The Proud Archivist

Je suis plutôt fan de ce pub/​resto caché en bord de canal. J’avais eu la chance de participer à une soirée jeux de société Unilocalesque en bonne compagnie et l’ambiance chaleureuse de l’endroit m’avait déjà vraiment plu.
L’endroit est sur deux niveaux et fait très aéré, grand. On n’est pas les uns sur les autres grace à de très grandes et longues tables en bois. On peut y venir en groupe, il y a largement la place pour ⁸⁄₁₀ personnes à une table. Les murs sont rempli de livres cool à lire, il y a plusieurs jeux à disposition et boissons et nourritures en quantité sur le menu.
C’est un petit peu plus cher que votre pub de base mais on s’en sort facilement avec des plats entre £10 et £15. J’ai pu tester des macaroni aux 3 fromages (bon, copieux et parfumé). Niveau boisson il n’y a pas de brunes (amateurs de guiness passez votre chemin) mais quelques choix en pression pour les plus claires.
Nous y sommes allez en semaine, le soir et il n’y avait pas grand monde, donc plutôt sympa quand vous êtes nombreux et voulez vous entendre parler ! Attention par contre, le service est un peu brouillon et à l’étage on a tendance à vous oublier.

I can only imagine trying to categorise this venue on Unilocal was a total b*tch, as it’s pretty much everything and anything. Gallery, hire venue, café, bar, yoga studio… There’s a lot of things on offer here and it’s commendable.
For me personally though, it tries too hard to do it all and is somewhat pricey for the area, and if you come here for a drink there’s nothing in particular to pick this place above others.
Go for sure if it’s a nice day by the canal or you need a good workspace etc. But for drinks and food? Try somewhere else!

Love love love this place! It’s a gallery, no wait — it’s a restaurant, nooo it’s a bar, no I’ve got it! It’s definitely a theatre!
The truth is, The Proud Archivist is anything you want it to be. You can hire it out for an event, you can go along for a nice cup of tea or a seriously good cocktail, you can even go and check out the latest upcoming film/​art/​comedy — it really is the venue of all tricks and trades.
Having personally met the owner, Hector, a few times now — I can honestly say he’s one of the most enthusiastic venue owners I have ever met (and I’ve met a lot). His passion and vision for TPA being a venue of culture and inspiration is undeniable and you honestly believe that when you’re there.
In addition, it’s located in Haggerston (yes, it’s East! Don’t moan!) by the canal which is just wonderful in summer!
A real must.
A few pointers:
1. Sadly it shuts at 10:30pm so don’t think you’ll be having a late one.
2. The bar staff can be a tad slow at times but they’re working on it.
3. Definitely check out their multi-​coloured light room if you can — who wouldn’t want a room that changes colours?!
4. Want a unique location for an open event. The Library is the spot for you.

Really love the location as it’s right off the canal so views are lovely and has a relaxed atmosphere. I went to a Unilocal event here but came early with a friend for a drink on the side terrace. Nice selection of drinks alcoholic and non. I had fresh squeezed lemonade which may have been a seasonal special as it came out of a big jug with a tap (reminded me of the states). Service was friendly although not super speedy. On the terrace were benched tables which seemed a bit big for the space and quite awkward to get in and out of — apart from that the breeze in this area and spot was perfect for an after work catch up.
Upstairs there was a library theme with shelves organised by colour — it was nice. I had steak and chips which hit the spot perfectly (good portions) and the steak was nice quality. The chocolate cake came with a fruity cream/​sorbet and it was delicious.

Awesome place to visit along the canal — great view and nice décor. This place is a bit confusing to find but a pretty walk along the canal.
I was greeted by friendly staff and seated as it wasn’t too busy. White wine was good and managed 3 courses which were all good — starter & mains were the best. Beautiful presentation and efficient service. Delicious asparagus and egg starter, gorgeously cooked rib eye and chips and to finish a chocolate fondant which was a little dry.
Would definitely return as they seem to hold interesting events. Their brunch menu also looks to die for!

