Hackney, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Epic!” – “Andy Beynon and his team are so welcoming” and deliver an “absolutely amazing” tasting menu experience at this funky-looking and “super-stylish” venue in Hackney (near London Fields). “You sit at a long, curvaceous, blonde-wooden counter, and service is by the whole kitchen team who are clearly passionate about what they’re doing”. The menu revolves around “inventive fish dishes” from “quality produce” that are “stuffed with really bold flavours”. Top Menu Tip – “loved the aged trout with smoked beurre-blanc. Raw red prawn with prawn head and Riesling sauce. Loved it all”.

“Truly outstanding all round”; star chef Tomos Parry’s now-permanent wood-fire spin-off in a covered courtyard and adjoining railway arch in London Fields has “staff who care, food that’s different and a great buzz without being so loud you can’t have a conversation”. It’s worth it to “go as a crowd so you can get to taste all the fantastic dishes on offer”: typical are Roasted Chicken Rice or Whole Crab with Hay Butter.

As Pidgin, these well-known Hackney premises sometimes struggled to inspire a level of diner excitement to match the level of hype generated by the fooderati, perhaps explaining the decision to close in summer 2024. It’s a case of ‘plus ça change’, though, with an immediate re-opening by the current head chef Drew Snaith in partnership with former manager Hannah Kowalski. Initial reports on the menu speak of main dishes (so despite being in E8 it won’t just be small plates), and some emphasis on meat and live-fire cooking.

“Nobody else is serving food like this in London” (“it’s very different – that’s why I’ve eaten there six times…”), say fans of this hip yearling in London Fields from ‘Hot 4 You’ delivery service chef Matthew Scott, whose forte is “innovative dishes you think won’t work… but they do!”. . Charlie Carr’s natural wine list incorporates arguably “London’s best selection of orange wines”.