MARTELLO HALL

In a city with seemingly endless options when it comes to dining, it’s quite hard to pick favourites. That is unless you know a place is really special since you first step in. Martello Hall is one of these kind of spots.

Located in the heart of Hackney, Martello Hall is named after the main road that once connected the St Augustine Tower, Hackney’s oldest building, to London Fields. The former traditional pub has been transformed into a really cool space, set over three floors, that offers a little bit of everything: a quiet room to work upstairs, a beautiful bar for cocktails or coffee as well as a restaurant area with a wood-fired oven and charcoal grill. The interior is design perfection and very instagrammable indeed (huge plus for an Instagram addict like myself!). My partner in crime and I both loved the industrial vibe and agreed it reminded us a bit of New York.

After having a look around, we settled in the bar area eager to try Martello Hall’s specialty, pizza. All the different options on the menu were tempting but at the end we decided to go for the Smokey Bandit (smoked pancetta and potato, truffle pecorino, mozzarella, lemon and sage) and the Bianco (speck, wild mushrooms, taleggio, walnuts, salsa di noci and tarragon). Despite that they were a bit dry for our taste, the base was thin and crispy while the toppings quite generous – so much so that we had to skip dessert. Next time I’d love to try the bargainous bottomless Italian brunch (£15) and maybe even try the Martello Hall gin, named “Nicola”, which is produced at the on-site gin distillery.

Whether you live in the area or are keen to explore a part of London that has come a long way, Martello Hall is well worth a visit. You can’t just go wrong with gin, pizza and beautiful interiors!

INFO

Address: 137 Mare Street, London E8 3RH, UK

Telephone: +44 20 38896173

Website / Facebook page