A Guide to Living in Bow

Bow embodies that fierce East End community spirit, while also being in close proximity to central London; so it’s a top choice for renting or buying if you want somewhere with lots of character that’s easily accessible. Read on to discover the developments that are rated as the best places to live in Bow and to see reviews from residents who own or rent in Bow.

4.45

Average Location Score

Excellent

52%

Very Good

37%

Average

Disappointing

Very Poor

Best places to live in Bow

HomeViews Top Rated Development ranking takes into account the Star Rating and HomeViews Transparency Rating of every development in the area

Expand Map

Where is Bow?

Bow sits within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, less than five miles from Charring Cross. It’s flanked by East London heavyweights Hackney and Stratford and, while there’s lots on offer in Bow itself, you’ve also got plenty to enjoy in the surrounding districts.

What’s it like living in Bow?

Bow, although a symbol of gentrification, it has not yet lost its authenticity. New apartment blocks pop up monthly, they sit alongside establishments passed down through generations, and pickled herrings, pie and mash and decent pints are easy to come by.

Roman Road is the best place to soak it all up, it feature a mile-long high street packed with independents. There are plenty of cool brunch spots, time-honoured greasy spoons and curious boutiques. This is also the setting for Bow’s weekly markets – chaotic, hypnotic spectacles that attract crowds from far and wide.

Mile End Park, Victoria Park and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park allow walking, cycling and picnicking to be well and truly taken care of. We’d also recommend a weekend stroll along the Grand Union Canal. If it’s nightlife you’re seeking, be mindful that Bow’s has a limited handful of quality pubs, but you’re just a hop from the bright lights of Shoreditch and Bethnal Green.

Bow transport

Commuting to and from Bow is a breeze, and a big part of the attraction for newcomers. Bow Road and Bromley-by-Bow stations provide quick links to central London via the Hammersmith & City and District lines, and close-by Mile End is additionally serviced by the Central line. Alternatively, catch the DLR from Bow Church or Devons Road for direct access to Canary Wharf. There’s a reliable bus network in place here, too.

Buying and renting in Bow

Bow is in heart of the capital’s so-called ‘Golden Triangle’ – a hotbed for developers. Cue a generous supply of new-build properties, some overlooking the water, others edgy warehouse conversions in the centre of town.

Those seeking a waterfront postcode should look at Bow River Village and Omega Works, both of which have a front-row seat on the River Lea and are rated some of the best places to live in Bow.

“Good value for London and a really good location for commuting.” – Oscar, verified resident at Bow River Village

“What makes this development stand out in particular is it’s close proximity to essential facilities and amenities whilst still occupying a very calm atmosphere.” – Heather McMullen, private tenant at Omega Works

“The apartment is great – it’s the reason I decided to live here. its spacious, attractive and well designed and good quality. There have been some problems with the heating, but the building management resolved the issues very swiftly.” – Anonymous, verified resident at Bow River Village

Merchants Walk is a popular choice for its location. Edged by greenery, it’s right next door to Devons Road DLR station, so it’s ideal for those commuting into the City or Canary Wharf.

“The upsides of living in this particular area would be how nice the design and implementation of it is. The surroundings of the development are beautiful with lots of green spaces to enjoy. There is a great community atmosphere here and the neighbours tend to be very friendly and welcoming. Furthermore, the area itself feels very safe due to the concierge around.” – Gemma Critchley, verified resident at Merchants Walk

Other top places to live in bow…

Countryside’s St Paul’s Square is another great option for commuters. This huge development is a short walk from Mile End and Bow Road stations, but also brags a peaceful setting…

“It’s a vintage place and good if you are looking for somewhere quiet with also a great view.” – Anon, verified resident at St Paul’s Square

Developer titan Barratt London brings you Marner Point and Ivy Point, where top facilities include a rooftop terrace and residents-only gym.

“Amazing location with less than 1 minute walk to the tube station and buses right outside the door… Great community and very friendly people on the development!” – Michael, verified resident at Marner Point

Berkeley Homes’ Caspian Wharf has a huge selection of properties, ranging from studios to penthouses. The same can be said of St Andrews, a sprawling complex of more than 960 homes, spanning apartments and townhouses. Another one to consider is Aqua Vista, where contemporary apartments range from one to five-bedroom in size.

“Quiet area, local amenities, clean spec, good community. Good events, great concierge.” – Tiago, private tenant at Caspian Wharf

Families, meanwhile, are praising Bow Cross, an ultra-modern development with some welcome additions…

“It’s good value for money. There’s a basketball court and play areas for kids and training facilities like the ones in parks. There’s a lot of security, so it’s much safer than the rest of the area. The rooms are nice and spacious.” – Sohail, verified resident at Bow Cross

You can find out more about living in Bow by reading reviews from residents. Click on the developments below to find out more about residents’ experiences and discover great places to rent in Bow. If there’s a Bow property that you can’t see on HomeViews, you can add a new listing and leave your review here

Reviews in Bow

Write a Review

Spacious apartment in beautiful, although not extremely well connected, location

Review Date May 2021

Compared to London Fields (where I lived before) – the area is very spacious and quiet. There is no real noise coming from the road. Although I live on the canal side of the development, which boasts amazing views. It does get quite noisy with the bridge being built, but that should all be over soon as its due to complete. Hackney Wick station is a 10 minute walk away, which is not too bad considering I am not going into the office at the moment. Not sure about how I feel walking back in the dark in the winter months by myself though.

