Cambridge Heath, British, Modern - Restaurant Guide

“The new kitchen is a joy to watch in action” at Rafael Cagali’s genius venue in Bethnal Green’s “lovely old town hall”, which has lacked ambience in the past, but which emerged from a four-week closure and refurb in early 2025 on which early reports are very positive (the new layout includes a lounge for pre-dinner drinks and snacks). Rafael’s “brilliant” Brazilian- influenced tasting menu here is regularly one of the highest-rated in our annual diners’ poll and the “absolutely gorgeous and surprising dishes” offer “a fun experience whilst also wowing with flavours”. “Service is also a draw from the very knowledgeable staff” and there’s “an amazing wine list and such good advice to go with it”. Allow three hours for the tasting menu which is £245 per person. (“I always say that I cannot get this food anywhere else.....and I leave wanting to come back. That is very special, as is the team.”). Top Tips – there’s also a short tasting menu (Wed-Fri) for £185 per person and three-course set lunch for £110 per person.

2022 Review: The wild and wacky French chain opened this eclectically designed 194-room hotel in late 2019, complete with clashing fabrics, retro gaming machines, füsball and karaoke rooms. The loungy restaurant offers an easy-grazing selection of dishes to suit the tastes of globe-trotting hipsters: initial feedback suggests it's better than you might expect (given all the competing attractions).

This popular and stylish modern hybrid operation in Hackney mixes retail outlets with an all-day café offering breakfast followed by global dishes or pizzas from a menu also available in the Chandelier restaurant. A spinoff market opened in 2023 in the new development at King’s Cross, securing a coup with the launch last year of Island, a surf-and-turf restaurant from top chefs Tom Brown and Mike Carter.

An “extensive list of natural wines, niche grapes and producers, with regular changes to keep it interesting”, draws regulars back to Brett Redman’s bar and restaurant at Borough Market, where it was an earlyish arrival 15 years ago (a spinoff opened in Hackney three years ago). The food, much of it sourced from the market, is smartly cooked, with many plates available in two or three sizes to ease sharing. Top Tip – “get a window table and watch the market hordes go by”.

This “bustling place with great small plates and wines” in Cambridge Heath, from Freddie Sheen & Zac Whittle, is “one of the many dotted around the Hackney/Tower Hamlets borders” and “delivers exactly what you want from a good neighbourhood restaurant – tasty dishes, warm service and a comfortable environment”. Three years on from launch, it is “largely a word-of-mouth success and seems always busy still, despite a relative lack of PR compared with others nearby”.

“Perfect local restaurant in a cute location” – across the canal from Hackney’s Broadway Market: a “surprisingly romantic”, Scandi-esque dining room with “inspired dishes, fab wine list and a wonderfully friendly team”, headed by its founders (hospitality power couple Charlie Sims – ex-Noma; plus sommelier and natural wine proponent Honey Spencer). Top Menu Tip – “if the monumental pork chop is on, go for it! (and I don’t even like pork chops)”.