Shoreditch, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Nuno Mendes strikes again, outside the box” at his “informal and wonderful” Shoreditch 16-seater, where a once-daily, three-hour sitting provides a “very intimate” happening, which fans hail as “the top dining experience in town”. It is tucked away up a staircase in the ‘nurturing’ environment of the Blue Mountain School – self-described as ‘a progressive vision and a physical place of contemplation’ (where one can spend a ton of money on clothes and other artisanal creations). The meal takes place in a bare terracotta chamber at a shared table, and “the opportunity to watch and interact with the chefs makes the experience so much more interesting”. “An ever-changing, multi-course tasting menu” is served: “inventive, challenging” and “exciting”. It’s “a brilliant concept” and one whose scary expense inspires not a single grumble from anyone commenting this year. And – breaking news… – with a recent change of policy, taking pics for your Insta feed is now not only allowed but encouraged.

“Perfectly executed classics with a gentle twist” and other small plates with “delicious and inventive combinations” have won foodie renown for this approachable (if “rather cramped”) three-year-old: a re-working (and not just of the name) of the same team’s original Hackney outfit, Ellory (RIP), occupying a quirky triangular site. Our reporters are a little more circumspect, and unimpressed that the venue sometimes seems to attract “the Michelin-star-chasing crowd... not what you’d want in a neighbourhood Shoreditch restaurant”.

“Notwithstanding the hipster canteen vibe, this is the real thing!”. James Lowe’s “brilliantly executed”, seasonal British small plates – “fresh and light, yet sturdy and filling when required” (and often “using a wood-fired oven to give that extra tang of flavour”) – are complemented by “delicious bread” and “a proper list of natural wines”, and have rightly won renown for his venerated foodie champion: a light-filled space at the foot of Shoreditch’s iconic Tea Building. Its ratings are not quite as beyond-stellar as when the venue first opened, however, and it’s no criticism to say that its No. 2 ranking in the UK according to the World’s 50 Best has less to do with its “sublime” cooking, and more to do with the in-crowd criteria of the fooderati who vote for it. Top Tip – “the Lyle’s Guest Chef Series programme is great”.

In terms of media profile, Daniel Willis, Johnny Smith and chef Isaac McHale’s groundbreaking, east London seven-year-old is one of the capital’s culinary titans: the highest UK restaurant in the famous World’s 50-best ranking of global gastronomic champions (one of only two UK names to be thus-recognised). Occupying a neutrally-decorated chamber within Shoreditch’s gracious old town hall – with blue-tiled open kitchen on view – the experience features prodigiously-edgy combinations using seasonal British ingredients, and is centred on an extended tasting menu (although there is also a cut-down version available Monday to Thursday, which has a mere six courses; as well another cut-down option at lunch of just four courses). The restaurant also makes a particular feature of thoughtful non-alcoholic and ‘ambient tea’ drinks pairings to complement its more traditional wine options – an innovation other big names would do well to follow. Does it live up? For many reporters the answer is still yes, with lavish praise for its “lush”, “exceptionally creative cuisine”, “unusually knowledgeable service” and “remarkable wine”. However the “pretentiously unpretentious” interior (no tablecloths of course) lacks charge for somewhere now so famous; and overall the average ratings here are starting to look thoroughly middling in terms of London’s other ‘heavy hitting’ names, by which yardstick its Top 50 placement just doesn’t stack up. Flabbergasting pricing is another issue: even fans acknowledge “you need to remortgage your home to go”, and 1 in 3 reporters now vote it their most overpriced meal of the year. Oh, and you have to pay in advance…

Home of “possibly the best bacon sandwich in London amongst all the faddishness and superficiality of modern Spitalfields” – this “carnivore heaven” is “more accessible and less full-on than the original (and still best) St John”, but still serves “excellent nose-to-tail food” from breakfast to dinner. Its white-walled, canteen-like quarters are echoey and not especially comfortable, but somehow avoid seeming as grimly utilitarian as they otherwise might. Top Tip – the baking is gorgeous: “an Eccles cake here will offer all the benefits of a warm hug”.

This potentially “very interesting” yearling in Shoreditch (on the site long famous as Eyre Brothers, RIP) with a ‘fire and ice’ theme – a combination of open-hearth, roast dishes with a raw seafood bar – failed to ignite passions amongst our reporters in its first 12 months, despite some adulatory press reviews. Some fans did proclaim its “amazing” dishes, but others said “how I hate this place” citing “terrible food and snotty service”. Perhaps the management just didn’t gel, as Jackson Boxer unexpectedly severed his ties with the place in August 2019, leaving Andrew Clarke to soldier on solo.

This iconic Shoreditch venue has risen once more from the ashes. Originally it was set to reopen in Spring 2020 with a bar and restaurant (ground floor Engine Hall / mezzanine Copper Bar); open for al fresco dining from April 2021. The Timber Loft, an "epic" top floor bar & restaurant will open from 21 June.

2018 Review: One of the first gastropubs on the City’s Shoreditch border, this place takes old-timers “back to the early ’00s!”. What they do, “they do well”, whether you’re eating in the bar or on the upstairs mezzanine.

This new Drake & Morgan bar/restaurant (they bought Corney & Barrow in 2016 and are developing a new brand with the sites and further acquisitions) will open in the 'UnSquare Mile' Principal Place development (along with the new Amazon HQ) in autumn 2017.