Cates

You'll find Cates tucked away on Kingsland Road in Dalston, where the bar stools are genuinely comfortable and nobody's trying too hard. The sort of place where regulars nod at each other and the bartenders remember what you drink without asking the second time. The cocktails are serious — balanced, inventive, made with proper technique — but the atmosphere never becomes pretentious. It's the kind of bar that works equally well for a proper night out or just popping in for one drink after work. The crowd here tends to be mixed: locals who've ditched the generic East London spots, people who actually live nearby rather than just passing through.