Visited on 30/03/13 after a short 6 or 7 minutes walk from the London Fields Tap. Trad old boozer with an L shaped bar, we arrived at around 4.30/5 pm on a Saturday and only bagged a table because some folks were just getting up to leave as we came back from the bar. Mixed group of punters in here, age ranges, etc - all making for a good vibe. Service was good also, no idle chit chat they just got on with the job of dispensing good beer! Tap for Howling Hops and as such theire beers dominate the line up but other London micros are on offer in the form of Alpha State and Beavertown amongst others on this visit. Howling Hops bottles available to drink in or take away, my only gripe on this front is that they charge the same price for take away where as up the road at London Fields take away bottles were about £1 less when compared to drink in! Great boozer none the less and one worth heading out to. Pembury Tavern is also not too far away, and the William IV (Brodies) is about 15 or so minutes away on the bus. Hackney Central (LOROL) is just over the road.

and who doesnt like a cock or two ... nice standard open plan pub... fairly bouncing ... large range ofcask and sligtly smaller keg range ... about 4 of the own .. so good mix... kids welcme ... alround pretty nice

This place is fantastic! It has a crazy selection of beers, from their own Howling Hops ones, through all the usual suspects of new school London Brewers and far beyond. They also have 4 or 5 real ciders on at any one time. Thier food is nice, though simple, home made sausage rolls, scotch eggs and the like. My only beef with it is that it gets too busy sometimes and is consequently very loud.

Loz and I visited here on Sat 2nd March 2013. I must say this place was a cracker, it had a really nice feel to it and the beer selection was simply stunning. It is situated close to the overground line and only 7-10 mins walk from London Fields Tap Room where we went first. You enter from a door on the corner of the building and the bar is a large L shaped affair in front of you down the right hand side is handpumps (12+) on the foot of the L sort of ahead of you to the left is the keg taps, We had Brodies/Mikkeller Mofu Stout, Magic Rock Big Top, Howling Hops Chocolate Stout, Brodies London Sour, Brodies Dalston Black IPA, Kernel Citra IPA all were very good the Brodies Sour and Dalston Black IPA were my favourites though. The food range is limited to snacking, so expect pork pies, pickled eggs, nuts, snacking salami etc, we had Pickled eggs, crisps and pork crackling. The two staff were really pleasant (busy) and helpful to people choosing. Its got a nice feel about this place, with a good mix of people, simply furnished, wooden floors throughout. I really liked this place and will make efforts to get here again.

An outstanding old-school pub and great craft beer at a good price. Very knowledgeable staff (and also very bearded) I really liked the Howling Hops beers I tried and I also found Mikkeller/Brodies Big Mofo Stout on tap. A good beer, but you can not drink to many of those strong beers when you are on a serious beer trip! (Visited February 16th 2013)

This place is awesome - lots of beers and ciders on tap, and importantly good quality as well. Nice surroundings, lots of wood and battered furniture, friendly staff.

Went early on a Saturday night - nearly packed out with just a couple of seats left. Music was turned too low to hear, but not off, which was quite strange. Very friendly and knowledgeable bar staff, who allowed plenty of tasters to help choose the right flavoured pints. Plenty of good beer available, from pull up beers brewed [fresh] on site to craft beers, bursting with beautiful flavours. Craft beers came in relatively expensively. A nice pub, but with something indefinable missing or not there.

Right, so if I ever opened a pub, I would want it to look like the Cock Tavern. I love the aesthetic here. Lots of bare wood, some tiling behind the bar, salvaged furniture...I love it. This place is the flagship pub for Howling Hops beers and I love coming in here to try them. The ’brewery’ is housed in the pub basement, incidentally. The quality of the HH beers seems to have improved since their inception, and the quality of the cask conditioning at the pub also seems to have become better with time. The selection of beers beyond the HH line is usually quite impressive, and highlights mostly local breweries, especially Brodies, The Kernel and East London. The pub also maintains an oddly extensive range of cask ciders, usually around six or so. The prices here are good and the staff both friendly and efficient. The pub has a modest range of snacks and pub grub. I’ve had the pickled egg, which I wholeheartedly recommend. I really like this pub and, while it is a destination in itself, it is walking distance from a handful of other fine drinkeries, among them London Fields Brewery tap room, Duke’s Brew and Cue, and Baxter’s Court. Get thee to Hackney.

The Cock Tavern is a stripped-back old corner boozer located deep in Hackney. The interior is traditional with a contemporary edge to it. The beer selection is rather impressive indeed – a wide range of bottles, Keg and cask which covers all the best British Microbreweries. Think along the lines of Kernel, Brodies, Magic Rock and Thornbridge. This place also has its own beers under the name Howling Hops which seem to be getting better each time I visit. A cider lover will not be left out here with about six options on cask. Snacks cover the likes of pies and pickled eggs. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. A great addition to the London beer scene.

Another superb pub for a good choice of tasty beers from several breweries but I am very impressed with their own Howling Hops beers. The staff are knowledgeable and keen. Compulsory for hopheads.