The Sebright Arms, 31-35 Coate Street, www.sebrightarms.co.uk

So after a civil first post, let’s move onto a bit more debauchery. The Sebright Arms on a Friday night is definitely one of the best venues in East London. Located off Hackney road down an inauspicious passageway, it manages to have a local feeling rather than the Megabus from Essex vibe you get from some East boozers on a Friday night. In terms of the atmosphere, it resembles an old man’s rugby club, complete with long red velvet effect seats which should have been refurbed 30 years ago but managed to avoid modernisation's fate and now look the part again.  Plenty of beers and ciders (up to the danger zone 10% mark) allows fussy people who are too good for Carling and ‘Bow to also be happy. To complete, it also has resident food from Lucky Chip burgers, which are arguably, and I am happy to have this argument – the best in London – and also cheap. This place is good, the only criticism I can level against the place is that doesn’t have a late license upstairs but this is merely bitching so I dont look like I work there. Otherwise I could die here. 

Mr Buckleys, Hackney road

My first review of Hackney's finer establishments is a 3 minute stroll from my flat on Hackney Road, pretty close to the Marksmen. It only opened last week and I was excited about having a cliche east London dining establishment so close. It has exposed brick, sultry lighting, tables straight from the wood mill, incredibly pleasant waiting staff, food combinations which make you appreciate why you aren't a chef and it obviously serves the wine in tumblers. I should be writing a gushing review which recommends you visit my new local, but sadly, I am not. 

We started the meal with cocktails, my concoction of three ingredients took a whole 7 minutes just to stir (I do not recommend dwelling on how the barman has this wrist power),a bourbon with plum bitters, people who hate whisky or bourbon should drink this to discover a world they are missing, it was very good. For the food Mr Buckleys has gone with the 2011 trend of small plates, something I really enjoy, the Roundhouse restaurant, Made in Camden, is well worth a visit to see the perfect execution of this style. Mr Buckleys executed it with similar distinction, but served dishes which were about 55% too small and made you wonder whether they were short on supplies, sourcing it from a magical land or taking the piss. 

Among the several dishes we had highlights included Ox Cheek with Dumplings, the cheek was tender and the dumplings were dumpy in a good way but you couldn’t help but eat each scrap of ox in the fashion of Oliver Twist but without having the wee scamp's balls to ask for some more. Other memorable plates from the menu were incredible fennel fritters with aioli which should be used by vegetarians to discover the beauty of calamari - light, salty and crispy. The pumpkin dip was excellent but the half a pitta bread portion of flat bread (for £4) meant you finished it using your fingers as dip vessels. The deserts were all around the £7 mark which is a guilty cost too far for a guilty post meal sugar fix, this is Hackney not the Ivy. We finished the meal and gazed at the table like Glen Hoddle in France ’98 thinking about what might have been, such potential wasted…. a clear theme is emerging, basically if you go to Mr Buckleys you will have an excellent meal, but you will leave hungry and poor. If they halve the dish price or double the dish quantity this place will be justifiably rammed with happy and beautiful people.

To note, it also has a bar downstairs for those who like to eat but dont like to dance - I still don't fully understand this - but it is pretty.