London Whitechapel Restaurant Guide

“OMG!! Do not judge a book by its cover!” “The grand-daddy of cheap ’n’ cheerful Pakistani kebab joints” in Whitechapel has been “an East End staple” since it opened in 1972. A “huge, echoey, tiled room, with big screens showing cricket”, it’s “such amazing value” and “so damn consistent, it just keeps getting bigger, busier and better”. Top Tip – “step in at the off-licence next door for your booze”. Top Menu Tips – “the chops are special”, and it serves “the best chicken tikka ever”.

The “strongly authentic Sichuan food” at this “fairly basic” Brick Lane venue “may not be the best in London, but nonetheless offers a properly ‘ma la’ (numbingly spicy) experience”. It’s particularly “good value for lunch”.

“Queues are mad!” at this “always crazy” and “fantastically good-value” 500-seater, Punjabi BYO in the East End, which is “busy even into the late hours”, and a serious rival to the older Lahore five minutes’ walk away. Everything is “simply delicious”, with “the real highlights being the sizzling and smoking tandoori plates”: lamb chops in particular “always hit the mark”, but “everything is so fresh”.

“High-quality burgers” hit the spot at this funky small chain which “does the simple things well”. The outlets are “fab for families and kids – there’s something for everyone and puddings are a great crowd-pleaser”.

Geronimo Inns add another gastropub to their stable with this Whitechapel tavern offering signature dishes of ox cheek and bone marrow pie and Dingley Dell pork. There's also a range of wines and 30 whiskies.

2018 Review: Expanding, 17-strong national chain, with recent openings in Whitechapel and in the new riverside development right by Kew Bridge. Fans like the “beautifully crafted thin bases and wide variety of craft ciders and beers”, but there’s some concern “quality is dropping now the roll-out to the capital has begun”.

2017 Review: Little sister to Spitalfield’s BBQ spot Hot Box, this burger bar opened in summer 2016 in a renovated ‘classic East End London caff’ in Whitechapel after a stint at Street Feast’s Hawker House.

2019 Review: This bright, attractively decorated, new Middle Eastern café opened in Whitechapel in early 2018. No survey feedback yet, but its modern take on Moorish cuisine looks promising.

Café in Whitechapel’s New Road Hotel serving nothing but breakfast cereal. Build your own bowl by adding fruit, maltesers, chocolate buttons or mini marshmallows, with your choice of 10 different milks.