London Hackney Restaurant Guide

“You just cannot beat” the “brilliantly cooked, juicy/sloppy burgers”, say fans of this indie group – “they’re worth the dirty fingers afterwards”. Founded by Joe Grossman in 2012, it now has seven outlets (plus two concessions) in London and another in Brighton, and after negotiating a tricky patch on home turf opened its first international branch in Dubai last year.

2021 Review: This “buzzy”, well-known Italian (in the Arthaus building near London Fields) continues to inspire relatively limited feedback. Pizza is the most popular option foodwise, and reports say it “ticks all the boxes” for a good time. Its sibling Lardo Bebe is no more.

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.

2021 Review: The “lovely Thai food” at these reliable cafés is “impressively authentic given that they are a chain” – “excellent value” and “fast”, if occasionally let down by “iffy service”. Founded in 2008 by Saiphin and Alex Moore, who inherited the name of their first East End site, the group has 18 branches in London and expanded to Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (delivery only) and Leeds following the sale of a majority stake to US investors. The couple also have two spin-offs, Lao Café in Covent Garden and the new Chinese noodle bar Hoh Sek in St Katharine Docks.

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”.

“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.

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.

2024 Review: This “cool hangar of a restaurant in Hackney” (part of the design-conscious Barworks group) sits in a repurposed and eclectically decorated 1960s office block and also incorporates a coffee shop, deli, barber and tattoo parlour. “Recommended for large groups – the food is very good for the price” and includes a range of global favourites plus sourdough pizza, to be eaten in the spacious ‘Open Kitchen’ or the cosier ‘Dining Room’.

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.

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”.

On the former site of wine bar Peg in Hackney’s Morning Lane, this neighbourhood newcomer opened in late 2023 with a focus on relatively traditional Italian cooking from chef Mitchell Damota. Co-founder Gennaro Leone also runs a design gallery nearby, so the tiny interior is classily decked out. Reports please!

“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”.

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.