Having read so many reviews from trusted Unilocalers, I was keen to visit the TPA myself as their star rating varied greatly.
I was here for a Unilocal event, but arrived early so that I could check the TPA out for myself. It is set off the Kingsland Road directly on the edge of the canal. It’s a very modern spacious loft looking type of bar, that also acts a bistro/​restaurant/​gallery. They seem to have lots of things going on most nights of the week. There were plenty of areas and rooms that can be used for private venues, including a large gallery upstairs. Our party of 30 manage to sit and dine comfortably in the gallery space with plenty of room to spare.
It appeared that they are focused on cocktails, with a limited selection of draft beers. I went for a pint of Brahma, a Brazilian beer that I first encounted in Rio. It was nice and cold. It was a ltlle shy of £5, so not on the cheap side. The outdoor bar area appeared to be closed, so I sat outside by the canal. Very nice. The staff were plentyful and helpful. I’m not sure about the unisex toilet though.
The food was very good. I had three courses and enjoyed all of them. They make a really good burger, which was big enough for me not to complete.
The TPA has a nice atmosphere. I should imagine it is rammed at the weekends though.

What a great place, the location is fantastic just along the canal and around the corner from the ever so trendy Kingsland Road, it is a little hard to find but well worth it especially in the sunshine.
The space inside is really good, it has an upstairs section that it uses for events (I was part of the Unilocal event), the bad thing is although they can section off the upstairs, there are no bathrooms up there so you have to go around the bar (but that’s not a big deal). The food was good, the linguine was a little on the bland side, but the cheese on it was really tasty and I loved the Eton Mess, it was the perfect summer dessert.
Although my first time here, this is only 25 mins from my work so will definitely be heading back again to sample more of their drinks menu.

Hier hätte ich auch den ganzen Tag arbeiten können. Nur das wunderschöné Wetter an dem Nachmittag zog mich dann doch noch nach draußen. Sonst hat man hier alles, was man braucht: ein ziemlich tolles Pancake-​Frühstück, diverse Kaffeespezialitäten, Sandwiches und Salate zum Mittag, viel Platz im oberen Bereich, um es sich mit Laptop & Co bequem zu machen, Steckdosen, stabiles Internet. Man sitzt in lichtdurchfluteten Räumen mit Blick auf den Kanal und lässt es sich gut gehen. Der Service kann mal auf sich warten lassen, aber da ich eh beschäftigt war, war das weniger ein Problem. Mir hat’s gefallen und ich wünschte, wir hätten mehr von solchen Läden in Hamburg.

Great location alongside the canal, this a laid back hip place to go grab a coffee or a bite to eat. This is one for trendsters and the cool crowd, a nice bright open space with work stations so you can set up your own office here and some bench areas outside. The prices definitely go to match and the service can be a bit haphazard.

I really like the place. Came with friends for lunch and the weather happened to be the most beautiful London day this year, so perhaps that altered my perception of the Proud Archivist. Or it could have been the nice conversation with friends, who knows? But the location on the canal is dreamy.
The lunch menu had a range from burgers to brunch type options, depending on what time you rolled out of bed and how much you feel like eating in the mid afternoon. Really yummy homemade lemonade is a must while my friend enjoyed her mojito.
We had great service. And I love how they hold artistic events in the restaurant and post events happening in the area. I love the creative vibe. Though the one thing where I did a double take was that the male & female toilets are in the same room, except that the stalls are designated. That may be off putting for some, though when I was there, I never saw a guy in there.
Nice place, I thought it was adorable and I would go back!

Pros: location on the canal. Decent coffee.
Cons: terrible service. Took longer pay than to drink my espresso. Literally watched people leave bc service was so slow.
Too bad poor service ruins such a nice spot.

