The Cock Tavern

One of my favorite pubs from my recent visit to London. Wide selection of beer and ciders. The bartender was super friendly and let me try some ciders. Great atmosphere

Fantastic pub! Fantastic range of Cask, Keg and ciders. All kept perfectly. Absolutely recommended.

Nice and busy atmosphere last Friday evening as we visited the area for the weekend. Great pints and friendly staff. Cheers! Ps: Also big up to the doorman and bartender who acted really switfly to quickly get help to a passed out client who was literally on the floor. The ambulance came really fast. Cheers!

Me and my friend came here looking for a pub night and we found this unique pub. It had a very lovely atmosphere and when you walk in from the outside cold it feels really nice and warm!!

🚇 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 More London Pub info @londonpubmap 🍻

Great range of different beers on tap - nice change from all the pubs that just carry the same same standard. Cool down to earth ambiance. Highly rate!

The Cock Tavern has wonderful bar staff! Beer is local, diverse and not to my taste. However, clearly well kept and a passion. 7 cask ales on and 6 ciders, nothing but admiration. Lost a star because I could not connect to the internet. Lovely people but the beer challenged me.

A bit of a local hipster bar. If the other locals are packed this one will have space. Dog friendly with wide selection of ales, lagers, ciders, chill, hip vibes with rustic decor.

A very old style English Pub, I like the nostalgia of its old world charm. And I appreciate the variety of brew and single malt scotch. I can't think of a better way to spend an evening than with friends, good eats and a good drink to relax and destress.

The Cock Tavern is located on Mare St. in Hackney Central. It is by no means a trendy establishment, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Hackney has a funny mix of pubs, both classy and not so classy, and both sides of the spectrum have there advantages. The advantage of a place like the Cock Tavern, is that you don't have to deal with a pretentious crowd. The place is often very quite and is a bit of a locals bar. It has a kitschy English pub interior, complete with the dark, cave like atmosphere. If it was my place, I would let as much sunlight in as possible. It is definitely an alright place to have a quite drink with a friend, but not worth going out of your way for.

Geographically situated between hipster haven Oslo just up the road and the Wetherspoons down. The Cock manages to straddle both the worlds of traditional pubs and cheap pints and craft beers and ciders with consummate ease. The staff are friendly and happy to give you a taste of the beers before ordering and it's always busy enough for a bit of atmosphere, but never so busy that you couldn't find a seat, and if you can't, the bar is the best place to be anyway. One of Hackney's best kept secrets.

Very nice selection of craft beer brewed in the basement bebeath the bar. Friendly staff!

I almost didn't want to write a review on this place, as it's one of east london's endangered species. I have walked past here twice a day over the past two years, almost scared to look at the place. Guarded by Cockney woof whistling bearded alcoholics, that somewhat resemble a British Bull Dog. I wouldn't think twice of entering here, imagining I would come out alive, (or going back for seconds) But hey, I haven't been bribed to write this, or paid in a life times supply of London Pride, I genuinely liked the place. Its dark, its dirty, its no mans land... but its actually freedom. Freedom from the Shoreditch socialites, The hoorah Henrys, the wannabe fashion crazed people. Sure I might get winked at, I might even get bought a pint bought for me from a one toothed pirate, but i can sit here in freedom and write... yay!

I don't relly like this place, the service is terrible, I order a cider and was really hot. Crazy. We been in winter and was too hot inside. I'm sorry but I will never suggest this place, even not for a quick drink.

On all my visits to this pub I have been struck by how well run this pub is, all the staff behind the bar manage to remain friendly and chatty even when it gets super busy. There is a good atmosphere in the pub throughout and everyone is made to feel welcome whether a hipster or not. It mustn't be forgotten that in addition to their own Howling Hops beer brewed on the premises of which there are normally five or six to choose from the pub also serves a very wide selection of real cider. If you like craft beer or real cider or just like a decent pub you could do a lot worse than visiting the Cock Tavern. Top tip, if the pub is busy and there are no tables head for the small courtyard garden in the back.

