Clapton’s community pubs

 

A night on the tiles at the Windsor Castle public house

Windsor Castle
135 Lower Clapton Road E5 8EQ

A pub that ill-deserves its seemingly rough image, the Windsor is developing into a major sports pub in Clapton, having all sports TV licenses as well as ESTA, the Scandinavian network that beams Saturday afternoon football where all domestic services fail. 

A multicultural mix of old and young, and black and white, populate the Windsor Castle, with the ghost of the traditional British pub haunting the fabric of its fading glamour.

Intriguingly, huddled together in one corner of the Castle is a seemingly perpetual dominoes match.  After careful examination, a winner never seems to emerge. The black gentlemen playing came and went seamlessly, but the game carries on as if the players didn’t matter, so long as the game got played.

The pub is run by Amei Viera and his two fantastically friendly dogs, William and Nino, and aside from the raucousness of match days, the pub has an old fashioned serene atmosphere as the barflies amiably pass the time of day, drawn in by cheap prices and the calmness of sanctity.

The Elderfield
57 Elderfield Road E5 0LF

With a working and much used piano against a wall, broadsheets piled up in the paper-rack, this bookish pub serves its long history well by its diversity and attraction.

Every second, third and fourth Tuesday of the month sees the pub piano put to good use as TJ Johnston brings his blues and jazz band to the good people of the Elderfield, and in between shows the pub has a good stock of regularly used board games to challenge the mind and hold off the descent of the drunken fog.

Top-class hot finger food is served most of the day and evening, and its spacious main room and extraordinarily well-kept outdoor tables make the Elderfield a favourite in Clapton. 

The pub attracts a friendly mixed crowd, from businessmen to arts folk, all kept in order by good-natured matriarch Joyce Bennett and her husband Steve.

The Three Sisters
35 Queensdown Road E5 8NN

This remarkable pub, overlooking Hackney Downs, contains more within its four walls than it lets on.  Downstairs is a lively bar with cross-borough darts tournaments and regular parties being hosted by managers Tony Attille and Ann Marie.

But climb the creaky stairs and a revelation awaits.  As a paean to working-class literacy, the main room has been transformed into a magnificent open space, hosting acoustic, soul, jazz, blues, poetry, comedy and spoken word nights throughout the month. 

Press a magic button and the cosy room is then transformed into an intimate cinema, showing classic films while you eat and drink at cabaret-style tables.

The pub also has a wonderfully covered patio where it hosts BBQs in the summer and choking smokers in the winter.  Drinks are reasonably priced, with a planned daily happy hour selling drink at two-thirds of the price.  Remarkable.

Biddle Brothers
88 Lower Clapton Road E5 0QR

Nestled in a crevice of Lower Clapton Road, the Biddle Brothers pub belies its almost Zen-like external anonymity by its gloriously rich interior, seducing the weary traveller with a warm promise of cold drinks and deep, comfy couches.

Surrounded by paintings from local artists, Biddle Bothers isn’t cheap but it is a beautifully kept and friendly local bar with a thriving community of loyal regulars.

Owned and run by Paco the Dog, the one-time builders’ merchant features a full programme of regular live acoustic and open mic nights, making good use of the obligatory piano-in-the-corner and its pretty good aural acoustics in the tiny hub of a back room. 

Think nothing of sitting down, putting your feet up, play with Paco and passing an enjoyable evening forgetting about your worries.