Derry N.
Yelp
There is character and attitude in abundance at this old-fashioned but edgy English boozer - and its no accident. It strategically situated at the confluence of Spitalfields and Brick Lane. Hence the resident after-work media set are joined by market traders, retail workers, casual tourists, premiership watchers and itinerant City types. They down pints of 1664 and Carling to a rockin' nineties chart jukebox soundtrack.
Décor is provided by a massive Nike portrait of Wayne Rooney, cheapo wood panelling and a Tracey Emin original - above the female toilets a cursive flashing neon box: 'Stand Still & Rot'. Plus someone has come up with the ingenious idea of staffing the bar entirely with young females - a popular move.
Mention should be made too of a couple of the permanent fixtures at the Golden Heart. Firstly, the little terrier dog who comforts himself under drinkers' tables and across their crossed legs. Then the landlady, an elder East London patron, who has been running the place, as she'll no doubt recount, since Spitalfields market was the wrong side of the tracks, an early-eighties doomed heroin den. Her daughter is as omnipotent a presence and only slightly less willing to grab traffic cones and dance the foxtrot across Commercial Road.
In my experience, this is a great pub to kickstart a long night with some banter and reckless abandon. Just don't stick around too long...