London Shoreditch Restaurant Guide

“Taste explosions abound” – “a variety of flavours, with inventiveness and fun as well as staying true to authentic Thai cooking” – at this hip Spitalfields two-year-old, which also features “a spacious bar with very good cocktails”. For many reporters, “it’s simply the best Thai food I’ve had in London” (“Thai food is a favourite of mine, I’ve tried lots of places over the last 36 years, and this beats ’em all!”)

“I just loved everything about it!” – Behind an inconspicuous side-door in Shoreditch, on the panelled first-floor of a converted pub (a pre-gentrification strip club, whose ground floor is nowadays Smoking Goat), chef Tomos Parry (ex-head-chef of Kitty Fishers) “exceeds high expectations” and has a smash hit on his hands, with this “terrific” launch – the survey’s highest rated newcomer. The “open plan kitchen approach works well”, with the focus on the large grill which produces most of the Basque-influenced cuisine here. “So, obviously you’re going to order the turbot” – for which the restaurant is named (look it up) – which is presented whole and “utterly delicious”. But “the food is superb throughout and well priced considering its quality and the chef’s pedigree”. “Very happy staff”, “a lovely atmosphere” and thoughtful wine list complete the picture.

“The best food I’ve eaten this year!” – early reporters award the highest ratings to mould-breaking chef Nuno Mendes’s “fantastic” latest project: a 16-seater that opened without fanfare in April 2018, but which is one of the most culinarily interesting arrivals of recent times. “Hidden away, up a secret staircase in Redchurch Street”, it’s part of Shoreditch’s funky Blue Mountain School (‘an interdisciplinary space dedicated to nurturing engagements and interactions between diverse practices’… and also selling really expensive stuff). This new venture is a revival of sorts of Mendes’s Loft Project fine dining supper club, and it inspires ne’er a word of protest regarding the price tag – just first impressions of “an all-round excellent experience, from meeting Nuno and his brigade in the kitchen and eating snacks, to sitting down at a communal table and being served course after course of exceptional, innovative food. There is an impressive wine room too” and all-in-all it offers “a superb night out as well as a great concept”.

“No wonder people queue out the door!” – “it feels like you are actually in Mumbai, even the smells wafting round the room”, at these “terrific” and “incredibly busy” outlets, whose “distinctive” interiors generate a “vibrant atmosphere” that’s reasonably faithful to the buzz in India’s Irani cafés. “The bar areas with good cocktails help make the long and boring wait bearable” and, once seated, servers “are full of fun and energy” (admittedly probably with one eye on “efficiently maximising table turnover”). For most customers, any hassle is “worth it for the absolutely yum-tastic Indian street food” – special shout outs go to the “the reinvention of the bacon butty (naan with crispy cured Ginger Pig bacon) which is the perfect breakfast”; and “the black daal and Ruby Murray, which are standout dishes”. But declining ratings do support the doubters who feel that “quality has declined following the brand’s extraordinary rise in popularity”, or that “while it’s good enough, the chain definitely doesn’t excite like it once did”. Even most critics would acknowledge that “the glow hasn’t worn off Dishoom yet”, however, and if you haven’t been already, you should go: it can still provide “a real revelation”.

“Phenomenal dishes” – not least “the best pasta on the planet” – win praise from the small but very dedicated fan club of Jonathan Lawson’s “friendly” little Shoreditch yearling. If you sit at the downstairs counter rather than in the small upstairs, it’s “a fantastic opportunity to see the chefs working from close up”.

“A really interesting take on the pizza genre” (with a focus on “original”, often hearty, toppings) combined with an excitingly grungy hipster vibe ensure this successful Soho House-owned group remains “extremely popular and always busy”. “Prices are reasonable too” and for such a style-conscious scene, gripes about service are notable by their absence.

“If steak ’n’ chips is what you want, then it’s hard to beat”, this “simple, yet very effective” small chain, which is “all about doing just one thing and doing it right”: “superbly cooked” meat from a “limited choice” of cuts (majoring in the ‘flat iron’ itself) plus salad, “no starters or dessert, but a free ice cream cone as you leave”. “A simple set up”, it inspired “no complaints” this year, even if – with expansion, including a new King’s Cross branch – ratings are not quite as exciting as once they were.

“Best buns in London no contest” – even “better than Bao!” – claim fans of Lisa Meyer’s Chinese-inspired steamed buns and dumplings (most popularly stuffed with slow-roasted pork belly), which started as a stall in 2010 on Broadway Market, and are now to be found at The Kitchens, Spitalfields Market, as well as various Street Feast locations.

Charcoal-grilled steaks and other meaty fare are the menu mainstays at this Shoreditch basement (with cocktail bar above), and were again solidly well-rated this year.