H E Tidiman

Unless you want everything in Britain to be managed by Tesco and Starbucks, it’s important to support locally owned shops. Especially when it comes to special arts like butchery, fish mongering or baking.
This is a store where it only requires a few minutes to know you are in good hands. It’s family owned and operated, with a couple of generations running behind the scens (and in front).
While the shop overlooks a very hip weekend market, it’s not a place you’ll head for exotic game. Rather, they stick to basics: beef, lamb, chicken and pork in things like roasts, ribs and steaks.
I don’t think they have virginal partridge stuffed with dates, or free range alligator smoked over cedar, or a virgin stuffed with alligator on her first date. But if you want lamb chops, he’ll offer 4 big ones for 5 quid total.
Think about it. That’s real food for 2 – 3 people for cheaper than a slice or two of bad pizza. Or a burger meal for one just about anywhere.
It’ll be a sad world if we end up with 400 types of coffee and only 3 cuts of pork.

Located on the quaint strip of Broadway Market in East London, this butcher is definitely a contrast to some of the other shops on the strip. I guess it is obvious that a butcher is not going to have much in common with a boutique fabric shop though. Anyway, this place provides locals, and weekend visitors, with a good selection of meats.
It is a funny little store, and definitely has a real slightly ‘rough around the edges’ East London feel. I’m not saying that is a bad thing, I think it gives it character. My friend orders a certain type of chicken from there every now and then. At first she was a little scared of the staff, but after a while, she realised that they are really nice people. I guess proper East Londoners can be a bit intimidating, but you have to take it with a pinch of salt.