The Anchor & Hope in Hackney

Only ever ate one of Les's cheese rolls and a bag of crisps and cashew nuts so no comment on the food. Nice pint though. London Pride. Before it meant something else. Great views and spotting the celebrities passing on their boats. Dave Stewart and Ginger out the Eurythmics used to pass by. Some Rastafari bloke from Hackney but I can't remember his name. Timothy Spall and his Mrs on a wide boat. Need it the size of them two.. yes nice way to pass the afternoon I used to think. Did Siobhán take over the pub. She was 2iC for Les.

Wonderful little local drinking hole overlooking the canal and the overground, also on a running/cycle route. Shame they weren't serving food at 7.30pm on a Wed, and a member of staff drinking after shift a little awkward and overly chatty. Great bar snacks though. Otherwise staff were friendly, polite and attentive. Lovely pint of Guinness, beautiful calming views. A little gem not to be missed when passing.

The red haired lady at the bar was extremely nasty to me because I changed my mind twice about a drink, she started swearing at me and using abusive language complaining about how I changed my mind and talking nasty about me to her co workers, I kindly told her that was unnecessary and she continued to be rude. I was really excited about this pub as it looked really nice, but with that kind of service I wont be coming back and DO NOT recommend.

A great pub, but the food shack attached to the pub is beyond a joke. You can order food it'll take so long you've aged and retired and need Botox from the stress lines you gather from waiting. Then you don't even get the food you ordered. I ordered rice and peas, and got a cold chicken wrap that took so long I was ready to cash in my pension. The wrap itself was diabolical, and through frustrated attempts to eat the insides with a fork because it wasn't even wrapped properly I finally gave up, as I ended up wearing more of it than eating it. A man 20 metres away saw the breakdown which I was carrying out... spectacularly. A traumatic experience to the point I can't even look at a tortilla without revisiting deep seated anxiety. Only go for the drinks. Staff are lovely, and it's a quirky place to spend an afternoon at staring at the canal and the deep deep void of nothingness.

The pub itself doesn't do food but there is sometimes a food stall outside

What a pub. An institution. A bit old school. Great vibe during summer with music and Jamaican food. Lovely staff, great characterss

My favourite pub in East London and I know them all. On a nice summer evening it cannot be beat. Also you can get jerk chicken from the place Infront.

Lovely old riverside pub on the Lea. It's a good walk from Tottenham hale along the towpath. Lots of houseboats moored along river Lea . Easygoing folk very friendly. The last time I was in it was 27 years ago.

Amazing - cute atmosphere by the canal and cute dog inside

On the bank of a watercourse you will find an old pub, nothing special

Bloody brilliant. Best night of my life. I just can't stop thinking about it

Really nice place to eat with your family & friends.

Old school riverside boozer, well kept beer

A rather quirky and quaint establishment located on the north side of the river Lea. Whilst it's a Fullers house you wouldn't notice until you saw their beer selection which on cask consists of London Pride, ESB and usually a Dark Star ale . My pint of ESB was in excellent condition and the prices are far more reasonable that your average Fullers pub. It's a great location and especially great in the summer where you can sit out on the benches and watch the boats on the river. It's a little bit of a walk but don't let that out you off.

We really enjoyed our first visit. We were soaking wet and the lovely landlady moved a table so that we could dry our coats! London Pride beer was excellent. The locals were very welcoming.

“Proper” pub. No food. No service.

Amazing little East London pub on the banks of the River Lea with canal boats alongside. Very small. Tables & chairs outside as well. The old landlord and his old dutch who run it are very friendly. Going to the Anchor & Hope is like taking a walk back in time.

No nonsense old school boozer, on the River Lea, with great views over Tottenham marshes. Always a great pint of Fullers beer and a lively crowd of walkers, boaters and cyclists engaging in witty bantz. The best pint of ESB this side of the Essex border.

This place is a unfound magic gem when I first discovered it! Set against the canal in London - felt like somewhere else. The mix of people and characters and a real old boozer that has not been updated with our times makes it the best experience!

2 beers on pump. Cheese & biscuits on the bar on Sundays. Very small pub but cost with a little fire. Outdoor seating beside the river.

The locals are great and so are the drinks. Would have brought my dog here.

Thank you to the lovely couple that made this a special last day before I had to return back to Scotland. This is the real London, the people are so chilled, the locals are just amazing, and the dogs love waiting to get treated to cheese( if you go you will know what I mean 🙂) Thanks again all truly one of the best pubs.

The nicest staff and best atmosphere and prices 🙌🏼🙌🏼

Friendly local boozer, nice place to sit by the river and enjoy the view.

