Harden's says
Former Pidgin head chef Adolfo de Cecco serves up globally ranging - and daily changing - tasting menus at this Hackney newcomer.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“Favourite restaurant of all time!” – “Stunning flavours and textures, offered by the fixed-price, no-choice, but ever-changing taster menu” inspire adulation for Adolfo de Cecco’s “unpretentious” shop-conversion in Dalston. It may be one of East London’s true culinary heavyweights, but the style is “totally informal and allows the food to be the star”. “Service is impeccable and the food is brought to your table by the chefs themselves”. And “how does he do it for the price?” – £122 for the eight courses plus wine pairing (a meal might run – roasted beetroot tart; bread and butter; monkfish with bergamot sauce; pig skin congee with XO sauce; Jerusalem artichoke with umeboshi sauce and tahini; cheese with onion ice cream; yuzu granita; dried mushroom and frozen tofu). One report in particular typifies the love the places generates: “we eat out in proper restaurants twice most weeks, so we don’t stint ourselves, and from the receipts can count a full 50 visits to Casa Fofó since the beginning of 2023, and we never seem to be offered the same dish twice!”
Summary
“The depth of flavour which Adolfo brings out in his ever-changing menus means we visit at least once or sometimes twice a month: nowhere else would we ever dream of doing the same!” – Adolfo de Cecco’s Hackney shop-conversion is “always a pleasure for its inventive dishes”, which meld Asian influences with European ingredients into an intriguing and individual culinary mashup. At any one time, there is a single tasting option, and he “manages to maintain high standards with each iteration”. “The front room is arguably more dull than the very light rear area, which is a sort of conservatory. And there are interesting choices of music at low levels”.
Summary
“Not prioritising form over substance” – Adolfo de Cecco’s well-reputed three-year-old is “fairly un-smart for a foodie hotspot” but “cosy and romantic”, especially in the “covered back garden, which is gorgeous as the sun sets (a very ‘London’ setting)”. “Outstanding food is brilliantly and passionately served” from an “eclectic tasting menu” (“and they’ve lightened up since Grace Dent accused them of being too serious a couple of years ago!”)
Summary
“Such a shame I moved from Hackney, so this fabulous place is no longer within walking distance!”. Ex-Pidgin chef Adolfo de Cecco’s “eclectic” cuisine is focused on a “chef-delivered tasting menu” and provides food that’s “always interesting with wonderful flavours”. Aside from all the “innovation”, “the service offers that wonderful mixture of professionalism and friendliness which makes it such an enjoyable evening”.
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Casa Fofó?
158 Sandringham Road, London, E8 2HS
Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £25.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 10.00% |
158 Sandringham Road, London, E8 2HS
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | CLOSED |
| Wednesday | 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Thursday | 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Friday | 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Saturday | 1 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Sunday | 1 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
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