Diddy's Place Sports Bar

"By day, this spot on Hackney’s Mare Street serves great coffee to people who are in codependent relationships with MacBooks, but come evening, the mood at Diddy’s is strictly fun. The cocktail menu is long but delightfully riddle-free and helpfully divided into sections—‘spritz’, ‘negroni’, ‘margarita’, ‘the rest’—that you’ll still understand after your second boulevardier. On winter nights it’s like a house party, on summer nights it’s like a block party, but whenever you visit, check out the basement-level pink room which is covered in sateen and filled with giggling friends." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, daisy meager

"If clubs are impersonal, sticky-floored sweatboxes, Diddy’s is the anti-club. There’s a basement-level ‘pink’ room which is covered in sateen, shimmering fabrics, and cackling friends who may or may not be wearing feather boas. On winter nights it’s like a house party, on summer nights it’s like a block party, and by your third visit the bar staff at this Mare Street spot in Hackney will most likely know your name. Plus, the drinks are strong and reasonably priced." - rianne shlebak, jake missing, sinead cranna, daisy meager, heidi lauth beasley