Hackney, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: This “outstanding” four-year-old is an “engaging but cramped little venue” whose “absolute bargain of a menu” from co-owner Johnnie Crow (ex-Harwood Arms and Anglo), makes it “well worth the trip up to Hackney (booking essential!)”. The meal is structured around one type of meat each month – chicken, game, wagyu – to minimise waste, and “service is personal, enthusiastic and charming”. “You’re unlikely to find much better value in town, with some truly stellar dishes given the mid-range price-point”.

2023 Review: “Great value and unusual tasting menus, nice wines & lovely service” win all-round applause for this yearling in a Hackney Downs warehouse from Anthony Lyon (of Lyon’s in Crouch End). Head chef Giuseppe Pepe (ex-Pidgin and Marksman) is responsible for the seasonal, minimal-waste menu, and his “food is beautifully presented and served”.

“Impeccable…”, “phenomenal…”, “best in ages…” – these are the typical descriptions of the “perfect fish cooking” from an “ever-evolving” menu at Andy Benyon’s Hackney venue (near London Fields). It feels “original”, “the counter dining has an excellent vibe” and “service from the chefs is a highlight” too, all contributing to the “passionate” ethos that underpins this “top gastronomic experience”. But while it’s “high-end cuisine, pricing is down-to-earth”. “Great music too!”

“The food is wonderful, the vibe is lively” – so say fans of Tomos Perry’s long-running wood-fire spinoff in a covered courtyard adjoining the well-known coffee roastery in a London Fields railway arch. On the menu, dishes like roasted chicken rice, whole crab with hay butter, and fresh shellfish. One less enthusiastic reporter found prices “sky-high considering we weren’t drinking” but even so said “the food was certainly delicious”.

This popular and stylish modern hybrid operation in Hackney mixes retail outlets with an all-day café offering breakfast followed by global dishes or pizzas from a menu also available in the Chandelier restaurant. A spinoff market opened in 2023 in the new development at King’s Cross, securing a coup with the launch last year of Island, a surf-and-turf restaurant from top chefs Tom Brown and Mike Carter.

“A great neighbourhood restaurant” is the verdict on this Hackney destination, which – perhaps not helped by Michelin’s blessing when the premises famously traded as Pidgin – has sometimes struggled under the burden of unfair expectations. In its current guise since mid 2024, it provides “original dishes which can be shared and that are always interesting”, all provided by the “super staff”. “The small dining room can initially seem a little cold but it has a decent vibe”.

“Inventive cooking using high-quality ingredients” is the hallmark of chef Matthew Scott, who made his name with the ‘Hot 4 U’ lockdown delivery service and has continued the good work at this “hipster” two-year-old in London Fields where “the food delivers”. It’s a “bright and cosy addition to the plethora of wine-and-small-plates places around the greater Hackney area” – and has possibly “the top selection of orange wines”, from Charlie Carr of Wingnut Wines.