London guide · updated July 2026
Old Street & Shoreditch: a local's guide
Shoreditch is where the City loosens its tie. Walk five minutes east from Liverpool Street and glass towers give way to Victorian warehouses, railway arches full of taprooms, and some of the best walls of street art in Europe. It's loud on a Friday night and gentle on a Sunday morning, and it rewards people who wander without a plan.
Most of our apartments sit within ten minutes of Old Street roundabout, which means you're placed between two Londons: the finance district one way, the creative east the other. You can take a meeting at a Broadgate coffee counter and be eating a salt beef beigel on Brick Lane forty minutes later.
This guide is the version we give friends who visit — not the fifty best things, just the ones we actually go back to.
Itinerary
A perfect day in Old Street & Shoreditch
Morning
Coffee, then Columbia Road or Spitalfields
Start with a flat white at Ozone on Leonard Street — it roasts on site and the full breakfast is the neighbourhood's best. If it's Sunday, walk up to Columbia Road Flower Market before 10am, when you can still move; any other day, head for Old Spitalfields Market, where the antiques stalls (Thursdays especially) sit under a beautiful Victorian roof.
Afternoon
Brick Lane, street art and vintage
Work down Brick Lane slowly: vintage floors at Beyond Retro and Atika, the Sunday Upmarket in the Old Truman Brewery, and street art everywhere between Hanbury Street and Fashion Street — look for the anchor pieces that change every few months. Whitechapel Gallery, fifteen minutes south, is free and consistently excellent.
Evening
Dinner and a proper East End night
Book Dishoom (or queue early — before 6pm is safe) for Bombay comfort food, or go informal at Ta Kwaii or the Brick Lane curry houses. Afterwards: cocktails at Nightjar on City Road if you want jazz-age listening bars, Callooh Callay for something sillier, or a straightforward pint at The Old Blue Last. Beigel Bake is open 24 hours for the walk home.
Eat & drink
Shoreditch eats well at every price. These are the reliable ones — the places we send guests without a second thought.
Dishoom Shoreditch
Indian · all-dayThe famous one, and it earns it. Go before 6pm or brace for the queue; the bacon naan roll at breakfast is the local move.
Open in Google Maps →
Beigel Bake
Bakery · open 24hBrick Lane institution. Salt beef beigel with mustard, about a fiver, any hour of the day or night.
Open in Google Maps →
Padella Shoreditch
PastaHand-rolled pasta, short menu, small bills. The pici cacio e pepe is the order.
Open in Google Maps →
Smokestak
BarbecueSerious live-fire cooking in a dark, loud room. The brisket bun and a bourbon is a complete evening.
Open in Google Maps →
Nightjar
Cocktail bar · live jazzSpeakeasy on City Road with nightly live music. Book a table — walk-ins rarely land.
Open in Google Maps →
The Old Blue Last
Pub · live musicScruffy, storied Vice-era pub with gigs upstairs. The antidote to the fancier end of the neighbourhood.
Open in Google Maps →
Coffee & brunch
The east end takes coffee personally. You're never more than three streets from a good one.
Ozone Coffee Roasters
Café · roasteryRoasts downstairs, brunches upstairs. The best all-rounder near Old Street.
Open in Google Maps →
Allpress Espresso
CaféRedchurch Street's calm corner — great espresso, quick counter lunch.
Open in Google Maps →
Lantana
Brunch · AustralianCorn fritters and proper flat whites on Charlotte Road.
Open in Google Maps →
Markets & shopping
This is market country — plan around Sundays if you can.
Old Spitalfields Market
Market · dailyCovered Victorian market. Antiques on Thursdays, food traders every day.
Open in Google Maps →
Brick Lane Sunday Market
Market · SundaysSprawling, chaotic, brilliant — vintage, records, world food in the Truman Brewery yards.
Open in Google Maps →
Columbia Road Flower Market
Market · SundaysFlowers by the armful and shouting traders. Come before 10am, leave with a plant you didn't plan to buy.
Open in Google Maps →
Boxpark Shoreditch
Street food · shopsShipping-container pop-ups by the Overground — quick, cheap, always open.
Open in Google Maps →
Culture & after dark
Galleries by day, some of London's best small venues by night.
Whitechapel Gallery
Gallery · freeWorld-class contemporary shows without the Tate crowds. Fifteen minutes' walk south.
Open in Google Maps →
Rich Mix
Cinema · arts centreIndependent cinema and live events on Bethnal Green Road.
Open in Google Maps →
Village Underground
Music venueWarehouse gigs under the tube carriages on the roof — check the listings for your dates.
Open in Google Maps →
When to come
Old Street & Shoreditch by season
- Spring
Columbia Road is at its best — the flower market spills over and the pubs put tables out.
- Summer
Rooftops open (Boundary, Queen of Hoxton) and Brick Lane's Sunday market doubles in size. Book dinner ahead.
- Autumn
Gallery season — Whitechapel and the commercial galleries on Redchurch Street all rehang. Best months for street-art walks.
- Winter
Spitalfields' covered roof earns its keep, and the curry houses and cocktail bars don't care about the weather.
Local knowledge
Good to know
- Sunday is the day here — flowers at Columbia Road, then Brick Lane, then a late lunch. Do it in that order to beat the crowds.
- Old Street station has exits lettered around the whole roundabout — check which one you want before you surface.
- Contactless is universal; many market stalls are now card-only rather than cash-only.
- Walk rather than tube for anything under 25 minutes — the interesting bits are between the stations.
Old Street & Shoreditch — questions we get asked
Is Shoreditch a good area to stay in London?
Yes — especially if you want restaurants, markets, nightlife and galleries on foot, with the City ten minutes away. It's lively at weekends: pick a flat on a side street (most of ours are) rather than on the main drags if you're a light sleeper.
How do I get to Old Street and Shoreditch from the airports?
From Heathrow, take the Elizabeth line to Liverpool Street (about 45 minutes), then walk or take one stop north. From Gatwick, trains run direct to London Bridge, then the Northern line to Old Street. From Stansted, the Stansted Express to Liverpool Street is around 50 minutes door to door.
What is Shoreditch known for?
Street art, Brick Lane and Spitalfields markets, independent coffee, and one of Europe's densest tech and creative clusters around Old Street. It pairs Victorian East End streets with the modern City skyline next door.
Is the area safe at night?
It's a busy, well-lit entertainment district with people around late into the night. The usual big-city rules apply — keep an eye on your phone on busy corners — but our guests walk home from dinner as a matter of course.
Which NourNest apartments are in Old Street & Shoreditch?
Seven of our nine London apartments are here, from studios to a three-bed basement — all within a short walk of Old Street station, with kitchens, laundry and all bills included.
Stay in Old Street & Shoreditch
NourNest has 5 apartments in Old Street & Shoreditch — fully equipped, all bills included, everything in this guide on the doorstep.