Night Tales – review

Night ‘tails: Negroni Station is just one of alcoholic beverages on offer. Photograph: M.Sethi

On the opening night, a chilly Thursday in November, an impressive queue of over 150 people ran along Abbott Street behind the Arcola Theatre. Inside the car park-cum-venue, a large rolling, purpose-built canopy was already housing a loud mass of revelers.

Fairy-lights adorned every possible fixture, the floor was woodchip, providing a soft alpine scent, and large rotund fire pits were on standby to warm fingers and toes. The food offerings were a mixture of some familiar vendors such as Patty & Bun, and newer names like the wholesome Japanese Rainbo truck.

We tucked into Bao’s soya milk fried chicken, deliciously soft and oily pieces of chicken meat, from a small menu of traditional Chinese buns and duck soup. If interesting alcoholic beverages are your thing, the specialist choice at Night Tales are impressive – from the Negroni Station, which served seven varieties of this classic cocktail, to the mezzanine Mescal bar, which is not for the faint hearted.

Night Tales brings an added dimension perhaps missing at similar outdoor foodie ventures – music. The space accommodated a proper DJ set-up and decent speakers, and on our visit music came courtesy of local radio station NTS’s resident DJ Charlie Bones.

Running Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until Christmas, Night Tales is a vibrant experience, embracing what we Londoners do best – eat and drink in unusual locations with festive spirit.

In a bid to give something back to the eclectic culinary and musical community of East London, Night Tales supports a project called Bootstrap Campus, which helps young people in East London get into work and the event has collaborated with local youth organisations and community groups.

Admission is £3 and this buys you a nifty membership, which means you can return to more Night Tales events.

Abbot St, E8 3DL
www.nighttales.co.uk