The Old Truman Brewery is one of the most useful pieces of visual geography in Black Doves Season 2. It helps the series make two very different worlds feel convincing: the cramped interior of Laila’s Chinatown base and the colder, more secretive Berlin headquarters seen in the 1988 flashback. The clever part is not that the production travelled between London, Chinatown and Germany. It is that the production team used one adaptable East London complex—and nearby streets—to make those places feel distinct.
Spoiler note: This guide discusses locations and scenes from Season 2, including the Chinatown and Berlin flashback settings.
Where is the Truman Brewery?
The Old Truman Brewery stands at 91 Brick Lane in Spitalfields, East London. It is a large former brewing complex whose industrial buildings, courtyards and warehouse-style interiors now accommodate creative businesses, shops, galleries, markets and event spaces. The site’s history reaches back to the seventeenth century; the brewery eventually ceased brewing in 1989. The complex’s scale and varied architecture make it a practical filming environment as well as a recognizable part of the Brick Lane streetscape.
How it became Laila’s Chinatown flat
In the series, Laila’s home is associated with Chinatown, where the streets and red lanterns establish the location’s identity. But the production did not rely on one real address for every angle. Netflix’s official Season 2 locations guide explains that the Chinatown setting combines real Soho-area streets with interior filming at the Truman Brewery. That distinction matters: the exterior geography and the enclosed flat are separate pieces of the screen illusion.
The warehouse-style interiors provide the production with a controllable space for tense conversations, interrogations and sudden violence. The setting feels tucked away from the busy streets outside, which suits Laila’s status as an agent operating on the edge of the organization. The Truman Brewery is not literally in Chinatown; it is on Brick Lane, several miles east. The show uses editing, set dressing and the contrast between street exteriors and interior spaces to connect the two.
The Berlin flashback connection
The brewery’s second important role is in the Berlin material. Season 2 moves into the characters’ past, including the 1988 storyline that reveals more about the organization’s history. Instead of filming every Berlin setting in Germany, the production uses London locations to create the period atmosphere. The Truman Brewery is identified in location reporting as the setting for the Black Doves headquarters in Berlin; nearby East London locations contribute other parts of the flashback world.
That is a useful reminder that a filming location and a story location are not always the same place. On screen, the audience is meant to read the space as Berlin. In reality, the production is working with an East London industrial complex. Its brickwork, warehouse proportions and enclosed spaces give the art department a strong starting point, while lighting, dressing, camera angles and sound help shift the mood from contemporary London to a Cold War-era setting.
Why one complex can play several places
Film and television productions often need locations that can be controlled, redressed and photographed from multiple angles. A large former brewery offers several advantages: industrial rooms with different layouts, corridors and service areas, courtyards, loading access and a strong architectural identity. The Truman Brewery’s own venue information describes spaces used for events, exhibitions, filming and photography. That flexibility helps explain why a single complex can appear as more than one fictional address.
For Black Doves, the contrast is especially effective. Laila’s Chinatown flat needs to feel lived-in, hidden and close to the action. The Berlin headquarters needs to suggest a different political era and a more institutional atmosphere. The same broad industrial vocabulary can support both, but the production changes the visual language around it. One room can feel intimate and contemporary; another can feel stark, bureaucratic and dangerous.
What viewers should look for on a rewatch
- The change from exterior to interior: Chinatown’s street identity is established outside, while the Truman Brewery supplies the interior environment for Laila’s flat.
- The industrial texture: Look for warehouse proportions, exposed structural details and broad interior spaces that can read differently depending on lighting and set dressing.
- The shift in tone: The Chinatown scenes and Berlin flashbacks are not interchangeable storylines. Their different periods and dramatic purposes are reinforced through production design.
- The wider East London geography: The Truman Brewery is part of a network of nearby filming locations. Reporting also identifies Corbet Place and the George Tavern among the locations used for Season 2’s East London and 1988 material.
Can you visit the Truman Brewery?
Yes. The Old Truman Brewery is a real, active complex at 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL, with public-facing shops, food businesses, galleries, markets and event spaces. Visitors should remember that not every room is open to the public: some spaces are private businesses or booked event and filming areas. Check the venue’s current visitor information before travelling, and be respectful of people working in the buildings.
It is also worth separating a visit to the real site from a hunt for an exact filming room. The series uses interiors that may not be accessible, and the production can alter spaces for filming. You can explore the public areas and recognize the wider architecture, but you should not assume that every corridor or room shown on screen is open for a fan visit.
Why the location choice works
The Truman Brewery is more than a convenient backdrop. It is a visual bridge between the show’s present-day London story and its buried history. The Chinatown scenes place the characters in an apparently familiar urban setting, but the interior base feels insulated and dangerous. The Berlin flashbacks then reuse the language of industrial architecture to suggest a different country and period. That double use quietly reinforces one of Black Doves’ central ideas: identities, loyalties and even places can be constructed, repurposed and made to conceal what is really happening.
It is also a good example of why filming-location guides need to be precise. Laila’s Chinatown exterior is not the same as the Truman Brewery interior, and the fictional Berlin headquarters is not proof that the production filmed in Germany. The production’s London stand-ins do the work of several screen locations, but the real geography remains East London.
Frequently asked questions
Was Black Doves Season 2 filmed at the Truman Brewery?
Yes. Location reporting identifies the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane as a filming site for the interior of Laila’s Chinatown flat and for the Black Doves headquarters in the Berlin 1988 flashback.
Is Laila’s flat really in Chinatown?
The show presents the flat as being in Chinatown, but the interior was filmed at the Truman Brewery in East London. Netflix describes the setting as a combination of real Soho-area streets and Truman Brewery interiors.
Did the cast film the Berlin scenes in Germany?
The Season 2 Berlin flashback settings were recreated using London locations. The Truman Brewery is identified as the Black Doves Berlin headquarters location, while other nearby East London venues were used for additional interiors.
Where is the Old Truman Brewery?
It is at 91 Brick Lane, Spitalfields, London E1 6QL.
Can fans go inside the filming rooms?
Not necessarily. The complex includes public businesses and event spaces, but some filming interiors are private or restricted. Check current access information before visiting.
Sources and further reading
- Netflix Tudum: Black Doves Season 2 locations guide
- Condé Nast Traveller: Where was Black Doves filmed?
- Time Out: Black Doves Season 2 filming locations
- TV Guide: Black Doves Series 2 filming locations
- The Old Truman Brewery: official site
By Shivam Das
