The Dolls House - #R3D Market

Friday 27th July - After a fairly lazy Friday, I decided to get back on the trusty Overground to meet uni friends Lee and Jane to try out the brand new The Dolls House on Hoxton Square, unsurprisingly from the same team that run Dead Dolls Club in Haggerston.  I was a big fan (read more here) of their place on Kingsland Road, so I was keen to get down to their new venue early on.  They have temporarily set up shop in a building due to be turned into a residential block next year, so head down there sooner rather than later! Set over four floors, the decor is very similar to Dead Dolls Club, with the wonderful addition of a cosy roof terrace overlooking Hoxton Square.  The other three floors consist of a bar, dining room and ballroom, and there is apparently also "The Drawing Room" - a secret place to share with friends.

Ground Floor bar

First Floor Dining Room

It is a members only bar, though membership is currently free (apply on their website).  Jane and Lee signed up online an hour before and picked up their cards on the door from Adam (presumably Adam Towner - one half of the Dead Dolls team).  Members can bring guests, but the top two floors are members only, so you might as well join while it is free. The front door (no.35) was shut but it was clearly the right place so we pushed on through where we were greeted by a man possibly dressed as a pirate for some reason.  We worked our way through the cocktails and also made our way to the roof which is a lovely, well-lit, chilled space with chairs and blankets laid out over fake turf.  The Baronness, The Cook and the Bloom G&T were particularly tasty and refreshing, which is no surprise as the gin heavy drinks menu at Dead Dolls Club was impressive.  On the food front, Mumma Schnitzel are currently in the house, but street food chefs will rotate in and out every week, starting with Chef Patty next week - bear in mind that it is only open Wednesday to Saturday, from 5pm onwards.  Mumma Schnitzel make seriously delicious chicken burgers, but we wanted to sit outside where you can't take food, so I had to go without this time around.  The dining room looks like a fun place to eat, and will become really popular when the weather cools down a bit.

After a few drinks, we decided to head round the corner to #R3D Market at the Old Street end of Rivington Street to grab a final drink and some street food.  The market is supposedly only open for a couple more weeks - it runs every Thursday and Friday from 5 til 11.30/12 and brings together some of London's best street food, cocktails and DJs.  It is outdoors, but there is plenty of covered space in case of rain.  We walked in with no queue and did a lap of the vendors before buying some Meantime Pale ales.  The atmosphere was great, and the queues for food were minimal compared to Street Feast (who have just moved to a new home), though there wasn't as much variety.  I went for a delicious Duck Confit Bap from The Frenchie - shredded duck leg, crispy duck scratchings, caramelised red onion chutney, mustard & rocket with goats cheese and truffle honey - it tasted as good as it sounds, and I received a £1 for following them on Twitter!  For dessert I went for Hix Fishdog's doughnuts with salted caramel sauce, which were a huge step up from your average churros with chocolate sauce.  The whole place screamed of hipster with a "beach" area complete with industrial pipes (which people seemed to want to sit inside) plus some sand and a hammock, and a frisbee training corner - hats off to the ingenious use of a curved piece of cardboard attached to the back of a van which allows you to throw frisbees to yourself or someone next to you.

Looks cosy

The beach and hammock

Frisbee training

The Frenchie - Duck Confit Bap

Hix's Fishdog - Doughnuts with Salted Caramel Sauce

If you like the sound of #R3D Market, then Street Feast is another excellent option - they have just moved home to Dalston Yard near Dalston Junction / Kingsland.  Read my blog on the old Street Feast here.  Head there on Friday nights and Saturday all day - the Gin Store will keep you busy once you have filled up on food.  Night street markets are the new clubbing so get on board while the weather is good!  Thanks to Lee and Jane for assembling at the last minute - Lee is sneaking up the leaderboard after a strong performance in Bermondsey last week.