BARS • First Round
I’ve lived a stone’s throw from The Palm Tree for four years now, and I’m still finding new excuses to pop down there. Maybe I’m in the mood for spellbinding live jazz, or I’m trying to show off a local icon to visitors.
Or maybe, as is often the case, I’m just thirsty. And the Palm Tree, with its cosy tables, Twin Peaks-style deep-red lighting, and convivial energy cultivated by owners who’ve been there for decades — and steadfastly refused multiple lucrative offers to sell up — is just too inviting.
The moods you’ll encounter at the Palm Tree are as varied as the reasons to visit. On a quiet afternoon or weeknight, it might just be a few local punters enjoying a drink, chatting to the bar staff, reading a newspaper, and enjoying the time-warp 1960s atmosphere of one of the city’s great ‘old man pubs’.
Come down on a weekend night, and it’s a different beast entirely. You can barely move for the arty types and hot young things who have descended on East London in the last 20 years. House band The Palm Trio (a jazz outfit with a combined age to rival Methuselah) defy any notion of growing old gracefully, whipping up a storm from the tiny corner stage, virtually nose-to-nose with the crowd but cordoned off by brass and velvet. There’s no DJ, no house or disco, but it’s still one of the liveliest nights in East London.
The Grade II listed pub on Regent’s Canal, Mile End, is not one you’re likely to just stumble across. It’s tucked away, an open secret for people who suspect any change to pub culture in the last 50 years (wine lists, small plates, shabby- chic, TV screens) was a step in the wrong direction.
With that in mind, know that it remains cash only, has a limited drink selection, and no hot food (but a solid selection of crisps). It’s all part of the magic of the Palm Tree. –David Bard
→ The Palm Tree (Mile End) • 127 Grove Rd • Daily 12p-12a.