London Stratford Restaurant Guide

“A sort of neighbourhood bistro, just beyond the touristy influence of the South Kensington museums” – the main survivor of an erstwhile chain (there’s also a Stratford sibling no-one talks about) “offering British upmarket pub food”, which is variable to good. It’s “a nice and warming place”, but it can become “rather busy and noisy”; and “service, while cheerful and pleasant, is extremely variable”.

In less than 20 years, Danny Meyer has transformed his New York City hot-dog cart into a global fast-food brand giant with eight outlets in London – including a Covent Garden flagship that was revamped earlier this year. Ratings remain remarkably solid for “a chain that does what it’s supposed to do”.

The “lovely Thai food” at these reliable cafés is “impressively authentic given that they are a chain” – “excellent value” and “fast”, if occasionally let down by “iffy service”. Founded in 2008 by Saiphin and Alex Moore, who inherited the name of their first East End site, the group has 15 branches in London and expanded to Liverpool and Leeds this year following the sale of a majority stake to US investors. The couple also have two spin-offs, Lao Café in Covent Garden and the new Chinese noodle bar Hoh Sek in St Katharine Docks.

“When all you want is an old-school burger”, these US-based arrivals of recent years really “hit the spot” – you can “build your own”, with “tons of accessories”; plus “seriously addictive fries”, “thick milkshakes”, and “more soda flavours than is reasonable”. “The eat-in experience is as depressing as McDonald’s”, though, in fact perhaps more so – “some branches have a strangely gloomy ambience” – but fans feel that “if you don’t mind 1980s-rock, a trip can still be surprisingly fun”.

Ex-Chiltern Firehouse head chef Patrick Powell’s first solo venture, on the seventh floor of Stratford’s new Manhattan Loft Gardens building, opened too late for any reports in our survey. Powell’s dedication to sustainability has extended to buying Kent farmland to provide Allegra with local ingredients.

Husband and wife team Paul Hemmings and Cara Ceppetelli continue to expand their “simple and brilliant” fried chicken formula with a fourth London site in Westfield Stratford. They already have venues in Shoreditch, Camden and Islington.