’d rather a cold pressed avocado and quinoa body scrub, you might be better off skipping this one. For the rest of us – those who aren’t quitre ready to give up on the ‘dude-food’ phenomenon just yet – there’s Stokey Bears. Proud slingers of the most over zealous, heart attack-inducing, towers of beef; these guys are not messing around when it comes to building a burger. They serve a great range of craft ales – both local and foreign – to quench your thirst. Or if that’s not your thing, they also have cocktails, wine and sodas.

129 Stoke Newington High St, N16 0PH
www.stokeybears.com/

Been to one of London’s finest steak restaurants, the Hawksmoor? We’re going to go ahead and guess that you loved it – most do. We have good news. Foxlow is widely considered to be Hawksmoor’s baby brother. The next project from those beef loving experts, except on a slightly less grandiose scale. Much like its bigger brother, Foxlow – although now one of four – puts its own spin on the way it looks and feels. The place has a modern and European feel with a late 70s stylistic flourish, and the food ranges from the plainly decadent (fried chicken) through to the wholesome and adventurous (jerk pork ribeye). The cocktails are also well worth a long, indulgent look.

71-73 Stoke Newington Church St, N16 0AS
www.foxlow.co.uk/stoke-newington

It sounds odd to say that this Mediterranean restaurant is set in a former garage. It conjures images of a few tables and chairs strewn around a rusty volvo. Whereas in actual fact Primeur is one of the cleanest, most undeniably slick operations you’ll visit all year. Taking the vernacular of its former incumbent and very little else, this beautifully lit restaurant is stripped down and simple in the most charming way. The food is a huge blend of flavours and influences but given that the menu changes daily, that’s about all we can tell you. Check their instagram feed to find today’s scrawled onto a piece of paper in biro. We know right? So chic.

116 Petherton Rd, N5 2RT
primeurn5.co.uk/

This is going to sound a little odd but there’s such a thing in London as the “Magnificent Seven” cemeteries. Seven of the city’s most beautiful and serene graveyards set in the kind of woodland you just don’t expect to see in the capital. Best described as a woodland cemetery, Abney Park is absolutely stunning no matter how you feel about walking around a graveyard. Established in 1840, the cemetery offers up a spooky silence and reverence that you just wouldn’t get in nearby Clissold Park. Come by for a short walk and a little contemplation. Or just to walk the dog.

Stoke Newington High St, N16 0LH
www.abneypark.org/

If there’s any one feature of Stokey that truly makes it a village and not just any old parish, Church Street has to be it. Alive with sleepy charm, an abundance of bakeries and cafes, Turkish restaurants and some of the area’s best pubs, you’ll not find a more desirable place in all of north London. Yes it’s become another victim of its own success – high house prices and baby strollers everywhere – but it’s done so without surrendering to any real threat of gentrification. If you aren’t charmed by it then this probably just isn’t your scene. We sympathise.

This will come as a bit of a surprise to you. It does to most. Did you know you could go sailing in Stoke Newington? Not many people do. Just a stone’s throw away from Church Street, you’ll find the West Reservoir. Where you are cordially invited to stop by for a spot of sailing, kayaking or even swimming. What’s so incredible about it is the way it just seems to appear out of nowhere from between the local houses. A real hidden secret.

Green Lanes, N4 2HA
www.better.org.uk/leisure/stoke-newington-west-reservoir-centre