Visited Spitalfields Market? Bought yourself lots of overpriced handmade jewellery and second hand ‘vintage’ clothing? Sick of being walked into, trodden on or glared at? If you’re finding yourself veering towards answering in the affirmative then I’d imagine that you need a drink.

The Golden Heart is a usefully located pub just on the corner of Commercial Street and Hanbury Street, right opposite the market. The original frontage is complemented now by a giant neon ‘Truman’s’ sign leaving little doubt as to what brewery this bar owes its allegiance to. Being a relatively small pub you’ll often find that its crowd of moustachioed, hyper skinny jeans wearing creative types spill out onto the street to chat about instagram and tweet and suchlike.

Inside is a cosy and slightly unusual affair with two drinking rooms divided by the bar itself, you can only switch between the two by going outside which is a bit of a bugger if you need a slash and the weather is inclement (pissing it down). To be frank it’s all fairly standard beverage wise, the bar is stocked to a decent degree with a couple of real ales, above average wine and the usual unnecessarily condensation covered chrome pumps for lagers.

A closer inspection at the decor will reveal the odd quirky feature and though I’m not sure that the Lenin candles are a permanent fixture there is enough to keep your eye roving during a pint. Sadly there is also a notable amount of bookcase wallpaper which pretty much eliminates any essence of cool that’s generated by other curious objects.

Given it’s right in the midst of two of East London’s best shopping zones it’s somewhere I’d suggest remembering if you’re down that way. Other pubs in the immediate vicinity are ‘gastro’, run down or unreliable when it comes to opening times. This is a solid reliable offering and an excellent place to regroup after weaving in and out of the crowds.