The Black Eel Dalston: Darts in London

{ "slug": "the-black-eel-dalston", "tags": ["Paid", "Booking required", "From £5", "Food & drink", "Groups", "Karaoke"], "facts": { "address": "41 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, London", "postcode": "E8 2JS", "openingHours": ["Mo-We 16:00-21:00", "Th 12:00-21:00", "Fr-Sa 12:00-21:30", "Su 12:00-19:00"], "games": "Bookable darts lanes with traditional gameplay and digital scoring, 2 to 8 players per lane", "priceNote": "Booked darts lanes from £5 per person per hour (£7.50 Fri-Sat), minimum 1 hour; shuffleboard £10 per hour", "confirmedFree": false }, "description": "The Black Eel sits at the top of Kingsland High Street, in the Grade II-listed building that used to be Cooke's pie and mash shop. Exale Brewing took it over and turned it into a rambling drinking and games spot with bookable darts, a games room, shuffleboard, a karaoke room and a big beer garden out back. Darts here is the bookable, pay-per-lane kind rather than a free pub board in the corner, so it suits a planned night with a group rather than a casual walk-in throw. You get traditional gameplay with digital scorekeeping, and a lane takes two to eight people. Lanes start at £5 per person per hour Sunday to Thursday, with a one-hour minimum, and the kitchen (Riley's, Mediterranean small plates and mains) keeps you fed between legs.", "sections": [ { "heading": "The darts setup", "body": "This is oche-style social darts, not a single wall board you fight over. You book a lane that holds two to eight players, and the scoring is handled digitally so nobody has to do the chalk maths after a few drinks. The format is traditional gameplay, so you are still throwing at a proper board, just with the counting automated. Because lanes are booked by the hour with a one-hour minimum, it works best for a group who wants a guaranteed slot rather than someone hoping to grab a board on the night. If darts is full, the same room runs bank-shot shuffleboard at £10 an hour." }, { "heading": "Good to know", "body": "Darts is paid and you need to book a lane: £5 per person per hour Sunday to Thursday, rising to £7.50 Friday and Saturday, with a one-hour minimum each time. Opening hours are short for a pub, so check before you travel: 4pm to 9pm Monday to Wednesday, midday to 9pm Thursday, midday to 9:30pm Friday and Saturday, and midday to 7pm Sunday. Food comes from Riley's, chef Billy Fisher's Mediterranean kitchen, with small plates, ribs, burgers and Sunday roasts. There is also a karaoke room (around 140,000 songs, up to 25 people) and a large beer garden with a petanque court." }, { "heading": "Getting there", "body": "The Black Eel is at 41 Kingsland High Street, E8 2JS, right at the Dalston end of the strip. Dalston Kingsland on the Overground is the closest station, a short walk down the high street, and Dalston Junction is also nearby for the East London line. Plenty of buses run up and down Kingsland Road and Kingsland High Street, so it is easy to reach from Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington without changing. The building is the old Cooke's pie and mash shop, so the tiled period frontage makes it simple to spot once you are on the street." } ], "faq": [ { "q": "What is The Black Eel in Dalston?", "a": "The Black Eel is a pub and games venue on Kingsland High Street in Dalston, run by Exale Brewing in the former Cooke's pie and mash shop. Alongside the bar it has bookable darts lanes, shuffleboard, a karaoke room, a beer garden and a Mediterranean kitchen called Riley's." }, { "q": "Is darts free at The Black Eel?", "a": "No. Darts is a bookable, paid activity.