With restaurants like Brawn, The Clove Club and Lyle’s in its number, East London is the unofficial home of the modern British small plates movement.
But it’s also home to some striking examples of global cuisine; from the city’s standout Burmese restaurant to intimate Italian boltholes. There’s nine-seater sushi dens and nose-to-tail restaurant institutions.
So, with no further ado, behold:
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St John
Ranked 55th in Restaurant Magazine’s 100 best restaurants in the world. Ranked in no particular position in The Nudge’s best restaurants in East London. We know which accolade we’d have on our website… READ MORE
Details: St John St, Clerkenwell, EC1M 4AY | ££££
Sushi Tetsu
One word: omakase. Entrust the chef. After you’ve entrusted yourself to make a booking; it only seats nine at a time. READ MORE
Details: Jerusalem Passage, Clerkenwell, EC1V 4JP | ££££
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The Clove Club
The Clove Club combine frequently overlooked ingredients in their set restaurant menu of innovative British food, placing them at #26 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Call them beforehand to find out what’s on offer, or for a chat – the staff are friendly. READ MORE
Details: Shoreditch Town Hall, Old St, EC1V 9LT | ££££
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Rochelle Canteen
One of London’s best-kept lunch spot secrets. Enter via a buzzer, where the day-only modern European canteen lies tucked away in the walled courtyard of an old Shoreditch school. READ MORE
Details: Rochelle School, Greater Arnold Circus, E2 7ES | ££
Da Terra
A newly Michelin-starred restaurant housed in the grand Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green, where a couple of ex-Fat Duck chefs create nine-course tasting menus intertwining Italian and South American cuisine. READ MORE
Details: Town Hall Hotel, Patriot Square, Bethnal Green, E2 9NF | £££
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Oren
Mouthwatering Israeli dishes in a cosy, unfussy bistro on Shacklewell Lane. Nibble on ox cheek on a bed of hummus or brill tartare with Kurdish cheese, accompanied by a formidable wine list from Zeren Wilson. READ MORE
Details: 89 Shacklewell Lane, Hackney, E8 2EB | ££
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Campania
A warm, artfully ramshackle southern Italian restaurant housed in an old dairy on the corner of a courtyard tucked just behind Columbia Road. Hearty dishes combine with excellent wines, sunshine, and convivial chatter. READ MORE
Details: 23 Ezra Street, E2 7RH | ££–
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Bubala
Simply put, one of the most exciting new restaurants in London. Israeli vegetarian small plates – burnt butter hummus; squidgy burnt aubergines and freshly made malawach (a Yemenite Jewish pancake) – are put together by Barbary and Palomar alumna Helen Graham. READ MORE
Details: 65 Commercial Street, E1 6BD | ££
Bong Bong’s Manila Kanteen
Another addition to London’s burgeoning Filipino restaurant scene. BBMK is the street food outfit formerly known as BBQ Dreamz, who have opened their first permanent spot after winning the BBC’s My Million Pound Menu. And yeah, it’s tasty. READ MORE
Details: 460 Hackney Road, Bethnal Green, E2 9EG | ££
Brawn
A no-fuss, but highly fussed-over Hackney restaurant from Terroirs’ Ed Wilson. Beautiful assemblies of seasonal ingredients are plated up in a minimalist dining room with a tender creativity that’s won the hearts of several of London’s top chefs and critics. READ MORE
Details: 49 Columbia Road, Bethnal Green, E2 7RG | £££
The Marksman
Everything you could want from a local, plus a little bit more. Namely, a roof terrace for breakfast buns and the Sunday papers; bar-setting roasts; and some of the loveliest food in town. READ MORE
Details: 254 Hackney Road, E2 7SJ | £££
Barge East
A 114 year old Dutch cargo barge moored up on the Hackney riviera, serving small plates of such impressive elegance, you’d never think they were being assembled in a kitchen the size of a captain’s cabin. READ MORE
Details: Sweetwater Mooring, River Lee, White Post Lane, E9 5EN | ££
The Water House Project
The long-awaited permanent incarnation of chef Gabriel Waterhouse’s mind-blowing pop ups. His aim is to create a fine dining restaurant that has the same relaxed atmosphere as a supperclub. And he’s totally succeeded. READ MORE
Details: 3 Mare Street, E8 4RP | £££
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Lyle’s
A Michelin-starred eatery serving up a £39 set menu for dinner which changes every day, put together by James Lowe (one of the founding members of ‘The Young Turks’ – a trio of chefs who were behind possibly the most successful pop up of all time, ‘Upstairs at The Ten Bells’). READ MORE
Details: The Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JJ | ££££
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Little Duck – The Picklery
Offspring of the much-missed Rawduck in Hackney, Little Duck specialises in ferments and pickles. You wouldn’t know it though, because everything else here is just as good. READ MORE
Details: 68 Dalston Lane, E8 3AH | £££
Cornerstone
The eagerly anticipated first solo restaurant from Nathan Outlaw protégé Tom Brown, and easily the best seafood spot in East London, thanks to the creative dishes and soothing, minimalist setting. READ MORE
Details: 3 Prince Edward Road, Hackney Wick, E9 5LX | £££
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Morito
A mighty fine tapas spot, serving up Spanish-Moorish dishes like arak-cured trout, guinea fowl croquetas and slow-cooked pork shoulder in buzzy, beautiful surroundings. READ MORE
Details: 195 Hackney Road, E2 8JL | £££
Lahpet
A pioneering Burmese restaurant serving hearty, cockle-warming soul food. Their signature dish is the tea leaf salad, but the mohinga (catfish chowder) and coconut chicken noodles are just the thing for a cold winter’s day. READ MORE
Details: 58 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6JW | £££
Berber & Q
Middle Eastern flavours. American BBQ. Berber & Q is a railway arch grill house mixing up menus in all the right kind of ways. READ MORE
Details: Arch 338 Acton Mews, Haggerston, E8 4EA | £££
Bistrotheque
Another bastion of Modern British dining, this time in a Bethnal Green warehouse. And before you roll your eyes, this place opened in 2004, so it’s one of the true originals – and still great. READ MORE
Details: 23-27 Wadeson Street, Bethnal Green, E2 9DR | £££
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Pidgin | A Dalston restaurant where you have no say whatsoever in what you’ll be eating. Luckily for you, it’s guaranteed to be delicious. READ MORE
Details: 52 Wilton Way, E8 1BS | £££
Last Updated: 28th December 2020 | Main image: Cornerstone
Liked exploring the best restaurants in East London? You’ll be needing a nightcap at one of the best bars in East London…