The Best Old Street Restaurants
Last Updated: 6th December 2019 | Main image: Pachamama East
Old Street.
Paradoxically, it’s home to a lot of new restaurants.
And while Shoreditch is just around the corner with its insane density of restaurants and bars, there’s a unique charm to the restaurants right next to Old Street roundabout – not least their proximity to Nightjar, one of the best bars in London.
So here they are – our pick of the best Old Street restaurants…
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St. Leonard’s
This restaurant’s hot and cold in a good way, combining open-fire cooking with a raw bar to result in a menu with dishes like cherrystone clams with ginger vinegar, and porterhouse steak with bone marrow and red wine sauce. It’s all down to the harmonious combination of chef-founders Jackson Boxer and Andrew Clarke, who between them have manned pans at Brunswick House and The Square… READ MORE
Details: Open Mon-Sat, 12pm-12am | 70 Leonard Street, EC2A 4QX
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Sardine
Sardine.
As you can see from this table, they like to pack ’em in.
That’s because this is one of the area’s most beloved restaurants, where you can score Provençal cuisine from Stevie Parle’s protégé, Alex Jackson. Expect rosé-filled lunches sur la terrasse, hearty casseroles of a winter evening, and a solid wine list leaning heavily towards France. Which, if you do it right, you will be too. READ MORE
Details: Open 12-3pm, 6pm-close daily, plus 10am-3pm weekends | 15 Micawber Street, N1 7TB
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Daffodil Mulligan
Richard Corrigan is one of the Emerald Isle’s most successful chefs in recent decades, having scored Michelin Stars at three different restaurants, won Great British Menu three times, and been awarded London Restaurant of the Year four times in a career littered with culinary accomplishments.
And now he’s opened Daffodil Mulligan, an Irish restaurant with a grill and an oyster bar, as well as a snug subterranean bar with individual drinking booths… READ MORE
Details: Open for lunch Tues-Sun and dinner Tues-Sat | 70-74 City Road, EC1 2BJ
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Blacklock Shoreditch
This handsome, exposed-brick, moodily-lit spot is all about the meat. And the beef-dripping chips. And the bone marrow squid rings. Oh, and the £5 cocktails served from a trolley. READ MORE
Details: Open weekdays 12-3pm, 5pm-midnight; Sat 12-midnight; Sun 12-10pm | 28-30 Rivington Street, EC2A 3DZ
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Ozone Coffee Roasters
By day, Ozone is a huge, two-level, industrial coffee shop serving cups of their in-house roast alongside eggs every which way, vegetable fritters and granola. By night, in turns into a candlelit warehouse, in which you can unwind with Modern European dishes, cocktails, and a possible appearance from a dog in a gold lamé jacket. READ MORE
Details: Open weekdays 7am-10pm, weekends 8.30am-5.30pm | 11 Leonard Street, EC2A 4AQ
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Pachamama East
Pachamama – the ancient Peruvian goddess of fertility – has, in her eternal generosity, granted us a second incarnation of the Marylebone restaurant.
It’s been given a suitable East London makeover, with tiled floors and brutalist wood and metal accents offsetting the delicate presentation of Peruvian classics like seabass ceviche, crispy lamb belly and Asian-influenced lobster noodles… READ MORE
Details: Open weekdays 12-11pm, Saturdays 11am-12am, Sundays 11am-11pm | 73 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3DT
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Passo
This might be on the street leading directly away from Shoreditch, but don’t give it a passo.
Because it’s an airy yet atmospheric Italian joint, boasting a former Shoreditch House chef and a well-curated wine list. Stop by for burrata with zucchini chips, broken meatballs and confit garlic gnocchi, followed by cocktails on their heated al fresco terrace… READ MORE
Details: Open for lunch & dinner Mon-Sat | 80 City Road, EC1Y 2BJ
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Officina 00
Sating the appetite for fresh pasta in Shoreditch is Officina 00. Dressed up in the standard industrial-style Shoreditch uniform, we’d say their USP is slightly unusual pasta dishes – things like cavatelli (small, shell-like pasta) with padrón peppers, almond pesto, and crispy coppa; or corzetti (big, disc-like pasta) with wild mushroom, fennel, sausage, and parsley. For starters they’ve got cacio & pepe ravioli (a definite must-have), whilst sweets take the form of both lemon and chocolate profiteroles (again, difficult to turn down). READ MORE.
Details: Mon-Sat, 12-3pm and 5-10pm | 56 Old Street, London, EC1V 9BW
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Lantana
Old Street’s premier brunch spot, tucked behind an unsuspecting monochrome frontage. Inside is an unexpectedly spacious dining room, where you can score wild mushrooms on sourdough, teriyaki tofu, and dried cranberry chicken schnitzel – with coffee and cocktails, naturally.
Details: Open weekdays 7.30am-10pm, weekends 9am-4pm | 55 City Road, EC1Y 1HQ
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Venturing further east? Check out the Best Restaurants in Shoreditch