It’s a mixed feeling I have for this place. The canal affords it a riparian advantage not a lot of other watering holes can match. It’s a good place to bring someone who doesn’t have a lot of canal experience. But the drinks aren’t especially cheap, and for the money, on a casual summer evening, why not just bring your own?
Also putting me off was the strange girl who… it seemed… was trying to hawk a mobile phone app? She sort of looked like she was working there, but not really because she wasn’t taking orders, just asking if we’d used the app yet. Very strange.

Nice place ruined with a really slow and bad service.
The waitresses are going around without idea of what they are doing.

This place could have such potential. It’s a gorgeously large space, overlooking the canal. What’s there not to love? But my advice on a sunny day in Haggerston is not to go inside, but instead head to the nearest off licence, grab a bottle and sit on the banks by the canal outside the Proud Archivist. The whole experience would be less frustrating for you.
Sorry to give a moany review but there’s so much to moan about here. And I wanted to like it, I really did.
Service took an age. Inexplicable as there weren’t that many people waiting at the bar. I was told when I finally was met with a server that maybe I should sit down and try table service instead as it would be quicker, which made no sense being at the front of the bar at that point.
On a second occasion after waiting for another crazily long time, the waitress took my order, then spent a painful ten minutes looking for a specific bottle of wine in the fridge. Only to realise after that it was not my order she was preparing, instead she’s completely forgotten it and is now putting the dishes away.
On top of that we were told there were no cocktails available. Only one person knows how to make them and he’s sick. Also no one knew how to use the Cake bill splitting app, that they have available for online payment. And lastly the food menu is just too expensive for what is essentially a bar and not a posh restaurant. £14 for a burger and £8 for a starter isn’t appropriate. They need more bar snacks and light bites on their menus. Alas there weren’t even any nachos that Baya C recommended so heartily in her review.
I have to add in the interest of fairness, that it was one of the server’s first days in the job. But to be honest as Colleen C puts it, it feels like it’s a perpetual first day for The Proud Archivist. It gets two stars because of its looks. I’d love for it to redeem itself, and get better as it could be a lovely canal side spot. So prove me wrong TPA and improve.

I live around the corner from this place and have been many times for food and drinks. I always come back hoping it will have improved, but it is always a disappointment, so this will probably be my last visit now.
The location on the canal is lovely and they have lots of events, including Russell Brand’s weekly talks which I’ve been to.
They are very good at marketing themselves on social media — but it is not the reality. The amount of times I have seen something on Twitter or Instagram and then go in to the Proud Archivist only to find the staff have no idea what I’m talking about, or they’re not serving that dish, or Yolk (amazing breakfast pop up in the kitchen) aren’t actually here today, is a joke. Most of the staff in general, seem to lack any knowledge or basic training.
There are so many great bars and restaurants in Haggerston, go somewhere else. At least until this place pulls it’s act together.

Have long been a fan of The Proud Archivist — mostly for the incredible use of space (it doubles up as a yoga studio/​gallery/​theatre space!) and because the communal tables make it a great place to hang out with friends.
I’ve had delicious food there (lunch is all about generous portions of freshly tossed salads and breakfast or brunch gives way to the perfectly cooked eggs benedict and pastries), but service can be (and usually is) quite slow. It’s great for weekends if you’re relaxing and hanging around, but not if you’re hangry and in a rush!

Ok, so that one perfect day I had on location at TPA? An outlier. A 5-​star outlier that I’ve not been able to achieve again.
I’ve been back 3x since and each and every time the service is so scattered it’s barely passable. What is the deal here guys? It feels like opening day, yet it’s far from it.
The space is so beautiful and gorgeous, and yet in almost every other facet it falls short. It’s like they are all shocked when people show up to eat. Everyone seems overwhelmed and unorganized.
The brunch menu is super short (now that the Yolk pop-​up has passed) and boring. I expect better from a café of this calibre. I can get better food at much smaller places and with better service. The porridge and bap were both cold on arrival and my coffee never arrived, but showed up on the bill. Please don’t forget my coffee (after being reminded twice) then put it on the bill where I then have to awkwardly ask you to remove it. Seriously — amateur hour over here, on repeat.
I just can’t. It was probably my last visit today. TPA is like a really attractive person with very little going on upstairs.

