The Marksman Pub, Shoreditch, London

I can’t speak to their day-to-day operations, since I visited for a special Thanksgiving meal (one of the owners is American, although she unfortunately couldn’t be with us). However, I can say that the place is cozy and lovely, the food excellent (spot-on accuracy, and better than any family Thanksgiving dinner I’ve had!), and most importantly, Gary and his staff are warm, welcoming, and earnest in their wish to make you feel truly at home. I came by myself, feeling quite lonely as a solitary expat on this very family-oriented American holiday, and they helped me to join up with a table of strangers and have a really wonderful time. Thank you all so very much for your hospitality, and thanks to Dan for passing on the recipe to those delicious creamed leeks!

Brilliant staff, great food, well-kept beer, colourful locals...

Hey, this is a charming one off affair , a real mish mash of loacles and internationales will inevitably charm and beguile you. You are on hallowed ground. EAT, it's delicious . Gary , Dawn and the kids may even appear...if not their excellent staff are exacting and will welcome you with a homely style

The Marksman is one of the best pubs in East London, a perfect mix of proper East London locals and young creatives. The interior of the pub is stylish and well maintained, with fresh flowers from the columbia flower markets, tasteful art and even decorations at Christmas time, my personal favourite!
The bar staff are super friendly and helpful, its nice to see people who enjoy their jobs. Now locals, the first time we went into the bar, the owners and other staff members made us feel like we had been going there for years, something thats very rare these days and makes you want to go back.
Food is highly recommend, the Sunday roast is superb. A perfect pub for you and your friends to relax and enjoy a pint, and mix with a diverse and interesting crowd of Londoners.

I had my first pint in the Marksman in 1977 aged 15! (well it was Her Majesty's silver jubilee) It has been my local ever since(33years)...
They say that all good things are worth waiting for,and since Gary &Dawn took over at the "Markup"(as its known by us east end locals) i totally agree!
if you want to meet up after work on a friday for a few beers,or hold your birthday celebration dinner (as i did last year-a top night!!) the Marksman fits the bill.
The welcome is always warm,and genuine,its the kind of bar where everyone knows your name;) The chef, Danny,is a genius.The menu is always exciting,the steak sandwich at the weekends is very welcome after the scrum that is the Columbia road flower market.The sunday roast will give your Mum's roast some very stiff competition.
So,i can honestly say that it has been well worth the wait for the Marksman to become " a bleedin' good booza" as we say in the east End!!;)

Where do I start? I am fortunate enough to have this as my local. So much of Shoreditch is either unfriendly cliquey bars full of preening hipsters, or dodgy east end boozers. The Marksman manages to be friendly and welcoming with a lovely mixed crowd.

Details like fresh flowers, the bar staff knowing you and even noticing when you get a hair cut, the manager doing his best to get you a table for their infamous Sunday roast (book ahead!) because you're a regular - this is what makes a pub.

In addition to the proper pub atmosphere, the food is brilliant. Always carefully thought-out, tasty and reasonable and brilliant service.

What more do you want in a pub? Can't rate highly enough.

I love this pub. It is this great mix of old time people who have come here for years and new people. It is a great place to have a sunday roast, or a few pints. The food is great. They have bloody marys and the service is actually nice and helpful.

Highly recommeded.

I called in after visiting the nearby Columbia Road flower market on Sunday morning.

It was quiet and peaceful by comparison, and I enjoyed a really good snack of smoked salmon with toast, and an excellent coffee- later I had a good pint of ale.

Young, hard working owner and wife made me very welcome.

They are bringing the pub a bit more upmarket, from the strictly local it used to be. There is a good menu which I intend to try soon. The area is improving all the time, and will probably be worth a fortune by the time the Olympics arrives nearby.

Came here with a friend who was already feeling a bit nervous walking along the slightly dodgy looking Hackney road. They couldn’t believe that only were we daring to walk in this area but that we were actually going to brave a visit a local boozer. Are you trying to get us killed they seemed to be saying.

But the Marksman is a different world to the one outside. It actually looks a little bit posh, especially if you are looking on the food menu…there was stuff on there I didn’t even know.

They serve all sorts of drinks including an ale. It’s not particularly cheap mind you. I think it fancies itself as a gastropub, even though it doesn’t quite feel like one (this is a good thing…I don’t like the normal gastropub feel). I love the little alcove thing in the roof too, the most charming aspect of an unusual and interesting décor (the bar somehow feels a bit trendy..but the tables in the front of the bar more old fashioned).

The pub is technology friendly with a web site (which seems to be down as a type this mind you) and it’s own twitter page! They also have some events where you could barter for your drinks!

It’s not quite my cup of tea but it’s an interesting place and I think it’s worth checking out.