East London’s Best Beer Gardens

Whatever your summer drink – Aperol Spritz, refreshing wheat beer, craft beer shandy – you need somewhere sunny to drink it. We’ve focused our attention on East London to provide you with some of the area’s best beer gardens. Say goodbye to darkness, open up to the light and get out to one of these outdoor spaces.

The Clapton Hart
The pub itself may be impressive but the garden outside The Clapton Hart is something else. You don’t see many beer gardens the size of this one. Nothing too special in terms of landscaping or design but there are plentiful benches, plenty of light and plenty of fun to be had in the Clapton sun.

The Spurstowe Arms
A hip pub in a hip part of Hackney, the Spurstowe is one worth travelling to. Located on the cusp of Dalston, the garden out the back here is sprinkled with foliage and a healthy amount of seating. It isn’t big but sometimes good things come in small packages… so they say.

The Crooked Billet
There must be more space in Clapton than elsewhere in London because the Crooked Billet is another pub with room to spare. And these guys don’t mess around. You’ll find deckchairs perched on a sizeable patch of grass, a food truck in the yard, plenty of patio seating (some covered), an outside bar and a ping-pong table. If that’s not enough for you then we struggle to imagine what is. Maybe you’re waiting for Carlsberg to do a pub garden?

The Waterpoet
No summer would be complete without a trip to the expansive yard at The Waterpoet near Liverpool Street. This place brings the fun when it sees the sun, which means BBQs, outdoor screens showing World Cup Football and live music. Plus one of the friendliest atmospheres you’ll find anywhere in the Square Mile.

The People’s Park Tavern
The People’s Park Tavern has gone to work on the large garden that the old pub on this site (The Britannia) left behind. Sadly, the real grass has been replaced with Astroturf but the addition of private outdoor booths is novel, the BBQ remains and the views of Victoria Park remain unspoiled. As a bonus, you’ll find a Jose Cuervo pop-up hacienda on site this summer serving all your outdoor tequila needs.

Crate Brewery
The great thing about a walk down the Regents Canal, deep into Hackney, is that if you take the right route you can end up at the Crate Brewery. Where you’ll find craft beer brewed on site, stone baked pizza and canal-side drinking; beer gardens don’t come much better than this.