The Palm Tree

Good beer, pleasant enough staff. Prices what you’d expect nowadays in the area so not cheap but not breaking banks either. The dark interior with red lighting does give an atmosphere but it’s small and often tricky to get a seat. If you’re walking through the park then ideal to pop in but didn’t feel it warranted a journey in and of itself

As we walked towards the Palm Tree, my friend began imitating a horror story soundtrack. Fittingly so. On the beautiful sunny day in the park the Palm Tree looked like something straight out of a Allen-​Poe short story, and the fear of murder and mugging was on our minds.
«Doesn’t look like the kind of place that takes card”
It didn’t. And the nearest cash point was a good ten-​minute walk.
The barman was friendly enough, but in the dimly-​lit Victorian décor the regulars looked as if they were contemplating smashing our heads against the velvet chairs for breaking the dull silence filling the room.
It was pretty enough, though old, it had a kind of antique feel which gave it a special brand of charm and would be lovely if the atmosphere wasn’t quite so on-​edge.
The location seems perfect; right next to the ‘nice-​bit’ of Victoria park, with the pond and the river and the mini-​play park. But it’s runned-​down-​ness and awkward atmosphere made it a little too nerve-​wracking to be comfortable. Certainly not somewhere to visit late at night– a six foot drunk decided to become our new friend and tried to follow us the minute we stepped outside of the pub. But if you fancy somewhere for a quiet pint during the day-​time with a book? And you’re brave?
Why Not :)
NOTE This review was during the late-​afternoon/​early evening so forgive me if i’ve missed the hidden charm of the place during the later hours.

One of the best East London pubs. A wonderful sound is their cash register as it rings out on a busy Friday or Saturday night! Fairly difficult to get served when busy however, but the selection of drinks and the company you have at this pub make up for it.
Perfectly place on the canal between mile end and victoria park, it’s like a fortress in the middle of nowhere. A proper east end pub! Not to be missed.
I moved to mile end because of this very pub.

Dimly lit pub a five minute walk off the main Mile End Road, this place catches you off-​guard at first especially if you arrive before the music starts. The décor is slightly shabby but that just adds to it’s charm, as you forage for a stool to cram around the few tables made available. Be sure to visit the cash point as you’ll only be met with a Victorian style till behind the bar, as well as the chirpy owner who made us feel very welcome.
Only been in the winter but looking forward to visiting in the spring to make the most out of the green outside. Bet it gets rammed then.
Prices are ok, not cheap, not shocking. Atmosphere is chilled and friendly, followed by loud and bouncy when they get the band in later on Friday/​Saturday nights.

Well this place is tucked away isn’t it? I never knew it was here despite living close by but will sometimes stop by after climbing at Mile End Wall. I’ve never sat inside but the whole affair is very dated, pork scratching, ridged crisps. All of that gives it great character and really makes you feel like you’re in the East End. The lovely older bar staff are good for a chat and cheeky laugh.
Whenever I’m here, we grab our pints in a plastic cup and sit outside on the lawn. Prices are London and for what you pay the place could be nicer but nothing beats getting your cold pint and the freedom to to walk out and basically go wherever you’d like with your booze.

Great Pub with lovely ambiente and a gorgeous blues band playing all night long.

I have to give them one star but I would actually give them a big, fat, massive zero. It’s the only pub in my life where I’ve been refused tap water this was completely irresponsible, and also completely illegal. Shame on them! Why would you not let a customer have a glass of water? I just don’t understand! The bar staff were also very, very rude, and I was manhandled and told to leave by the landlord when I tried to argue my case as I’m such an intimidating young woman that I need force used against me by a middle aged man because I dare to ask for some of their free, readily available water that comes out of a tap. I didn’t want to stay in their awful pub anyway, I was utterly disgusted that they would refuse someone the right to quench their thirst. What about people with health issues, pregnant women etc? I will never go back there, and will make sure no one I know goes there either. avoid at all costs!

