For architect, DJ and content creator Reece Davey, Shoreditch is more than just a neighbourhood – it’s part of his family history. With roots in Hoxton, he’s spent years getting to know its streets, buildings and hidden gems. We welcomed Reece and three of his pals to stay in our connecting rooms at The Hoxton, Shoreditch, for a weekend of old favourites, new discoveries, breakfast in bed and a little time to catch up. Here’s his guide to our neighbourhood.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your connection to our Shoreditch neighbourhood.
I’m Reece: architectural historian, content creator, DJ, and professional person-who-points-at-buildings. Shoreditch is right next door to my ancestral home! My dad’s side lived in Hoxton (or ‘Oxton, as they’d say, sorry Nan), and my nan and her three sisters grew up round the corner from what’s now the Museum of the Home. One of the sisters was called Moggy. Mog for short! So it runs in the family!
“East London is layered like a good ogre or lasagne: Georgian squares, Victorian workhouses, and giant new developments from postmodernism through to high tech, all stacked on top of each other. You never run out of things to look at.”
Shoreditch is full of hidden gems. Where’s the first place you’d take a friend visiting?
The art scene in Shoreditch is tucked away, but it’s so fab when you find the right spots. I saw a Christo retrospective on Princelet Street, or if there isn’t a pop-up, Raven Row hits every time. It’s a free art space hiding in two old East End houses! Then noodles at Xi’an Biang Biang down towards Whitechapel, or Bun House Disco or Hoko Cafe near Brick Lane, and we finish at Llama Inn with a Pisco sour, my favourite cocktail. Stunning!
With a background in architecture and design, are there any buildings, spaces or interiors in East London that you particularly vibe with?
Arnold Circus makes me feel so calm, even on the busiest of days. It’s the heart of the Boundary Estate, the world’s first council estate! It’s gorgeous red brick, big ideas, and a bandstand on a raised garden in the middle like the cherry on top. I did one of my first architecture work experiences in Shoreditch and spent my lunch breaks there. Full disclosure: some of those “lunch plans” were me walking round Shoreditch playing Pokémon Go (it was an era)! East London is layered like a good ogre or lasagne: Georgian squares, Victorian workhouses, and giant new developments from postmodernism through to high tech, all stacked on top of each other. You never run out of things to look at.
You and your pals stayed in our connecting rooms at Hox Shoreditch. What’s your idea of the perfect weekend away with your mates?
Dinner at Llama Inn – the ceviche was unreal, and we ordered the corn and the sweet potato fries twice because they were the best we’ve ever had. Then a proper boozer (Nan would be proud), beigels delivered to the room, and then something to shake off the Piscos in the morning – a sauna and cold plunge at Sauna & Plunge worked a charm! I’m a cold-water girlie; the sauna is a work in progress. Then an architecture walk, which my friends will tell you was “one more building” too many (they’re wrong), and some shopping down Brick Lane. The Brick Lane Bookshop has the best recommendations! Oh, and breakfast in bed was my favourite bit. Four of us piled into one bed with Bambini breakfast and the telly on. A bit silly, a lot of fun!! The connecting rooms turn the whole thing into a grown-up sleepover: two bathrooms, room to get ready together, door open all night. It’s perfect for the gays and the girls!!
How has your relationship with Shoreditch changed over the years?
Shoreditch was the first bit of London I was let loose in as a teenager, back before even Westfield Stratford existed. I was about 14, out with an older family friend, wearing a school shirt I’d cut the sleeves off and studded the collar on myself (yeah, I know). I felt SO grown up! My London is much bigger now, but Shoreditch still feels familiar, even though it’s changed so much. That’s the bit the historian in me loves! East London has gone from some of the poorest streets in the country to million-pound houses that once held five families each (mine, to be precise). Cities aren’t fixed; they’re living things: people leave, people come back, and buildings get second and third lives. Shoreditch is one of the most interesting places to see that happening, and the beigels are FAB!
Fancy a Shoreditch sleepover of your own? Book your stay at The Hoxton, Shoreditch with our connecting rooms made for bringing your favourite people along.
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