Platform Cafe, Bar, And Terrace

Situado al este de la ciudad, el pleno corazón de Hackney. No es fácil de encontrar, se accede por un callejón tras pasar por debajo de las vías del tren. Una vez estás en la calle correcta hay que llamar a un discreto portero para poder subir. Escalinata de 2 o 3 plantas pero voilá! el sitio merece la pena. Un gran salón interior y una estupenda terraza con ambientazo. Tengo que volver.

You know, we don’t think winter gets anywhere near enough credit. Sure, the boombastic headiness of summer is easy to love, all expansive and pagan with beer swilling and arms aloft in fields. But when the parties are over and the leaves litter the ground like empty Magners cans, the whole shebang gives way to something closer and more intimate. What finer pleasure than holing up from the cold with your nearest and dearest and mulling away the hours without the relentless pleasure to get out there and “make the most of the weather”? Netil House from the outside is unremarkable; only a few splashes of colour adorning the walls hint at the activity taking place inside. In fact the building is home to over 90 studios where tattoo artists, designers, musicians, tinkers, tailors, solderers and spies (possibly) work under one roof like a big, talented family. It also houses event spaces, a Saturday market, a roof terrace and the jewel in the crown, the Platform Bar. The entrance to the bar is tucked away down the alley by the railway bridge. Being invited down a dark alley usually signals impending arrival of something amazing or terrible. Here the suspense is broken by the sight of two bouncers who guard a nondescript door and warmly usher you inside. Once upstairs you find yourself in a long open space housing a kitchen and bar on one side and tall windows giving views of the city on the other. The furniture is the sort of ramshackle collection you might see at a student flat; a rag tag bunch of well loved sofas, kitchen tables, orphan chairs and pot plants. We drank a couple of beers and debated whether it would be better to come here during the day to wile away the hours drinking coffee and eating the croissants (apparently made with love by an ex-city big cheese who jacked it all in for the pastry game), or to visit at night and settle in with the cosy lighting, atmospheric views and occasional drama of the passing train lights. As the bar filled up we were distracted from this by the sound of Milly Blue, who with a ukulele and a gold tooth sang whimsical songs of love and rooks before ending on a cover of Beyonce’s Sweet Dreams, built entirely from some 8 looped samples that she sang or hummed. As the night moved on and more bands took to the stage, the bar was a happy throng of yooping and laughter and some fine bedroom dancing.There’s something about the crowd at Netil House, the palpable lack of pretension and sense of community here creates a duvet like cosiness. As the days get colder and the nights draw in we think we’ll be making full use of it…