London Hoxton Restaurant Guide

2024 Review: “Chicken with amazing sides” is the winning formula at Romain Bourrillon’s rotisserie chain, which imports its chooks from France. “Nice brunch”, too.

“When you want a hipster burger dripping in your beard, this place delivers!” – Scott Collins’s “buzzy, vibey” joints are notorious for their “really good dirty burgers” with memorable names (the ‘Dead Hippie’ and its veggie cousin the ‘Tempeh Tantrum’), plus “excellent buffalo wings with blue-cheese sauce”. In early 2025 he opened spinoff venture BLOODsports in a Covent Garden basement (see also), showing live sports and horror films on large-screen TVs.

“Delicious ramen with rich home-made broth” draws a steady crowd to these “quick, casual” joints “with a fun classic rock soundtrack”; and whose “great noodles are very consistent across their branches” (there are now seven across the capital). Top Menu Tip – “bao bun specials are good too, and great value”.

The food of Emilia-Romagna is the inspiration for this Italian duo in Shoreditch and Fitzrovia. They major in pasta, with sliced meats, cheeses and wines from the region as back-up, and all reports say the food is of a good standard.

This 10-year-old group with six sites offers a “good-value and tasty” take on the Middle Eastern kebab, served with a “modern twist” alongside “noteworthy cocktails”. “A seat at the counter is fun” at the original Kingly Court branch in Carnaby Street, which has a ‘fine dining’ option downstairs, Kebab Queen (see also).

2024 Review: “Thoughtful” Vietnamese food is served at “fabulous prices for the generous portions” at this duo in Soho and Hoxton from Hieu Trung Bui, who has done much to popularise pho and other southeast Asian dishes in London over more than 20 years. That “plenty of Asian people eat there too” speaks for its “authentic” style.

2022 Review: “Top Korean street/junk food”, say fans of Linda Lee’s K-pop-styled pit stops, known for their funky fried chicken and other luridly flavoured bites. In the second half of 2021, she closed her Covent Garden branch, leaving just Shoreditch and St Pauls open, but north London and Nine Elms branches are coming soon apparently.

“A fix of huevos rancheros never disappoints” at this collection of 11 all-day London ‘cafs’ (with another four across England and two pubs), whose menu mixes British greasy-spoon fare with American diner classics (pancakes, fried chicken, milkshakes) that certainly “set you up for the day”. “Basic, but with a nice buzz”, they are also “great for oldies, with half-price mains for the over 60s”.

2023 Review: For a meat-free burger, this tiny brand (the first vegan restaurant in Europe to use ‘Beyond Meat’ in its patties) is well worth a try if you need a bite near the Old Street roundabout, or are down Pop Brixton way.

“It’s good to see innovative and regular changes to the menu”, say fans of these “enjoyable” Mexican street-food operations, which win many nominations for their “cheap ’n’ cheerful formula, including a “fresh and flavourful” menu majoring in tacos, quesadillas and tostadas”. On the downside, for long-term fans, “the food doesn’t seem as fresh as it used to years ago, by which standard it feels mass produced”.

Under chef Isaac McHale, this famous Shoreditch destination blazed a trail when it opened in 2013. McHale remains, but he parted ways in November 2024 with co-founders, Daniel Willis and Johnny Smith (who now are focused on Luca, see also). Perhaps the parting of the ways is a positive, as ratings in our annual diners’ poll only improved this year and remain consistent with the kitchen’s solidly good performance in recent times. Admittedly, for some years now there’s been a perception gap between its current level of performance (“OK, but I think I had expected more”); and the dazzling heights is scaled during the venue’s heyday (two Michelin stars, World’s 50 Best…), when it helped put Shoreditch on London’s gastronomic map by tearing up the stuffy old rule book for fine dining with its confident, casual and creative culinary cleverness. That said, it inspired no stern critiques this year and remains “a favourite” for a very loyal fan club: “simply great…”, “always a joy…”, “really great attitude and attention to detail…”. The main event is an eight-course tasting menu for £225 per person (with wine pairing at £175), or you can opt for the ‘short’ six-course version for £195 per person. Top Tip – the three-course lunch menu is £95 per person and is available Wednesday to Friday.

“Fantastic pizza that’s good value” continues to win praise for Alan & Mark Wogan’s (the sons of the late Sir Terry) three-strong chain in Neal’s Yard (the original), Marylebone and the City. The 20-inch pizzas are enough to feed 2-3 people and flavours can be split 50/50.

“Sit at the kitchen counter and watch small plates of mostly Italian influence being expertly prepared for the best take on this consistently good venue” (which has no more than 30-35 seats in total). Jon Lawson will celebrate his tenth year here in 2026 and has maintained impressive standards of seasonal Italian-inspired small plates all the while. It helps that the venue has “a nice casual-and-hip but also romantic vibe too”.

“Amongst the many restaurants in Little Vietnam” this “friendly if slightly chaotic” institution is a treasured mainstay thanks to its “very tasty, home-style cooking” with “plenty of choice”.

2023 Review: This quartet of family-run restaurants have won a big reputation for their southwest Vietnamese dishes, including pho and their famed goat with galangal. They started out 15 years ago in Shoreditch before heading across the river to Battersea.

“When craving good quality red meat”, “these buzzy (if “very noisy”) chop-shops are bang on the money”, offering some of “the best VFM meat in London”, plus “attentive and welcoming service” too. “The steaks compare very favourably to Hawksmoor, especially as they are a fraction of the price” – “corkage is £10, which when matched with Butcher’s Block prices on a Monday makes for unbeatable value”. “Interiors are sleek but also relaxed (big groups – potentially with burger juices dripped down the front – can laugh loudly across circular tables without getting any side-eye”). Top Menu Tip – “The ‘All In’ is a heady mix of different meats laid on bread which soaks up all the resting juices… wonderful!”

This well-regarded boozer, just off Great Eastern Street, was one of the first in Shoreditch to have a reputation for cooking (in the early 2000s); and is currently on an upswing having hired MasterChef winner Nikita Pathakji to bring some of her refined magic to the kitchen in summer 2024. A busy gastropub is a very different prospect from her former gaffs (Bibendum, Core and Kitchen W8), but her “good Sunday lunch” is definitely a hit.

An “excellent” and “calming former pub”, just off the Regent’s Canal in Islington, which has wowed critics and civilians alike with “delicious food and friendly service” since its 2022 opening. Founders Rob Tecwyn & Adam Symonds have built on its success with the launch of the Kerfield Arms in Camberwell in early 2025.

This outpost of the Japanese master of Nikkei dining puts in a steady performance for those who make the trip to its capacious (240-cover) basement location, which is at the foot of a custom-built, Nobu-branded boutique hotel in Shoreditch. There’s the odd gripe about high prices, but no complaints about the food; and all the classics are present, from high-grade sushi to the much-copied miso-glazed black cod. Even so, the venue has never really taken off to the same extent as its siblings further west.