The Cock Tavern — Restaurant in London

🚇 Hackney Central 🍺 £5.95 Legra Pale Ale

The Cock Tavern is located on busy Mare Street in Hackney, East London. The nearest station is Hackney Central.

There has been a Cock Tavern in central Hackney since the 16th century. The pub you see today was built by Truman’s master architect A.E Sewell in the 1930’s.

This is a one bar pub that is traditionally decorated with a slightly worn around the edges feel. The bar area is “L” shaped and wraps around the sizeable solid looking servery. The decor consists of conventional furniture with a couple of pews, a boarded floor, lots of beer signage, branded mirrors, an old Joanna and a golden cockerel above the corner entrance. There is an outside space which is classed as “the tiniest beer garden in Hackney”

The beer selection is vast with 24 taps to choose from. There are local London brews, cask ales, ciders and beers from independent UK breweries. I decided on a Legra Pale Ale from Leigh on Sea brewers @losbrewery . This was a new tipple for me, I thoroughly enjoyed it, price point was fair. There is no food menu but there are bar snacks and notably, pickled eggs. I decided to try the chilli one which had a bit of a kick. The pub has a chalkboard with a hall of fame for who can eat a pickled egg the fastest, 1.42 seconds is the current record.

We arrived just after 5pm on a humid Saturday afternoon in August. The pub was busy with an upbeat and lively atmosphere. Even though the pub is on a high street, there is a nice local feel to the pub. The punters were a mix of all ages, it was great to see people sat on stools at the bar. The service was on point, we received a friendly welcome and were served in no time at all.

The pub hosts Jazz sessions, live music and Tap Takeovers.

Visiting @thecocktaverne8 was a fantastic pub experience. I loved the interwar architecture, the traditional pub setting, the easy to settle into atmosphere and the extensive choice of beers, what a cracking pub this is.

📅 31st August 2024

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When it comes to independent pubs proudly serving independent brews the relationship between the customer and the landlord/bar staff I expect is pretty much the same of the trust bond I'd expect between the customer and the independent record shop owner. If I walk in and ask for a recommendation, I'm not expecting reverence but at least respect. After asking for a stout and being told they had many, I kindly asked what the staff would recommend and went for it. The bill was over £12 for a pint. When, left perplexed by the bill, I double checked the correctness of the price with another member of the staff I was welcomed by perplexity. That was a 13% beer, that's like ordering a pint of wine, so of course it was pricey. That was his nonchalant explanation. Fair play. As long as you inform your new customers on the slightly off the average price rate of your brews, it's all legitimate. However, when asked for a recommendation by a new client, transparency should be up front. Inform them of the above-average price of the pint so that they'll be able to consider whether to buy it or choose a cheaper option, especially if they are students. Otherwise, it's not surprising if the whole population...

The staff is really friendly but it smells like hell's armpits and they sell really bad boxed wine for £5 a glass. I actually wanted lager but they had ran out. The spirits are reasonably priced. All the men in there look like the same guy copied and pasted over and over with slightly different colour shirt or hair. They seem to have a very large selection of those snacks (pickled eggs and crisps with flavours) only British people can enjoy and ales, so if this is your thing, you are going to love it there. The little garden at the back should be on all London guides, it's worth drinking bad wine...