Shoreditch, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Just off Great Eastern Street, this characterful boozer has been a waxing and waning star of the Shoreditch culinary scene since the get-go; with a mezzanine dining room – up a spiral staircase from the main bar area – that’s been a springboard for numerous well-known chefs. Though only inspiring middling praise in recent times, in August 2024, one of only two female winners of MasterChef: The Professionals – Nikita Pathakji – arrived at the stoves, promising an uptick in performance, with dishes such as cured sea bream with coal-smoked aubergine, harissa and preserved lemon.

Daniel Willis, Isaac McHale & Johnny Smith helped establish the East End as a credible culinary destination, with the launch over a decade ago of this trailblazing venue (est. 2013) in Shoreditch Town Hall. “It is one of those tasting menu restaurants” – a no-frills (fairly uneventful) chamber whose cuisine on launch seemed dazzlingly weird and wonderful, and which is nowadays a key pillar of London’s foodie hall-of-fame, with two Michelin stars and – until this year – the UK’s leading position on the World’s 50 best ranking. However, the verdict of our annual diners’ poll has for some years been more cautious than the general critical consensus, and this uneven pattern continues this year. The main event is an eight-course tasting menu for £195 (with wine pairing at £175), which is hailed as “faultlessly executed” in upbeat feedback but seen in sceptical commentary as merely tolerable-to-disappointing. But most striking this year was a general lack of interest full stop: feedback was notably scant compared with the venue’s stratospheric media profile. Perhaps this good-but-no-longer-great view is beginning to become more widely held? The venue lost its World’s 50 Best ranking this year (slipping to 80th position).

Tomos Parry’s phenomenally successful haunt occupies the first floor of a converted Shoreditch pub (over the Smoking Goat, see also), but with its own separate entrance. Somehow, he brilliantly captured the zeitgeist with his Basque-influenced cooking over fire, producing food that’s as “simple” as it is “outstanding”. “Ingredients are carefully sourced, prepared with care and the flavours really come through”. Many reports recommend you “order the turbot!” (‘Brat’ meaning Turbot in Parry’s native Welsh), but it’s a rather large dish if you are just a couple and the rest of the menu is just as worthy of exploration. “The room is casual and buzzy” and tightly packed, but “despite the cosy tables it still feels like you have your own space”. Top Menu Tip – “Basque cheesecake is a highlight: great flavour and so light”.

“Proper British food” of the “sort that isn’t fashionable any more” is the USP of this pub near the entrance to the Barbican arts centre. The “seasonal fare with some wonderful dishes you rarely see in other restaurants” is “filling and tasty”, and the Sunday roast is particularly recommended. Top Menu Tip – “try the cod’s head: absolutely amazing, but not for the faint-hearted!”

“Hidden away by a walled garden, with simple food from a tiny open-plan kitchen” – Melanie Arnold & Margot Henderson’s (wife of St John’s Fergus) well-known venue near Spitalfields occupies the converted bike sheds of a former school. “Surprisingly tranquil for this part of London”, “on a summer’s day the garden room is the perfect place to eat” (there’s also an indoor space). “Simple , well-chosen food comes from a tiny open-plan kitchen” – “not flash but always interesting” with “fresh flavours”. There was still the odd duff report this year, but inconsistency was much-reduced on last year’s feedback.

Open on July 3 on Old Street in Shoreditch (well after our annual diners’ poll had concluded), a high-end vegan restaurant from Great British Menu 2024 winner Kirk Haworth and his sister Keeley, offering a tasting menu format at £75 per person, plus drinks. Bookings may be hard to secure: the first batch sold out within hours of becoming available, three months ahead of launch! (As of July 2024, they are now fully booked until 16th February 2025 for tables of 2 or more…)

“Creative, seasonal menus focusing on one core ingredient at a time make Nest a unique proposition” – and there’s been “no let-up in quality” following the 2023 move from Hackney to “an improved and more spacious location” by Shoreditch Town Hall. “Execution and warm personal service are still bang-on” and there’s an “improved wine list with some real rarities (fairly marked-up too!)” – all of which makes this “a place to return to again and again”.

“A wonderful curation of British produce and informative service” – Joe Laker’s 16-seat two-year-old in Smithfield offers “some of the best counter dining in London” according to its small but passionate fan club. In the nondescript streets north of Old Street roundabout, an old corner pub has been transformed with a big open kitchen behind a marble counter. “Faultless course after course are all served with the care and attention they deserve, with thoughtful wine pairings that further elevate the experience” (the nine-course tasting menu is currently £120 per person). More than one reporter tips it as “a restaurant to watch” that’s “heading for a Michelin star”.