One of my favorite pubs in the East End. I will always recall fond memories of being at the Palm Tree, especially on sunny days sitting outside along the canal. Friendly staff, excellent beer selection, a great atmosphere and awesome crowd that frequents this place.

This is such a unique venue in the park. I can see why qype has been pushing me to come here for a while now. Was pleased to find Brewdog Trashy blonde on the bar too! The service is incredibly slow. On a weekend evening, just one bloke doing lap after lap round the central bar, serving both rooms. I guess this is why he refuses to serve a glass of tapwater but I thought places were legally required to do so. and we were buying two beers as well!

I just returned from London, where I was studying abroad at Queen Mary University for a month, and every time I close my eyes and the memories flow it is not the intricate carvings of Westminster Abbey that I see, nor the dirty River Thames nor the lions of Trafalgar Square. No, it is The Palm (Tree): a magical oasis of a place, set right in the middle of Mile End Park. My friends and I stumbled across this bar one night– as if it had risen from the earth– and it wasn’t until we opened the door and stepped into the plush interior that we could be sure it was real. It’s a rich place, like something out of early 1900s France, dripping in red and gold. The beer is decently priced, nothing too cheap, but the service is great (Paul, the bartender, has a heart-​melting smile), and the atmosphere unbeatable. On certain nights (Thurs. and Fri., I believe), they have live jazz music set in a tiny little corner, and on other nights it’s the perfect low-​key spot to sip a pint.

As you walk through the park this odd little pub appears like a mirage. Standing proudly on it’s own in the middle of Mile End Ecology Park, The Palm Tree is a quirky joy. There are two sides to the bar and two entrances making it feel intimate and cosy.
As all the other have said, it’s a gem, fab décor and apparently live music on nights. This is a pub, pub, don’t expect food, they don’t take card and the service is a little surly. Never the less, I still like it. Even after charging me over a fiver for a glass of house red!

In the running for one of my absolute favourite pubs in London (and definitely among the East End best). It’s a merry if low key place with a comfortable old school boozer vibe. It’s also set on the canal with a wide open grassy place around it making it ideal for summer evenings.
Go on Fridays for live entertainment and sing-​along Sinatra!

A relic from a bygone era in the most amazing way. Val at the bar, old 50’s till, pelmet over the bar. No cards accepted basic pub drinks. Great music. Full of old couples an youn hipsters.
Great for hanging out by the canal in the summer.
Features in Paolo Nutini Video for «Coming Up Easy»
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Gold wallpaper + red velvet + cute little old men singing and playing jazz who will shamelessly yet uncreepily flirt with 20-​some-​year-​old girls = the Palm Tree.
Always filled with locals, everyone is always having such a good time, and the owners seem so awesome. Pretty much extremely crowded every time I’ve been there, but you can just do what I do if it gets a bit much — bring my own alcohol and hang out in the park/​by the canal until it’s time to jive to some live jazz. Or just get there a bit early to secure some space until it’s time to jive and flirt with these old men.

I knew I had been to this place before as we headed ever closer.
As far back as 1999 I had come for an annual Beer and Barge trip which that year was starting at the Palm Tree. It looked amazing then if not run down and had a different type of clientèle. Proper local people who were engaging and wanted to know of what we were exactly up to as we were strangers in their midst.
For our part it had been selected as a place for good beer (according to the CAMRA expert on the trip) and that was where we were going to start this years trip.
I certainly never forgot the place and now here I was about to enter it some ten years later on a Friday evening.
Being in the park near the canal where it is clear a LOT of regeneration of the area had been going on since I last came, small groups of people were chilling out on the grass whilst enjoying the music being played off a portable CD deck.
From inside the sounds of a lively jazz band was playing. Inside, under the warm red glow of amber light bulbs you felt a rush of warmth as you smiled at the scene greeting you as a now young cool urban crowd mixed with an older crowd sat around and talked animatedly.
It wasn’t at all packed particularly for a Friday which made a welcome change. The adjoining smaller bar was quieter though I think most of the seats had been nicked to the other bar.
As others have said here, it has incredible wallpaper and scent of a proper east-​end boozer.
I’m reluctant to write this review as I don’t want it to become popular and lose its charm.
For me, I had one of those evenings which made me feel I wanted to move back to London. Just for this.

