So, I've now been going here for months, and have had absolutely no idea that this place is called…read more'Smartypants.' Go figure.
My flat has a washer, but no dryer, and there was just no way I was going to trust a mere clothes horse to dry my thick, woolly jumpers, bed sheets, and duvet cover in the dead of winter. No, sir. So since Smartypants (I feel so strange now using its real name) is pretty much directly across the street from my flat, I thought I'd give it a try.
This place is like any standard, self-serve coin laundromat, though they do have dry cleaning, alterations, and laundering services. I've never tried them, because all I usually need is a dryer (or two). The dryers are big, and quite powerful, but expensive to use at £1 per 15 minutes of drying. I've never had to spend more than £3 on one load -- which is not too pricy, but it really does add up. Especially when one of the employees notices you trying to stuff too many clothes into one drying cycle, and forces you to use an additional machine...on multiple occasions....
This business is owned by a Bengali family, as a lot of places in Bethnal Green are. While I'm not being prejudice, at ALL, I think it's absolutely hilarious/confusing/unexpected that this family has hung labelled art prints on all of the walls of the laundromat, displayed as they were in an art gallery. Also, there's a huge, geometric mural reading 'HEARTBREAK' on the window, and a matching one the wall above the till, reading 'DRY CLEANING.' Classic Shoreditch.
All in all, this place does what it needs to do -- nothing more, nothing less. A solid A-OK, according to Yelp's star-rating system.
Pro tip: They only take £1 and 20p coins in the machines, but the guy at the till will break most bills for you. Brill (I had to).