Please review your development:

The big plus side is the spacious apartment – it is actually incredible!
It does feel like an insufficient building though, there is a lot of ‘lost’ space where residents cant store anything due to fire safety issues. Think it could’ve been designed more efficiently.

There are no real facilities, aside from car parking and a communal garden.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

That the intercom is broken and you can’t buzz people in!

If there is one thing you would change about your flat or property what would it be:

It’s a private landlord, he is tight with his money when things need to be replaced but at least it gets replaced!

Facilities

Design

Location

Value

Management

Read all Read less

Beware

Verified Resident

Review Date May 2021

Beware. Higgins built our London flat which we cannot sell as it has substandard cladding, decking and insulation. Higgins also failed to provide adequate compartmentalisation between dwellings plus the buildings have voids and other fire safety issues. Higgins refuse to rectify and although covered by their NHBC guarantee with Premier Insurers, they are also not helping and we are having to pay £600 per month in waking watch cost plus solicitors costs to pursue the insurers.

In addition, we were sold on the basis of a Biomass boiler which never materialised and this resulted in previous block management companies overcharging us by over £2k for gas.

Don’t be taken in by the finish. It’s what is underneath that matters!

Please review your development:

Lovely design and finish but we are all (128 units) trapped by Higgins lack of care. Like the area and transport links etc. Current concierge is excellent but this hasn’t always been the case.

Previous management companies have really let us down. A new one has been appointed so we will wait and see how they perform.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I wouldn’t have purchased if I had know about the issues

If there is one thing you would change about your flat or property what would it be:

The issues caused by such a poor build resolved before they are allowed to build and sell more properties or for Higgins to help fight the new build insurance claim

Facilities

Design

Location

Value

Management

Read all Read less

Avoid L&Q at all costs

Verified Resident

Review Date Apr 2021

Local area around the property was nice, no complaints here. Underground parking, bike storage. Outside was fine.

Please review your development:

Awful experience living in an L&Q property for a year. The walls were paper thin and had no noise isolation at all. The boiler was installed incorrectly so the heater in my room never worked. The property managers were ridiculously apathetic about their jobs and failed to do basic admin tasks. One was a particularly horrible property manager to interact with.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

How terrible the property managers are, how cheap the build quality of L&Q properties are

If there is one thing you would change about your flat or property what would it be:

Fire the property manager, knock down & rebuild the property with another company

Facilities

Design

Location

Value

Management

Read all Read less

Manager Response

Thank you for your review. We appreciate your feedback.
We’re sorry to hear your experience hasn’t been positive. We would like to know more and help to put things right.
Please contact us at lqdirect@lqgroup.org.uk (with Homeviews in the subject line) and a dedicated agent will do their best to help resolve any concerns.
Thanks
Customer Service Team

Beautiful Development, but Always Big Surprises!!!

Verified Resident

Review Date Apr 2021

One of Good aspects is the location facing the Garden, luckily on the 3rd floor, facing to the tops of threes and wonderful views Olympic stadium. Unfortunately the the maintenances of the courtyard, the gates and the bin collections haven’t been respected and there’s always some issues of the radiators, the intercom. It seems 10 years warranty of the building hasn’t been fully respected about the buildings. There’s always horrible scratched window glasses,
Bins have been full all the times, dysfunctional. The bike shed door had been broken for six months and nothing had been don so far. There’s a load of bikes stolen, not only damaged like mine! Anyway, brand new beautiful building of a new development, but there’s always some bad surprises like anywhere. Transport links are very good, but vandalism had been observed last couple of years, young people’s smokings are quite frequent in the park. There’s no traffic noise from the bottom of the courtyard. Ms Baxter of aftercare has been so efficient, but not others, I am afraid. There’s always good and bad aspects in the area.

Please review your development:

Very good design, but very cheap facilities like the doors of the storages and the wardrobes, where you can find spaces between the doors. Very bad and dysfunctional wardrobe doors.
The weekend team of the property management can be better and efficient if they can at least pass the notices to the weekday team, but in vain.
I have no idea about the building management, since I had no contact at all with the caretaker of the building if there’s any.
It would be nice to know the entrance and the gate codes in advance, when you have them.
Unfortunately there’s two property management companies who share the courtyard, the entrance and the bin collection, there should have better coordination between the two who
Share the two different buildings.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I should have know BT Broadband was the only option for the building, and the handover person had mentioned about it differently. I had unfortunately to cancel EE Broadband contrat.
I also wanted to views the flat before signing the tenant contract, but was impossible.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

My door mat had been stolen, when the caretaker of the next building had threatened me to open the door. There’s some neighbors whose rag had disappeared from the courtyard. It seems these people had stolen my door mat for the revenge without any proof or footage of CCTV.
It’s a door mat, but it’s very sad to loose door mat by someone I don’t know.

Facilities

Design

Location

Value

Management