I have a friends who plays darts in a local pub in Tottenham, and he invited me to go watch him play in Mile end, I accepted as I had nothing else to do, so we headed to the Palm Tree.
From outside, the pub looks as if no work has been done for years, but still charming as it is quite old and these buildings are not a common site anymore. Its kind of a weird name for a pub, I didn’t see any palm trees in there and nor were there pictures of palm trees on the walls.
I sat there for a while and watched my mate loose a match of darts, what a boring game, but I had my good friend beer to keep me company and it wasn’t at too much of an expense, its really cheap in here.
I got the impression that it’s a local’s pub, it works with the community and has teams like the darts to get their punters involved with the pub, and that’s alywas a good thing. I doubt I will ever be going here again, but for what it’s worth, it’s a nice pub, vitage!

The Palm Tree is by far the best pub in Mile End. It is such a surreal, strange and beautiful place. The fact that it is located in an eco forest makes it even quirkier.
It probably has more character than any other pub in the area. Its dim lighting and kitschy design really make it what it is. It really feels like you have stepped back in time when you go in there.
There is usually one staff member on at a time. Patience is really something you need at this place, as even when they get busy, the man behind the bar just potters around at his own speed. I actually find that quite charming.
On the weekend, they have a jazz band that play on a tiny stage. It really is worth coming down to check it out. Just remember to be patient.

I stumbled across this little gem in the summer when I was fancying a Sunday afternoon drink. Walking into the Palm Tree was like stepping back in time, especially after being so used to the so called Gastro pubs which populate the increasingly gentrified areas of the East End. This old boozer is certainly not trying to prove anything, keeping the décor unchanged, save for the occasional new photograph joining the rest of the eye catching pictures, which fill the walls throughout the pub.
When I last went on a Sunday evening, a three piece jazz band played in the corner, made up of three old guys who looked like they’d been playing there for years. The pub was filled with a wonderful mix of the older locals dancing to the music, as well as the typical younger, fashionable hackney lot.
The palm tree seems to be a pub that won’t change with the times, and is better for it. The dim red lights, musty coloured wall paper and the empty ashtrays which are still left on the tables, add to the ambiance. Definitely a pub to go back to.

It may look like the house from Psycho but the Palm tree offers one of the warmest atmospheres of any East-​End drinking spot. It basks in its jazzy history and prides itself on its famous and not so famous clientele — including one Mr Jim Bowen of Bullseye fame. Everything about this place is rooted in the past; from the salt ‘n’ shake crisps to the ancient cash till that does that little ring when it opens. I love it like I love an ancient relative who still dances at weddings.
The whole place is lit up like a brothel in an alluring red glow that draws you in like a moth. The interior is cozy and cluttered with interesting pictures and photos to draw the eye. The Palm Tree offers regular entertainment from live bands and though the majority of customers are certainly of the elder variety there’s still a very fun element to this place.
Definitely one for those lazy Sunday afternoons and quiet weekday evenings.

The Palm Tree is one of the most unique pubs I have come across in London so far. Firstly it’s location, it’s hidden away in the middle of Mile End Ecology Park beside the canal.
Secondly the interior, It’s obvious the owners care a lot about the place as a lot of time and care has gone into keeping this place looking so good, it looks quite theatrical with red curtains and gold wallpaper, which i love.
Last but not least the atmosphere here is fantastic. The first time i came here was a Friday night and there was a Jazz trio playing some awesome jazz, I got asked to dance by an OAP, which made my night! really!