Hackney Restaurant Guide

“Messy, filling and tasty” – this 14-year-old indie outfit is “one of the best burger groups in London”, with seven outlets in the capital and one in Brighton. It was acquired last year by a new company, headed by original founder Joe Grossman. Top Menu Tip – “the Ari Gold cheeseburger is best”.

This 15-strong London noodle chain (now with branches in Brighton, Birmingham and Bristol) is “a good stand-by” – perhaps it’s “not as good as some of its competitors”, but it is widely seen as “good value”: in particular “the lunch-time meal deal” is a winner.

2023 Review: This “outstanding” four-year-old is an “engaging but cramped little venue” whose “absolute bargain of a menu” from co-owner Johnnie Crow (ex-Harwood Arms and Anglo), makes it “well worth the trip up to Hackney (booking essential!)”. The meal is structured around one type of meat each month – chicken, game, wagyu – to minimise waste, and “service is personal, enthusiastic and charming”. “You’re unlikely to find much better value in town, with some truly stellar dishes given the mid-range price-point”.

2023 Review: “Great value and unusual tasting menus, nice wines & lovely service” win all-round applause for this yearling in a Hackney Downs warehouse from Anthony Lyon (of Lyon’s in Crouch End). Head chef Giuseppe Pepe (ex-Pidgin and Marksman) is responsible for the seasonal, minimal-waste menu, and his “food is beautifully presented and served”.

“Impeccable…”, “phenomenal…”, “best in ages…” – these are the typical descriptions of the “perfect fish cooking” from an “ever-evolving” menu at Andy Benyon’s Hackney venue (near London Fields). It feels “original”, “the counter dining has an excellent vibe” and “service from the chefs is a highlight” too, all contributing to the “passionate” ethos that underpins this “top gastronomic experience”. But while it’s “high-end cuisine, pricing is down-to-earth”. “Great music too!”

“The food is wonderful, the vibe is lively” – so say fans of Tomos Perry’s long-running wood-fire spinoff in a covered courtyard adjoining the well-known coffee roastery in a London Fields railway arch. On the menu, dishes like roasted chicken rice, whole crab with hay butter, and fresh shellfish. One less enthusiastic reporter found prices “sky-high considering we weren’t drinking” but even so said “the food was certainly delicious”.

2022 Review: In gentrifying Clapton – this ‘pizza pub’ (on the former site of The Elephant’s Head) is the creation of the founders of two pizza multiples: Santa Maria (Pasquale Chionchio & Angelo Ambrosio) and Firezza (Edin Basic). Craft beers and live music complete the offering.

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.

“A great neighbourhood restaurant” is the verdict on this Hackney destination, which – perhaps not helped by Michelin’s blessing when the premises famously traded as Pidgin – has sometimes struggled under the burden of unfair expectations. In its current guise since mid 2024, it provides “original dishes which can be shared and that are always interesting”, all provided by the “super staff”. “The small dining room can initially seem a little cold but it has a decent vibe”.

2024 Review: Near London Fields, this ‘hyper-seasonal’ spot in Hackney (from Elly Ward and the team behind plant-based pioneer Super Nature) opened in spring 2023 and focuses on a low-waste philosophy. There’s a short array of meat-free, modern British dishes, accompanied by a selection of low-intervention wines, beers and ciders. Or, in the evenings, you can go for a five-course tasting menu with the option of a drinks pairing. No survey feedback as yet, but if you are avoiding meat, this is one of the more interesting-looking openings this year.

Taking over the former Nest site in Hackney’s Morning Lane, this early 2024 newcomer is an informal venue offering communal dining on skewers of grilled meat and other small plates (as inspired by Japan’s izakaya drinking dens, but using British recipes and ingredients). No reports as yet, but while testing influencer fave-raves, The Evening Standard’s Joanna Taylor gave it a big thumbs-up, saying its shots-fuelled style “certainly manages to live up to its name even on Sunday evening”.

“An interesting menu with dishes you don’t find elsewhere” (for instance Puntarelle and skate wing salad, and Passatelli al ragu di Faraona) pique interest in this two-year-old corner café, whose Hackney site became well-known under its wine-driven former occupants (Peg and Legs, both RIP). Looks-wise, it has the air of a superior Italian café – with its tablecloths and trad creamy styling – and the overall formula creates a pleasing environment that’s “packed and very lively”.

“Inventive cooking using high-quality ingredients” is the hallmark of chef Matthew Scott, who made his name with the ‘Hot 4 U’ lockdown delivery service and has continued the good work at this “hipster” two-year-old in London Fields where “the food delivers”. It’s a “bright and cosy addition to the plethora of wine-and-small-plates places around the greater Hackney area” – and has possibly “the top selection of orange wines”, from Charlie Carr of Wingnut Wines.

2023 Review: Owner Julian Denis previously ran the super-popular vegan Chinese Mao Chow just up the road. This new venture (named for the medium-hot pepper) is twice the size (although still only 28 seats) and promises ‘an evolution’ of the food there, incorporating flavours and techniques from Puerto Rican, Portuguese and American cuisines. No survey reports, but The Evening Standard’s Jimi Famurewa found, in his May 2022 review, the vibe of a “dangerously raucous east London house party circa 2009” matched with food that needed “a little more finesse, and… enough confidence… that they don’t reach for the chilli-and-umami hose at every juncture”. As of August 2022, the restaurant’s website shows no availability and says it’s currently closed for a refurb that should have ended in July 2022? So change may be afoot.

2023 Review: Above a new branch of Dumpling Shack in the basement, John and Yee Li’s ground-floor operation in London Fields will host this new outlet based on spicy burgers (‘The Sichuan’, ‘The Vegan’ and ‘The Hot and Mala Mapo’) in potato rolls plus ‘shake shake’ fries, as road-tested over a couple of years at Spitalfields Market.