Arty lattes at Hackney café galleries
Long White Cloud, 151 Hackney Road.
Fancy a flat white with your art? Two new Hackney café galleries are striving to serve your needs.
Andor Bureau at 3 Mare Street, which opened at the beginning of June, is a small but light space with long tables in the front, a small gallery space at the back, and a relaxed atmosphere.
The name ‘andor’ is short for ‘creative and/or cultural’, explains owner George Unsworth. A profusion of cakes greeted customers on the opening night, together with excellent coffee and a promising menu. All the indications suggest that the café will be a hit with creative types in nearby London Fields, Vyner Street and beyond.
Andor has lined up a series of events, including a ‘letter lounge’ where guests are invited to ‘write a letter whilst socialising and sampling the menu’. There is also a programme of film evenings, dinner events and various projects by artists.
Meanwhile, around the corner at 151 Hackney Road, Long White Cloud celebrated its launch on 15 June. The space is owned and managed by New Zealander Nikki Stewart and Zuzie Poskitt.
The name of the cafe comes from the Maori name for New Zealand ‘Aotearoa’, meaning Land of the Long White Cloud.
The gallery/cafe features work by local East London artists and also sells a selection of New Zealand products for homesick Kiwis.
Poskitt says: “Long White Cloud has been incredibly exciting and fun to open. We have had an amazing amount of support from our new customers from the local area around Hackney Road.”
Coffee on offer is the superior Monmouth grind, and for the chocolate lovers Kokoa hot chocolate is to die for. The menu is fair-trade, free-range and mostly organic.
The inaugural exhibition, Playtime, is curated by the café/gallery’s in-house artist collective.
On Friday 15 July Long White Cloud will be hosting a licensed cabaret night called Rosie Friday.
Andor Bureau
Open daily 7am-10pm
3 Mare Street
E8 4RP
020 8986 3807
office@georgeunsworth.com
Long White Cloud
Open Monday – Friday 7am – 7pm
Saturday – Sunday 8am – 7pm
151 Hackney Road
E2 8JL