Shoreditch, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Top-end, creative dining without pretensions” has carved a global reputation for Daniel Willis, Isaac Mchale and Johnny Smith’s “relaxed” blue-tiled chamber within Shoreditch’s fine old town hall (whose renown is sealed by achieving the UK’s highest position in the ‘World’s 50 Best’, ranking at 33). The results from the open kitchen via a five-course or ten-course tasting menu focus on British-sourced produce and are “phenomenally good, exceptionally interesting and always innovative”. As well as “inspired wine pairings”, the forward-thinking approach is shown by “(surprisingly) good non-alcoholic pairings” too. “Staff have amazing knowledge of the food and wine” and their “real care” adds a lot to the experience (“my veggie boyfriend never feels like he’s an inconvenience here like at so many other restaurants”). Gripes? The setting is quite “Spartan”. More significantly, whereas most reports say it “exceeded our sky-high expectations”, ratings here softened this year, with the chief complaint being a feeling that it’s becoming “hugely overpriced”: “even if the food’s a wow, it’s so expensive”, and some feel “it’s beginning to rival the River Café for non-value!”.

The team from Hackney hit Ellory (RIP) have shaken up the letters in its name in order to baptise this new venture (drawn, according to urban legend, by Shoreditch rents which are now cheaper than in so-very-now E8). Occupying slightly offbeat, triangular-shaped premises opposite Oklava, “the focus is on wine and accompanying small plates” as well as some more substantial fare. Early reports are positive, praising “fab food and knowledgeable staff”, but – noting that “it’s not sure if it’s a restaurant or a wine bar” – fall short of the gushing rapture it’s inspired amongst nearly all newspaper critics.

“A wonderful combination of low-key style, effortlessly friendly service, and exceptionally well-crafted food” draw fans to Angela Hartnett’s “buzzy”, “unstuffy” and spacious pub in Shoreditch (converted from a former warehouse). A minority, though, are less wowed: it’s “decent, but there’s no racing of the pulse”.

“You can’t beat a great bacon sarnie and a range of other delicious breakfast specials” at this long-established spin-off from Smithfield’s St John, near Spitalfields Market. At other times this utilitarian canteen serves its “very good, if sometimes overly quirky” offal-centric British menu alongside a “wine list full of vintages you’ve never heard of, but which are always enjoyable”.

“Don’t be put off by the hipster canteen vibe” say fans of James Lowe’s venerated Shoreditch foodie-mecca, offering “always-original” small plates and “a small but really interesting wine list”. But ratings here no longer scale the absolute pinnacles they once did, dragged down by a minority who find the place “too impressed by itself” for an achievement level that’s good, but no more.

“Café A Vin changed into Galvin HOP” a couple of years ago and feedback on the Galvins’ posh gastropub near Spitalfields Market (and adjacent to Galvin La Chapelle) is rather limited and mixed. “The food is perhaps a notch lower than the previous incarnation”, but attractions include “good steaks”, and, as ever, that “you can also sit outside at the front or in the garden, which is nice in good weather”.

Formerly the site of Eyre Brothers (sadly RIP) then very briefly the very short-lived 70 Leonard St (not so sadly RIP) – now this Shoreditch venue has been taken over by Jackson Boxer (of Brunswick House/LASSCO fame) and Andrew Clarke and given a very Shoreditch makeover (lots of polished concrete), plus an ice bar for raw fish and shellfish, and open-hearth cooking for meat and vegetables. Early press reviews (“cutting edge”, “vivid”, “concentrated”, “musky”, “smokey acidity”, “almost-too-pungent”) suggest the cuisine’s certainly not boring, and arguably an expression of “mad genius”.