London Shoreditch Restaurant Guide

“Food, vibes and service are impeccable… the price is ludicrous” – situation normal then at this Shoreditch-fringe boutique hotel, whose surprisingly big subterranean Nikkei restaurant looks onto a large sunken garden. With the brand’s signature sensational sushi and sashimi, plus more substantial fish and fusion dishes, it is finally emerging as some reporters’ “favourite Nobu” after a slow start, which was hit by the pandemic and subsequent WFH.

Just off Great Eastern Street, this characterful boozer has been a waxing and waning star of the Shoreditch culinary scene since the get-go; with a mezzanine dining room – up a spiral staircase from the main bar area – that’s been a springboard for numerous well-known chefs. Though only inspiring middling praise in recent times, in August 2024, one of only two female winners of MasterChef: The Professionals – Nikita Pathakji – arrived at the stoves, promising an uptick in performance, with dishes such as cured sea bream with coal-smoked aubergine, harissa and preserved lemon.

“For a large chain, they still do pretty much unbeatable Mexican fusion fare”, say fans of these “busy and atmospheric” street-food cafés, now with 11 London branches and three others around the UK. That said, there are also some niggles in feedback; and the sentiment is widespread that – though “still enjoyable” – the food can seem “a little mass-produced”. Even so, practically all diners still consider them “dependable for a quick, cheap ’n’ cheerful bite”. Top Tip – the new, 150-cover Paddington branch is their first opening in six years and puts a focus on sustainability and a menu including some larger sharing plates (e.g. grilled Achiote Seabass, Lamb Barbacoa and Chimichurri Cauliflower).

This 10-year-old Marylebone spot (with an offshoot in Shoreditch) provides a “great introduction to delicious Peruvian food” – ceviches, plus mains from ‘land’, ‘sea’ or ‘soil’ – with “attentive and friendly staff” on hand to advise. Top Menu Tip – “the sticky aubergine is incredible”.

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.

“Delicious tiny plates of interesting and seasonal Italian dishes” plus low-intervention wines delight diners at Jon Lawson’s “casual and vibey small Shoreditch place”, which – post Covid – is re-establishing its very impressive all-round ratings. “It’s just a really great place to go: grab a seat at the kitchen bar and watch lovely food being expertly prepared”.

“Still a legendary destination with consistently excellent meats, sides, drinks all far cheaper than at Hawksmoor” – these “dark and noisy” operations are “a go-to destination when you want some serious meat (perhaps more chophouse than steak house), with many good options that don’t dent the wallet”; and widely seen as “a better bet than other big high-end steak chains”. “They pack the punters in, so a good tip is to request a booth”. “Steaks are cooked just right. Staff are happy and helpful. Why didn’t I go here years ago?”. Top Menu Tips – “Sunday lunch is legendary”. And “try the ‘All-In’ for a variety of chops on excellent grilled flatbreads, and a couple of tasty sides between two. Also a (poorly promoted) option to BYO for £10 corkage at any time”.

“Slightly mad” but irresistible – “I’ve not known anyone leave unhappy”, squeal fans of Paris-based Big Mamma Group’s original London site, which is a “fun and partyish” slice of OTT, retro Italian pastiche on a Shoreditch corner-site filled with plants and nostalgic Amalfi-coast-inspired bric-a-brac. The rich food from a large, traditional Italian menu – with plenty of pizza and pasta alongside grills and salads – isn’t at all ‘foodie’ but is certainly filling and good value.

“No-one, and I mean no-one who I’ve taken here, has ever said a bad word; and moreover, many have returned separately. It’s my No. 1 ‘go-to’ for casual dining with friends, whose subsequent advocacy says it all!” – Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda struck gold with this “constantly busy” duo of superior pasta pitstops, which are rightly famous on social media and one of London’s ultimate cheap eats. They offer “the best fresh pasta” (which you can watch being made through the windows from early morning on) “at great value prices, which is why they are sooo popular: why you must book well in advance in EC2” or expect to queue in SE1 (“which operates an effective virtual queuing system”).

2022 Review: With its swish, spacious metropolitan styling, this 100-seater brasserie on one of Shoreditch’s main drags does little to advertise the fact that it’s part of the Hart Shoreditch Hotel London (part of the Curio Collection by Hilton), which opened in early 2020. Knowing this helps explain the slightly over-plush styling – at odds with the strenuously hip neighbourhood – and also the wilfully un-corporate menu: inspired by the flavours of Levantine coastal towns (Levantine weekend brunch is a feature). Early reports are too limited for a rating, but all-round very good.

2021 Review: With their “chilled ambience and laid-back vibe” this trio of cafés have championed Aussie-style day-time eating for more than a decade in London. “Good for breakfast, brunch and lunch”, they are “not too overpriced compared with competitors”, and the Shoreditch and London Bridge venues are open in the evening for drinks and dinner.

2022 Review: On the sizable Shoreditch site that was Merchant’s Tavern (RIP), this mid-2021 newcomer is nowadays a 130-cover Japanese izakaya, with more of an emphasis on drinking (and DJs) than of old. It comes complete with open kitchen and robata counter, serving skewers, sushi and steamed buns to soak up the hot or cold sake, beers and cocktails.

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).

“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.

“A limited-choice menu, but one that seems to work” underpins the success of this “no-frills” steakhouse chain created by Charlie Carroll in 2012 and now with just under a dozen London branches (with 2024 seeing its arrival in Victoria and just off Hammersmith Broadway). “You know just what you are going to get” and “the quality/value factor makes it a sound bet”: “decent steaks and a few rustic sides”; and “don’t forget the lovely (free) salted caramel ice cream on the way out!”. “Not a place to linger”, but “it never disappoints”.

“You can’t go wrong if you order tonkotsu” at this ramen group from Tak Tokumine of the Japan Centre – the noodles and 12-hour pork bone broth are “authentic” and some of the “best in town”. The venues can be “cramped”, and “the constant banging of a drum to indicate dishes being ready can grate”.

Star chef Dani Garcia opened his first UK venture in Shoreditch’s Mondrian Hotel a couple of years ago, to mixed reviews. This up-and-down sentiment continues in feedback to date – some reporters think the Spanish cuisine – paellas, roast and grilled fish and meat, tapas – is “very good” (but encountered “an empty room on a Sunday lunch”); other well-travelled types thought it “underwhelming compared to the wonders of his native Andalusian restaurants”.

“Irish hospitality + imaginative food cooked over wood fire = success”, according to all feedback on Richard Corrigan’s stylish five-year-old venue by Silicon roundabout, where the open kitchen dominated by a fiery grill leads onto a stylish modern interior. Though the food is strongly rooted in the British Isles, it’s very much a 21st-century menu: “the small plates allow for a range of excellent tasty dishes” (e.g. Sugar Pit Pork, Wood-fired Lobster, Sea Bass Ceviche). The location near Old Street tube perhaps feels a bit peripheral, but “once inside there’s an energetic atmosphere in what’s a big space. Downstairs in Gibney’s Bar is even busier and the noise level even greater”.

“Ambience is not key when you just want to stuff your face!” – you “just get a great dirty burger” at these tongue-in-cheek diners, whose signature offering is the ‘Dead Hippie’. Founded 16 years ago from the back of a truck by Scott Collins and Yianni Papoutsis, at the time a technician with the English National Ballet, it now has 15 London outlets and a national delivery operation.