You’re in Dalston. It’s 1am. Pubs have stopped serving and all you want is another drink without £10 entry or a euphoric trance soundtrack. Enter Mascara Bar. Open until 3am on the weekend, Mascara Bar is a haven. It’s a rough-around-the-edges bar in Stamford Hill, full of excellent characters and staff you never want to get the wrong side of. The landlady takes a Marmite approach to people and having experienced both, we can say it’s better to be loved than hated. Late licence aside, it also has a fondness for random live performances. Because there’s nothing like a 2am pint of Guinness alongside someone plucking the double bass, right?