Pond Dalston

I came to Pond to meet friends for drinks at the cocktail bar there. Confessedly, I spend a significant portion of my time in cocktail bars in Hackney, and Manhattans Project, which has recently occupied the bar in Pond, is up there with the best of them. The drinks menu is fun and creative without crossing over into the murky realm of hipster douchebaggery, mostly thanks to an apparent grounding in the classics - the flight of Manhattans in particular giving evidence of that. I found the service to be friendly and informal - exactly how I like it. It was fun and (dare I say) educational to chat to the bartender as he made our drinks, taking into account personal tastes and even giving us occasional samples of new drinks they're trying out. This was great - I imagine you want kind of service it might be best to go on a weeknight like we did, when the place is obviously a bit quieter. I've been back several times since and will be again.