Shoreditch, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: 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.

You’re dating yourself if you remember when this busy, characterful pub was part of the first colonisation of Shoreditch as hipster central. Cuisine-wise, it has had highs and lows in recent years. But in early 2021 came news that 25-year-old Ruth Hansom – Great British Menu finalist and the youngest woman to win Young Chef of the Year – is now at the stoves. “Creative without reinventing anything, her emphasis is on fresh seasonal produce and the end result is mighty fine!” It’s served alongside “a small, decent but reasonably priced wine list”.

“A favourite spot in Shoreditch” – this sassy little haunt offers fab small plates “with an affordable price-tag” alongside well-chosen wines, to provide a very “pleasurable experience”. And it’s certainly a good all-rounder. But “a Michelin star? Simply put, why?”. The team has also spun out a lockdown project into something more permanent in the form of Royale at Bow Wharf (see also).

“Still at the top of their game” – Daniel Willis, Johnny Smith and chef Isaac McHale’s famous trailblazer within Shoreditch’s monumental old town hall put in a very assured survey performance this year. The odd report did query the “astronomical pricing”, even while acknowledging that a meal here is “a great occasion”. But for the most part there was nothing but veneration for the “top service and evolving tasting menu”: “intense flavours from the hands of an artist” twinned with with “an amazing wine pairing” (and a non-alcoholic matching drinks option is also available).

Celebrating his journey from ‘hardcore carnivore’ to committed vegetarian, Rishim Sachdeva (whose CV includes Chiltern Firehouse and The Dairy) launched this ‘mostly vegan’ Indian as a 2021 residency in Soho’s well-known Sun & 13 Cantons pub. Next stop is a permanent HQ, which is aimed for at the end of 2021 or in 2022.

We have Tracey Emin and Madness front-man Suggs to thank, along with the rest of the OPEN campaign, for saving this iconic (for once the word is merited) Shoreditch landmark north of Liverpool Street, which – after its original launch in 2000 – became a seminal venue for emerging hipster East London. It closed in 2014 when it was about to be flattened for a skyscraper, but this 5,000 sq ft former rail power station (built in 1893) reopened in April 2021, initially with its terrace in operation. This was followed in May and June by its ground-floor ‘Engine Hall’ bar and restaurant and first-floor ‘Timber Loft’. Survey feedback was too limited for a rating, but all-round extremely positive.

“Led by fantastic British ingredients, the cooking seems simple but it’s not” at James Lowe’s acclaimed canteen, at the foot of Shoreditch’s well-known landmark, the Tea Building. His “superb combinations” deliver “amazing and unexpected flavours” – “it’s easy to see why this restaurant is so highly rated” and fans still consider the cuisine “some of the best in London”. (In February 2020, co-founder John Ogier stepped away from the business).

2018 Review: A shipping container by Liverpool Street is the pop-up to more permanent home of this street food venture, where they know their way around an egg.

Within Shoreditch’s Blue Mountain School (‘dedicated to nurturing engagements and interactions between diverse practices’… most of them expensive!), this hipster dining room is nowadays on version 2.0. Nuno Mendes is no longer involved, and diners no longer all share a communal table: parties of up to four are served in the main dining room; a larger group might be served in the adjacent ‘R&D library’; or there’s a chef’s table for up to six diners. In any case, you are in for £170 per person (with wine pairing at £125 per person) to sample Edoardo Pellicano’s innovative menus – an investment all our reporters who made it say was worth it on account of the outstanding results.

2021 Review: This pair of “casual”, well-located all-day brasseries serve an “eclectic menu” from breakfast on, but it’s the “friendly ambience that’s a real winner”. The Sloane Square branch is “very Chelsea” – “great for lunch” and “wonderfully convenient pre- and post-show for Cadogan Hall or Royal Court”.

“Amazing” British game in season is the USP at this City boozer next to the Barbican, which makes for some “great gastro evenings”. This is supplemented in the off-season (so March to July) by spit-roasted whole suckling pig, rare-breed meat and wild fish and seafood. It’s also a useful pre- and post-show dining option for concert- and theatre-goers at the Barbican Centre, five minutes’ walk away.

2018 Review: “Usefully placed for City meetings”, this outfit near the Barbican is consistently well-rated “reasonably priced” and fairly “convivial”, “if perhaps with tables a little close together”.

2020 Review: Margot Henderson (wife of St John’s Fergus) and Melanie Arnold’s “charming” converted school bike shed near Spitalfields elicits lyrical praise from fans of their “great” British cooking – even if some reporters flinch at the “exorbitant wine list”. Ratings have rebounded after last year’s dip, possibly caused by the pair’s takeover of the ICA’s catering. “My last meal would be Rochelle Canteen’s mince on dripping toast with horseradish and watercress, and a magnificent bottle of wine”. Top Tip – “pleasant garden in good weather”.