Situated on Regent’s Canal near Haggerston Overground Station, The Proud Archivist is a combined gallery, bar, restaurant, cafe and events space, serving fabulous food and drink in a beautiful setting.
The Proud Archivist is built around an engaging and versatile concept – designed and programmed to echo, emulate and revive the traditions of London’s grand 17th & 18th century coffee houses.
Bringing together a simple café / bistro offering alongside & within a gallery / library aesthetic – and overlaid with a diverse fringe cultural and community programming, we want to reflect and represent the interests and passions of the people who make up our area.
View from the staircase at The Proud Archivist (c) Luke HayesA home of conversation, conviviality and stimulation, we want to become a thriving cultural & entertainment hub at the heart of the community.
Open 7 days a week, we want to feed you, drink you (hang on, that doesn’t sound right…), entertain you and educate you with our food, drink, exhibitions and events. From comedy to history, politics to sport, we’re pretty much interested in everything and will be programming events which reflect that.
Alongside this, our regular program of exhibitions will showcase some of the most interesting and exciting art around, whilst our kitchen serves modern British cuisine guided by principles of seasonality and sustainability.
An attractive venue with a packed events schedule
The Regents Canal is a hot spot for new venues. Just one small stretch between Kingsland road and Angel plays host to waterside bars, cafes and BBQ joints with The Proud Archivist the latest to join in. Impossible to pigeonhole, categorise or button down, this venue is as multifaceted as they come. Gallery, events space, bar, restaurant, bistro; you name it, they’re probably ‘it’ in some way. And that’s all well and good but does it draw you in as you’re strolling past on a chill Sunday morning? Well, yes, it does. It’s intriguing and while the free croissants might have helped it has a vibrant atmosphere completely at odds with its location on the sleepy – or not so sleepy thanks to the mass of joggers/cyclists – Regents Canal.
The space is large, modern and carefully designed. It’s all white walls, chunky wood tables and big benches. Large rooms divide off from the main dining area and find themselves reserved as gallery and events space (including screenings of live sport). Artwork hangs all over the place (the natural by-product of the rotating exhibitions), a small library stands on its own level and with so much space to play with it is easy to see why The Proud Archivist has such grand plans for DJs and live music nights.
Lunch and dinner are served seven days a week but we visit for the brunch on a Sunday. The menu contains pastries, pancakes, eggs Benedict and beigels. The pancakes with caramelized apples and sticky maple syrup are recommended to us and having sampled them once, they will inevitably inspire another weekend canal walk soon. Only in its formative stages at the time of writing, the bar is in development but promises of local beers and spirits are in keeping with the clear community spirit of The Proud Archivist.
An attractive venue, creative interior and events program that does a fine stack of pancakes. How could this place not be a total success?
Reviewed by T.A.O
on Jan 30, 2014
Published on Jan 24, 2014
