Lots of traditional charming country pubs around the area, but it can a bit hit and miss. A really friendly one with amazing food (and a unusually large veggie selection…) is the Beehive in Epping Green; close to the Great Wood. It's friendly enough you dare going there by yourself with the paper and are not at the mercy of local rubbernecks ("the rubberneck" = person who stares at strangers without any sign of guilt)

Even if you have seen it hundreds of times it will still stop you in your tracks. A great piece of architecture and apparently the largest brick structure in Europe.

Very lovely bookshop with a fantastic selection of books, magazines, and indie zines. Nicely curated.

Designed by Wells Coates, the Isokon Building opened in 1934 and was the first apartment block to be built using reinforced concrete. The Isokon Gallery is open at weekends telling the story of the Isokon building, the pioneering modern apartment block as an experiment in new ways of urban living.

A fermenting kitchen and restaurant. Seasonal ferments, pickles and home-made fermented drinks. My new favourite place to eat.