Right, so this place was done over in the last year and it's now a brewpub. They serve house beers under the name of Howling Hops. They also offer beers from some of the UK's best breweries, with particular focus on East London breweries such as Brodies and The Kernel. The pub also maintains an oddly extensive range of cask ciders, usually around six or so. If I ever opened a pub, I would want it to look like the Cock Tavern. I love the aesthetic here. Lots of bare wood, some tiling behind the bar, salvaged furniture...I love it. The prices here are good and the staff both friendly and efficient. The pub has a modest range of snacks and pub grub. I've had the pickled egg, which I wholeheartedly recommend. I really like this pub and, while it is a destination in itself, it is walking distance from a handful of other fine drinkeries, among them the London Fields Brewery tap room, Duke's Brew and Cue, and Baxter's Court. Get thee to Hackney.

Old style english pub. In order to follow the scene, they started brewing downstairs. Many beers available, nice stop if you're around Mare Street in Hackney.

Any respectable East London pub crawl kicks off at The Cock Tavern in Hackney Central. Once home to Howling Hops- another brewery that outgrew its tanks and moved down the road- this pub showcases a vast and alternating selection on keg and cask. You'll find their current in-house microbrewery, Maregade Brew Co, on offer alongside local heroes such as The Five Points Brewery, Redchurch Brewery, Howling Hops and Pressure Drop. Other UK-based favourites, including Weird Beard and Moor Beer, are likely to be featured as well. The bar is cash only and the décor is no frills, but you are guaranteed to discover a good drop here.

Since the refurb, this place is immense. (but as advised on the door, watch your bags). Unlike most trendy pubs with a range of food, televisions on the walls and loud music, this does a massive range of beer; a range of pork pies that have to be believed, cider that can be just described as dfangerous, and the occasional tune. Forget the circle line pub crawl. start at one end on a rainy saturday and see if you can reach the other.

This is a local pub. For local people. I immediately got a sense of that when I walked in with a bunch of flamboyantly dressed lady friends and the entire venue's contents - consisting of the older geezers that prop up the bar, and sullen looking couples looked round at us as if we were from outer space. It was my friend's fault really. Silver catsuits are hardly a modest choice of clothing for a lady. We were in the process of disovering real ales, served in real bars; as people who were fed up of being ripped off in hipster and gastro pubs. Give me some authenticity! we thought. It was this sentiment that led us here. There was a karaoke night happening when we went; it was really entertaining (oftentimes hilarious) listening to some of the old crooners; especially when they veered out of tune. They do the usual fare during the week; pub quizzes, fags a jukebox, Indian pale ale. Decent prices though! £1.60 for a half cider. Thank you very much.

In an area where pubs are closing down .Its nice to find one that as a really good atmosphere,its one of those pubs where it dont take long before someone starts to chat to you,They have a pool table and a large screen and free sandwiches are put out during the day,There DJs monday and friday evenings and theres the monday club with reduced prices.Prices are average for the area,Sadly there is no real ale,and the staff are friendly.all in all its a real pub and sadly we are losing to many,

Most of these reviews are based on the old pub. The renovated place is quite simply the best pub in London for a real drink. Drinkers range from beer-bellied middle-aged ale obsessives to the hipsters you'd expect in this location, but the atmosphere is always just right, whether full or near-empty. Beer is from delicious (and expensive) craft breweries. The Howling Hops beer brewed in the basement is brilliant and cheap though!

Craft beer mecca. Me and the man make the walk from Stokey to Hackney Central just to see what they have on tap, and we are never disappointed by their well curated array of hoppy goodness, including their own in house brew. London breweries are strongly represented, and the bare bones decor of the place feels just right.

Really enjoyed this pub! It was our first stop as we are staying in the Hackney area and we were pleasantly surprised. The bartender was very friendly, let us sample the beers, and chatted with us for a while. They had a great array of beers and ciders. Will definitely go back again!

It is dark and cosy with the smallest, grimiest beer garden/smoking hole in London, but the beer and ale is worth coming for. Their brew their own and have twenty taps on rotation. The staff are happy to recommend. The balance is definitely tipped towards ale rather than keg craft but you will certainly find something tasty and most likely strong! I had a 8% saison that really did the job.