TPA is super blah, and I don’t use the word blah lightly.
The lunchtime food selection is tiny and pricey and takes forever and a half to get done.
Like, I have excel sheets to finish people.

Tasty but slow, at least when busy.
This place has an enviable location on Regent’s Canal between Hoxton and Dalston, with a large and interesting industrial space. We showed up on a Saturday hoping for a small lunch, but only the brunch menu was being served, so no sandwiches or small bites. The place was packed.
We ordered anyway, and the resulting one-​egg benedict was very good and the French Toast was delicious. This is a good thing, because it took about 35 minutes to arrive, which almost knocked this review down to 3 stars. There were a variety of staff wandering around, but it was difficult to tell whom we should be dealing with. The server who eventually helped us was very pleasant, though.
We’re moving very close by soon, so I’m sure we’ll be back, and we’ll see if the next visit brings the average up or down. I also have to try the coffee to see whether it warrants addition to my London Coffee list.

Type The Proud Archivist’s postcode into your phone and it will lure you into a big black hole.
We tried to find it on a Friday. No luck.
We returned on the Saturday and, with a little more perseverance, we finally found it. Jolly glad we did as well. Loved the place so much, we came back again the very next day.
It’s a beautiful space, very modern, with various areas — for eating, drinking, foosball, perusing their art exhibitions, catching some comedy or even a film screening. We went along for the Out of This World Weekender in December, where we caught a bunch of super cool sci-​fi movies. It was a great introduction to the venue.
I’m looking forward to going back in the summer — The Proud Archivist sits along the canal and has beautiful views that I’m sure will only be improved by a spot of sunshine. Come and join us!
And so you don’t have to spend an age wandering the streets like we did, making sure you check out these directions…

I cycle past the Proud Archivist so I was able to watch it get built up. They’ve got a great location right on the canal.
They’ve got a nice local feel. In the early mornings they have newspapers and coffee to go with your brekkie. They encourage people to come in and work from there with lots of space for laptops, etc. They have high ceilings and a loft area at the top with more dining space.
One of my favourite parts of the Proud Archivist is that they have various exhibits in their exhibition room. During the Summer, for example, they had every single trading card sticker on display of the World Cup teams from the past. Was really cool. They also had a paper previously which was quite cool to see the various creations on display.
I haven’t been here for food yet but have come here for drinks. They’ve got a full bar with many beers on tap. In the Summer, they had a milkshake bar during the day and a hot chocolate bar at night. Definitely would go again.

Being everything to everyone seldom works for an independent business, but it’s surely worked in The Proud Archivist’s favor.
This attractive venue on Regent’s Canal is a restaurant/​bar/​gallery/​event & workshop space that intrigues rather than intimidates, designed with a flow of space that makes sense. TPA’s vibe is casual hipster, fitting perfectly with its Haggerston surroundings.
I went for the 1^st time today with a friend on lovely, warm and sunny Sunday afternoon. We went for drinks and snagged an al fresco table next to the canal (that’s why you came, yes?.) The modern, creative atmosphere, the well-​selected music, the stylish clientele, the gorgeous view of Regent’s Canal, the prime East End people-​watching— it all worked wonderfully.
I was a bit stunned that many reviews on Unilocal and Time Out weren’t as flattering… then I realized the gripes were with the food and service (I didn’t have the food, and to prevent spoiling my adoration for this place, probably won’t).
This is one of my new favorites.
[Easy to find: once you spot the canal area outside of Haggerston Station, keep straight and you’ll see it on the right, immediately after a small– and pretty– basin area.]