Very nice local little boozer if you're in the area. Upgrading to 5 stars after a few more visits. Blokes that run it and the place overall is top tier.

Very authentic place, great people grat location

Genuine Pub, very few of those left. Great location too

QG de jeunesse Toujours aussi sympa

This could be a great little canal side pub.

Very local booze. Kind of old man pub, with a lovely couple at the but that looks like coming from another era. Before big companies and hipster breweries. If you are along the Lea River it deserves a visit for the old fashion vibes and the real fire place.

Tiny but friendly. Old sckool Dj. Dogs and bicycles....lovely in the middle of long walk ...

Food at JP's Kitchen was incredible value for money! We would recommend any of the spaghetti dishes. Locals are friendly and pub has a wonderful atmosphere.

A true experience. Proper old fashioned pub. Once a man brought a ferret in. In an age where most pubs are designer gastro cafés there is nothing fake about this place.

Nice pub on the river close to a park.

Good old spit and sawdust pub good beer good vibes good people good view good times

Great place to chill and have a laugh with the locals. Fantastic music, atmosphere and drinks. My main hangout xx

The atmosphere of this pub is just phenomenal! If you want to chill by the riverside and have a pint, this place is for you.

This pub is a perfect spot to relax and enjoy a cold beer after exploring the scenic canal path.

Nice by the canal pub decent prices

Authentic, shabby and welcoming, this pub is a real gem, an oasis on the towpath of the River Lea. Enjoy a drink outside and watch the world pass by: on one side the meandering river and narrow boats, on the other the busy towpath, with its Lycra-clad cyclists, joggers and Sunday strollers.

Grate place, always something going on

We stopped here for a couple of pints after a walk through nearby parkland and along the canal on a sunday afternoon. The pub has a good vibe, just people hanging out and enjoying a beer. The canal is right next door, you can watch the waterfowl do their thing, and people rowing or canal boats going up and down. Service was fast and polite. Bathrooms were clean. Music was a bit loud for a Sunday afternoon, started around 2:45pm, but if that's their vibe then so be it. It's a little out of the way but worth the walk down the hill if you're in the area.

Such a low key, attitude-free atmosphere!

Super chill and great pub next to the water. Reasonably priced. Need to try the jerk place outside!

Beers are now central London prices. Great place while it lasted but no longer for me.

A real local pub with a lively atmosphere next to the river Lea.

Great little pub on the River Lea !

Great spot by the canal, cool bartenders

Small, cosy, basic, nice fireplace. Has character. Staff not overly friendly but by no means unfriendly. Full of Irish people when I was there...not sure if that's a usual thing for that pub. Nice sitting listening to Irish accented banter! The tiny bar is cool!

Extremely dirty everywhere from the countertops to the bottles of drinks that they took out from the fridge. The inside of the pub is filthy! I can't believe people go here, the man and woman behind the bar looked so rugged and dirty too. To be honest I think the people who like this place are off their head - drunk people. And the pub was full of them anyway, they all couldn't even keep their eyes open. How can you give people disssgusstingggg dirty sticky brown dirty bottles of WATER?? All we wanted was water as we were just walking by and we literally couldn't even bare to hold the bottle. No joke I have never in my life seen something so horrible in my life!!

Nice cosy place in a beautiful neighborhood. Good ambiance and very good food. Awesome service.

As your classic London local boozers go, you would be pushed to find one more so than this. It's got a fire. It's got handpumps. It's got toilets. It's got benches looking over the River Lea. It's got a mass of housing estates facing down into it. I'm sure they have crisps. Four stars to avoid people who only go to five star pubs.

Absalootly fab and the staff are marvellous

This pub is proof that utopian anarchy is possible

I'm a local and I always wanted to visit this pub but maybe I picked the wrong day. I was walking by the canal and I surprislingly found people gathering on Christmas. After a small queue and all the people served the bartender told me it was closed and that is "f@$%@#" Christmas in a very rude way. Bad energy is not my type of energies. If this day is so important to you just stay home!

Small, quiet pub. Not too busy on a winter's Sunday afternoon. Pours one if the best Guinness in London

Great little pub, friendly regulars, open fire, best Guinness in london😁😁

Stumbled upon this place on a date. The lady at the bar was so rude and even asked my date if she was on drugs. Which she hadn't. It's run down, the toilets are appalling. As bad as the service. Won't be back. Cheap yes, but so is their service.

Local boozer on the well beaten towpath track. Great for people watching and sitting by the canal.

Absolutely great for what it is. A bar by the canal!

