London's postindustrial playground

No matter what attraction you want to see in London, it feels like it takes one dizzying and sweaty hour to get there. So this time around, my wife and I switched up our travel strategy. We looked for an area that was self-contained, a town within the city that was both accessible to the big exhibits but compelling enough that we wouldn't feel tourist guilt if we just kicked tires closer to home.

We chose Shoreditch. Far from the madding – and maddening – crowds of Central London, the area is a vast, dingy, postindustrial playground for scenesters, clubbers and cool-hunters. In terms of expanse, it feels larger than New York's Lower East Side, Montreal's Plateau and Toronto's Queen Street West put together. Inexhaustible with indie boutiques, inventive restaurants, an unusual amount of men's clothing and, dare I forget, gobsmacking record stores, Shoreditch isn't just a day trip. Its murals and graffiti alone deserve a morning.

Shoreditch's signature street, Brick Lane, is a teeming mash-up of forward-fashionable and feral, bookstores, high-end and vintage clothing, and the obligatory Guevara and Marley T-shirts. Remnants of its working-class roots are everywhere.

The street's row of curry houses speak to the postwar wave of Bangladeshi immigration. (Also called Banglatown, the area is chronicled in Monica Ali's landmark novel Brick Lane.)

The enduring presence of the Brick Lane Beigel Bake, on the other hand, speaks to the era before the Second World War when Jewish refugees lived here, only to see the area flattened by German bombs. The most notable recent flashpoint in the area, however, took place two years ago. Cereal Killer Cafe, which serves Cap'n Crunch and his ilk to hungry partiers – and perhaps a few small children, too – opened up, sparking an anti-gentrification riot. In that same giving spirit of gentrification, the Cereal Killer controversy inspired the new theatre production Spilt Milk, developed by Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Other Palace theatre.

Shoreditch's other main drag, Redchurch, is the twee response to Brick Lane, not even a kilometre long but very long on charm. Zoning doesn't go too high, four storeys tops, so there is a quiet gentility as you poke into its household design spaces and concept stores, a kaleidoscope of graffiti invariably greeting you on the way out. Many boutiques have coffee shops inside, and at Modern Society, they offered a free, top-notch macchiato while my wife tried on clothes.

Yes, the curse of bohemian bourgeois is coming to Shoreditch (consider me guilty). For every five venues with names such as Nude Coffee, This Shop Rocks or Beach Blanket Babylon, there is a J. Crew or Brandy Melville. On top of that, many tony boutique hotels have opened in the area, namely the Curtain (where we stayed), the Ace (natch) and the Hoxton. Other, larger ones, such as Nobu and the Hilton's Canopy, are either open or about to open.

Where to stay

Looking for a property in keeping with a shabby/chic esprit of the area but nothing as predictable as the Ace, we stayed at the Curtain, the stylish, low-key 120-room hotel and member's club that opened in May. The former site of an office block, this boutique hotel has the grunge bona fides of being across the street from a full-service operating car wash at the foot of a disused circular garage. (That dystopic touch may not have been lost on Michael Achenbaum, the force behind the New York's Gansevoort Hotel in the Meatpacking District, an area which is perhaps Shoreditch's smaller American cousin.) The hotel features a rooftop restaurant, the Lido, that overlooks a small but inviting swimming pool. There is also a 24-hour gym with new equipment (punching bags included) and, on the less pugnacious side, treatment rooms. There are two other restaurants: the Mexican-themed Tienda Roosteria on the ground floor and the Red Rooster in the basement.

The suites themselves have an industrial but warm feel, exposed brick walls, wooden floors and, equally important, a vast array of Scotch to choose from in the minibar and some of the best hotel-room coffee you'll ever have. While there isn't a lot of storage, there is a wardrobe with locker-style clippings of pop stars on the inside door. (One of ours had the iconic Mick Rock photo of glam rock's holy trinity: David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop.) Completing the music theme are the Bluetooth-operated Marshall speakers that look like guitar amps that sit on the nightstand. The bathroom was spacious, and our shower featured a luxury that earlier Eastenders would have called a schvitz. They also offer loft and loft terrace rooms that feature king beds, big sofas and hardwood desks, wraparound terraces and city views.

Rates start at $496 (Canadian), 45 Curtain Rd., thecurtain.com.

Eating

The Red Rooster: One of Shoreditch's most auspicious openings happened right in the basement of the Curtain, when the celebrated American chef Marcus Samuelsson unveiled the London outpost of his iconic Harlem destination last May. Even if you aren't staying at the Curtain, the food at the Rooster is a must, as tasty as the setting is cinematic. Offerings include Ol' Man Shrimp N' Grits (stone-ground grits, tomato, pork and wild garlic) and Obama Short Ribs (with marrow dumplings, succotash and steak sauce). The live music is equally intense.

45 Curtain Rd., thecurtain.com/red-rooster.

Rochelle Canteen: Located behind Redchurch Street near Arnold Circus, find a small blue door with the restaurant's name, buzz in and suddenly you've been transported to a bucolic British garden path that takes you to a spellbinding, light and elegant lunch, all underneath the roof of a converted bike shed.

Arnold Circus, rochelleschool.org/rochellecanteen.

Culture

Geffrye Museum: Called the Museum of the Home, the picturesque and oh-so British Geffrye depicts how the domestic life of the middle class has evolved over the centuries.

For those predisposed to street life, head to Rivington Street's Cargo Club, where you'll see a Bansky.

Over at Brick Lane's Old Truman Brewery, you'll spot a pair of abandoned cars. The one on top has been rendered in 2008 by D*Face, while the lower, pink car, is also decorated by Banksy. Great Eastern Street is another graffiti-hunting destination.

136 Kingsland Rd., geffrye-museum.org.uk.

Hidden gems

Also in the Old Truman Brewery is an event called the Sunday Upmarket, where you can sort through quirky crafts, vintage clothing, used vinyl records and promising designers. When tired, repair to the nearby food stalls that offer food from around the world.

91 Brick Lane, trumanbrewery.com.

Shops

Toogood (named after its owners, honestly!) is a converted sculptor's atelier space that is now a high modern, minimalist boutique that feels like it's in the country. Labour and Wait sells stunning household wears, and Klaus Haapaniemi & Co. almost resembles a gallery, but it's a Finnish lifestyle store whose decorative arts take their cues from folklore.

If this is all getting a little too domesticated, head over to Rough Trade East Records or Sister Ray Ace, put on a set of headphones and remember you were made to rock 'n' roll.

• Toogood, 71 Redchurch St., t-o-o-g-o-o-d.com.
• Labour and Wait, 85 Redchurch St., labourandwait.co.uk.
• Klaus Haapaniemi & Co., 81 Redchurch St., klaush.com.
• Rough Trade East Records, The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, roughtrade.com.
• Sister Ray Ace, 100 Shoreditch High St., facebook.com/sisterrayace.

The writer was a guest of the Curtain Hotel.