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Where to cycle and eat in East London

Now’s the time to explore the city on two wheels. With brilliant storage facilities and a Brompton Bike dock in the neighbourhood, Broadgate is the perfect pitstop for east London cycle routes.

With our open-air coffee shops and restaurants such as Eataly’s cafes, Beany Green, Grind and Mrs Fogg’s Dockside Drinkery & Distillery, you can book breakfast, lunch and dinner as part of the journey and safely store your bike nearby. See our handy guide below. 

Hire a bike for the day

Not got your own bike? Brompton Bike has hire lockers across the city so you can wheel around on a design classic; pick one up from our dock on Sun Street. Simply go to bromptonbikehire.com to register and hire a folding bike  – it’s either an annual fee of £5 and £10 a day to hire or an annual fee of £20 and £5 a day to hire. You can find out which other bike lockers are open on the Brompton Bike website. It’s perfect for folding and storing if you stop for a coffee or lunch and don’t have a lock.

You can also pick up a Santander Cycle. Simply download TfL’s Santander Cycles app or go to any docking station terminal with your bank card and touch the screen to get started. There’s no need to book, you simply hire the bike, ride it, then return it to any docking station in London.

Best cycle routes around east London

One of the most famous and scenic bike routes across east London is the Regent’s Canal starting at our sister neighbourhood of Paddington Central right down to Limehouse Basin. Wherever you are along the route (it runs through major landmarks including Regent’s Park, King’s Cross and Old Ford Lock), it’s an incredibly fun way to see London. For easy access from the route to Broadgate’s cafes and restaurants simply come off the canal at Colebrook Row and join the Cycle Superhighway 1 at Old Street to come directly down to Broadgate. 

To join a jaw-dropping route along the Thames, you can cycle 10 minutes from Broadgate down to Southwark and join the 27km (16.8 mile) Thames Cultural bike tour which is a circular route that takes you along the riverside out to Greenwich, Mudchute, Canary Wharf, Bankside, The Old Vic and back again. With long stretches of traffic-free paths, it’s a truly wonderful ride that takes you past some of the city’s most iconic landmarks and cultural sights (from Samuel Pepys’ house to the Tower of London).

Then you can pop your bike back at Broadgate and enjoy dinner at one of Broadgate Circle’s acclaimed restaurants surrounded by evening heaters and at-table service. From sourdough pizza at Franco Manca and dim sum at Yauatcha City across Broadgate Circle via the newly arrived Neat Burgers and NEST to Baraka’s sweeping terrace and Bar Douro’s sharing plates, we’ve got a host of friendly spots to book. 

A 15-minute bike ride from Broadgate up through Whitehall will take you to one of east London’s most beautiful parks – Victoria Park – and from there you can easily access Hackney Marshes and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park which are perfect for picnics on sunny days. Order from one of Broadgate’s inspired food places (Farmer J and Beany Green do incredibly tasty lunches) and head off into some of London’s most beautiful green spaces. Or if your legs are feeling tired – take a well-earned break in Exchange Square’s new green space.

Keep your bike safe

There are a number of places to leave your bikes in and around the Broadgate neighbourhood, including extra temporary provisions in Sun Street. There are over 100 folding down bicycle racks on platform 10 and 1 row within Liverpool Street Station, with a double rack on Bishopsgate Piazza. Happy cycling!

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Last updated Thursday 5 October, 2023