Warm friendly bar. Nice atmosphere.

Great atmosphere right by arrival

Great pub next to the canal. Very calm atmosphere, really enjoyed drinking a pint of beer there.

Great little pub right next to the river, great food, although no restaurant, good choice of dishes, DJs, with loud music, nice friendly people 🎶🔊

So nice now the autumn mists have arrived and the summer blowins have disappeared. Saturday nights can’t get much better, thanks to Graham, mine host and Ernest for the fire.

Nice pub on the Lea Navigation really nice in the summer

Very chilled your meet nice people

Great traditional water side pub

They must have new staff, as this was the rudest bar maid i have ever come across totally ignored me to watch tv then after a while just walked over and said "what do you want" smdh and it was not just me the next person who came in same thing no hello how can i help you it was just "what do you want"

Fabulous real ales and friendly staff and locals. And what a spot by the river..

Legendary pub. Cool old people running the pub, loyal locals, lovely weirdos and a cool friendly vibe. And you know what? People working there, don’t care if you try to kill their vibe with negative reviews so all you sensitive customers don’t be bothered and take your moaning attitude somewhere else.

Nice cozy pub in a nice location. Drinks a bit on the pricey side.

Fantastic little pub by the canal to get deep in ones cups.

Accueil sympathique, pub familial, tranquille, apparemment beaucoup d'habitués, des gens des alentours. Le propriétaire a été sympa et nous a parlé avec quelques mots en français ce qui a aidé pour la commande. Peut-être un choix léger en whisky.... mais moment sympa 😉

asked for one drink and got pushed out the pub. Not ok

A proper old school pub, no triple cooked chips, pineapple IPAs or falafel pies. A decent pint.

Good place to meet friends locally, seating outside gets busy.

Superb food and excellent friendly service - we were advised to go by our friends and did not regret it one moment

On my way home from work. I stop by occasionally for a refreshing pint. It has seating outside, right at the canal overlooking Walthamstow marshes.

Lovely pub staff and a great spot on the canal for a pint

Fantastic pint, sat outside in the sun, right by the Canal.

Absolutely Great time, sat by the river surrounded by beautiful house boat, Fantastic music, excellent staff, friendly customers fabulous vibe FULLY RECOMMEND

Good value great place to stop on canal walk

Look, never come here. Roadmen will try and run you over on mopeds. The bar staff will curse at you. The pints are extremely reasonably priced. There's loads of dogs. There are impromptu banjo battles. It's the best pub in east London. Don't risk it.

Friendly little pub by the river

Lovely little pub on the river, good ale good wine, complimentary cheese and biscuits on bar and made a fuss of our dog.

Great environment next to River Lea and super friendly staff at the bar! Loved it!! Will definitely come back :)

Every time it's summer time and time for cold beer by the canal...you guessed it...it's time for a trip to this pub. And not just any pub. It has to be the Anchor & Hope. Because you get to sit out in the sun by the canal and enjoy a lovely time breathing a fresh summer breeze and feeding your souls with nature at your feet. Literally. If you want to. I've heard some have gone for a swim. There are kayaks nearby also.

Good pub to hang by - one of the last locals in East London left!

Delicious Guinness. Nearly the best I’ve ever had.

Smashing pub, friendly landlady and a great setting. Nicely kept ales. Classic london gem of a boozer.

Two stars because the beer is relatively cheap, but that’s where all the good ends with this place. Bar woman seemed like she couldn’t be bothered and was snappish when we didn’t realise one of the taps was dry, also, if you want to sit outside you’ll be in a state of constant anxiety about the hood rats that speed past in their bikes or congregate near by just waiting to snatch a phone. I will be avoiding this place as I prefer a calm pint and not one in the edge of an estate.

Great atmosphere...in a lovely area. Had an excellent Sunday lunch, large portion...tasty food and a simply stunning dessert. Accompanied by some interesting gin cocktails a lovely afternoon.

Genial como siempre, un sitio para parar y tomar algo, excelente atención

Best unknown little Pub in East London

A small pub with a large external seating area. Beer average but views very pleasant

Very hospitable service nice peaceful scenes by the River Lea

Great potential but shocking reality. Service was offensive, graceless and aggressive. Could be drugs, could be anti-work ethic, but sufficient to have totally lost perspective of what a pub is and alarmed a lot of people. Acting as if the public are tresspassing and a harassment to you is a strong. sign….

Hackney home of Redbullsoapboxracing team.having read recently the reviews of the pub I can only agree with every positive and negative response and thank everybody for their support 😀

What can I say? It's a special spot. I hope to see you there.