The Black Eel can host private parties, work events and wedding receptions for 20 to 120 guests across six hire spaces. It occupies the former Cooke's Pie & Mash Shop, a Grade II listed building at 41 Kingsland High Street in Dalston, east London, run as a pub by Exale Brewing.
Seminars and company events
The pub presents its spaces for work dos, team outings and team sessions as well as birthdays. It is a pub, so it suits informal company events better than formal conferences. There is no meeting-room equipment listed on the site. Groups can combine a private room with darts, shuffleboard, fussball or karaoke for a team social.
A small hire fee or a minimum spend may apply to the spaces, depending on the room. The enquiry buttons on the official site go to the pub's events team for each space.
Weddings and receptions
The site lists weddings among the events it hosts and has a separate wedding enquiry. The Grade II listed ballroom takes 30 to 50 guests and extends into the garden room for up to 80. The garden takes larger groups, from 10 to 120 people, with covered and open-air seating and boat seating. Hosts can play their own music or bring a DJ setup in the ballroom.
Rooms and capacities
The Ballroom is the largest private room. It has skylights, soft seating and a heritage setting, for 30 to 50 guests, or up to 80 with the garden room. The Lounge is a back space with red leather Chesterfield seating and low lighting for 30 to 50 guests. The Snug hosts 20 to 40 people in a light, flexible room.
The Vault is a self-contained karaoke party room with a sound system, a library of 140,000 songs, a disco ball and room for up to 25 guests. It is reached by a staircase. The Games Room has interactive darts, shuffleboard and fussball with seating, and no capacity is stated. The Garden holds 10 to 120 people.
Catering
The kitchen, called Riley's, serves sharing plates, mains and desserts, and a party menu is available for private bookings. Ask which menus apply to the room you choose.
History and setting
Behind the preserved shopfront of Cooke's Pie & Mash Shop, the building unfolds into a series of rooms: the main bar, games areas, a karaoke room, lounge spaces and the ballroom. Exale Brewing reopened the site as The Black Eel. At the back is a large beer garden with a boat turned into seating and plenty of greenery, open until 10 pm.
Getting there
The address is 41 Kingsland High Street, London E8 2JS, in Dalston. The site does not name nearby stations, so check the route for your group when you enquire.
