Mr & Mrs Smith

On Sundays, make sure you wander down to Columbia Road for some bartering with East End traders at the flower market. Shoppers will love Spitalfields, which opens on Thursdays for antiques and vintage, Fridays for fashion and art, and Sundays for everything. Combine a curry with searching for second-hand clothing on a trip to Brick Lane. If you’ve brought children along, take them to Hackney City Farm (www.hackneycityfarm.co.uk) to spy on the array of donkeys, turkeys and pigs. Something of a local legend, Caravan at 3 Redchurch Street (+44 (0)20 7033 3532; www.caravanstyle.com)  serves up an eclectic mix of ‘beautiful things’ – from knick-knacks to furniture, lighting to books.

Pop next door to the Tea Building for pizza courtesy of Pizza East (+44 (0)20 7729 1888; www.pizzaeast.com), a converted warehouse restaurant with classic (mozzarella and tomato) and unusual (cheese-less with prawns) takes on the Italian favourite. Meat fans will find a second home at the Hoxton Grill on Great Eastern Street (+44 (0)20 7739 9111; www.hoxtongrill.com) and some of the finest steak in town at Hawksmoor (+44 (0)20 7247 7392; www.thehawksmoor.co.uk) on Commerical Street and at Buen Ayre (+44 (0)20 7275 9900; www.buenayre.co.uk) on Broadway Market. The restaurant at The Boundary hotel (+44 (0)20 7729 1051; www.theboundary.co.uk) serves up charcuterie, oysters and rotisserie-cooked fare. While you’re here, visit the Albion café and food store on the ground floor too. For dinner-time entertainment provided by lip-synching ladies (of the transvestite variety), head to Bistrotheque (+44 (0)20 8983 7900; www.bistrotheque.com) in Bethnal Green.

Call in to Callooh Callay (+44 (0)20 7739 4781; www.calloohcallaybar.com) on Rivington Street for some finely mixed cocktails, including punch served in a gramophone. Round the corner, try Lounge Bohemia (+44 (0)7720 707000) on Great Eastern Street for basement-based Eastern European drinks. At the Commercial Tavern (+44 (0)20 7377 8455) down the road on Commerical Street, sip from tumblers and admire the chandeliers. For an impressive inventory of Czech beers and classic cocktails, settle in among the exposed brick walls of Prague (+44 (0)20 7339 9110; www.barprague.com) on Kingsland Road. Loungelover is a cocktail bar spilling out from quirky restaurant Les Trois Garcons (www.lestroisgarcons.com), for refined after-dinner drinks in eccentric baroque and art deco surroundings.

Night owls should check out the events list at live music venue Cargo (+44 (0)20 7739 3440; www.cargo-london.com), on Rivington Street in Shoreditch.