The Best Restaurants In Shoreditch | 2019
Last Updated: 30th July 2019 | Main image: Smoking Goat
Shoreditch is an area spoilt for restaurants.
And yet, paradoxically, they actually make it better.
You see, it’s the only part of London where you can find a restaurant specialising in salt beef sandwiches next to a bistro in a former school bike shed. Or, for that matter, a Thai eatery specialising in ‘drinking food’, that’s become one of the most acclaimed restaurants in London. Nor, now we think of it, does any other corner of London hold a restaurant whose main design feature is an entire cow suspended in a formaldehyde-filled tank…
…Everywhere else, that’s just a decorative side-note.
And so we’ve gathered only the most delicious, unusual, and cow-toting restaurants in the area for you, right here.
Bon appetit.
Find more Shoreditch inspiration in Your Ultimate Shoreditch Guide
Lyle’s | £££
Lyle’s was met with near mass-hysteria when it opened back in 2014, partly because it was headed up by Young Turks founder James Lowe; and partly because a very small part of the population were expecting an entire restaurant devoted to Golden Syrup. While the latter turned out to be misinformed, the wünderchef and his team are still plating up some of the most delicate and elegant modern European dishes in the city… READ MORE
Details: The Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JJ | Open weekdays 8am-11pm, Sat 12-11pm
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The Clove Club | ££££
The Clove Club hasn’t got much going for it. If you discount the fact that it ranks as one of the World’s 50 Best, has held its Michelin star for years, and reached no. 2 in the list of the UK’s best restaurants, that is. Oh, and the fact that it also boasts a former Young Turks founder as its head chef. But apart from that, it’s just your run-of-the-mill, regularly evolving tasting menu restaurant. READ MORE
Details: Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, EC1V 9LT | Open Mon-Sat, reservations must be made in advance HERE
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Lahpet | ££
Lahpet is easily the best Burmese restaurant in London. And sure, there may not be a lot of competition. But Lahpet is ready to make up for our heretofore lack by presenting gorgeous dishes like split pea tofu fritters; dried shrimp dumplings; and pork and mustard green curry. And yes, while you should be prepared for pangs of momentary angst at not having discovered it sooner, this will be replaced immediately by feelings of deep, deep joy. READ MORE
Details: 58 Bethnal Green Rd, E1 6JW | Weekday dinner 5.30-10/11pm, lunch Thurs 12-3pm, Fri & Sat 12-11pm, Sun 12-9pm
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Leroy | £££
First, there was Ellory. Now, there’s Leroy; its remixed, Michelin-starred, second incarnation after upping sticks from London Fields to down sticks in Shoreditch instead. The menu’s been given a distinctly stronger Parisian slant here, like cheese and wine-drenched scallops and confit chicken skewers; all designed to share alongside a bottle of good wine.
Which ultimately means that you’ll Roley out of there. READ MORE
Details: 18 Phipp Street, EC2A 4NU | Dinner Mon-Sat 6-10pm, lunch Tues-Sat 12-2pm
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St. Leonard’s | £££
Fire! Ice! Cognac! Three things that could be potentially dangerous in the hands of anyone else but Andrew Clarke (Salt Yard, The Square) and Jackson Boxer (Brunswick House, The Chess Club). Their joint Shoreditch foray takes only the freshest ingredients each day, and either scorches them on the log-burning hearth, or sets them on ice and serves them up raw. READ MORE
Details: 70 Leonard Street, EC2A 4QX | Open Tues-Sat, 12pm-12am
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Dishoom Shoreditch | ££
You’ll no doubt be familiar with Dishoom’s signature mouthwatering array of traditional Parsi dishes, Indian-inspired cocktails and retro Bombay Café-style surroundings. But their Shoreditch branch wins bonus points for the leafy verandah out the back, providing a cosy weeknight date spot when covered and a bacon-naan filled suntrap on lazy weekend mornings. READ MORE
Details: 7 Boundary Street, E2 7JE | M-W 8am-11pm, Th & Fri 8am-midnight, Sat 9am-midnight and Sun 9am-11pm
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Smoking Goat | ££
If you haven’t yet visited this venerated institution, then you should be feeling pretty sheepish. Their Shoreditch branch (a replacement for the original Soho flagship) has a decidedly grittier feel, styled after late-night Thai canteens. As such, the grub here is all in the vein of aharn glam lao (‘drinking food’), and features dishes like smoked brisket with drunken noodles; barbecued pork and pork-fat skewers; and of course, a little smoked goat. READ MORE
Details: 64 Shoreditch High St, E1 6JJ | Open M-W 12-3pm, 5.30-11pm; Th 12-3.30pm, 5.30-1am; Fri & Sat 10am-1am; Sun 10am-11pm
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Brat | £££
This is the kind of brat you do want to visit. Michelin starred just six months after opening, it’s the first solo spot from former Kitty Fisher’s chef Tomos Parry, named in honour of what he deems to be “the best fish in the world”, turbot. That’s not all that’s on the menu, though – expect Welsh-meets-Basque cuisine (if it’s even possible to expect what that comprises), alongside a diligently curated wine list. READ MORE
Details: First Floor, 4 Redchurch Street, E1 6JJ | Mon-Sat 12-3, 6-11pm (10pm Mon); Sun 12-5pm
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Petit Pois Bistro | £££
Petit Pois comes from the team behind preeminent cocktails bars Original Sin and Happiness Forgets – they’re peas in a pod. This year they scored a Michelin Bib Gourmand for their glorious French comfort food, served up alongside an excellent wine list and (unsurprisingly) very good cocktails. READ MORE
Details: 9 Hoxton Square, N1 6NU | Open daily 12-11pm (10pm Sun)
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Tramshed | £££
Tramshed has to be one of the few restaurants in London where the menu can be found in a tank suspended directly over your head. Mark Hix founded the place with artist pal Damien Hirst, in a vast reclaimed space that used to be (surprise!) a tramshed, and it houses an art gallery in the basement – perfect for an all-in-one date night. We recommend the beef. Or the chicken. READ MORE
Details: 32 Rivington Street, EC2A 3LX | Open Mon 11.30am-9.30pm, Tues 11.30am-10pm, Wed-Fri 11.30am-11pm, Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 11am-9pm
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Gloria | £££
A temple to decadence. Gloria is the first UK restaurant from the Parisian Big Mamma team, and they’ve spared nothing for their grand debut. Housed in a lemon-yellow corner plot with foliage cascading down from the rafters, the restaurant is known for its ten-layer lasagne, outrageous cocktails and giant lemon meringue pie. And months after opening, it still has the queues to match. READ MORE
Details: 54-56 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3QR | Open daily 8am (9am weekends) – 10.45pm
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Rochelle Canteen | £££
Rochelle Canteen isn’t the easiest spot to find – hidden behind a gate with a doorbell in an old primary school playground – but it’s more than worth the mission to track it down. It’s a joint venture (that’s since branched out) from laurelled chefs Margot Henderson and Melanie Arnold, serving produce-led dishes like steamed mussels with chips; chard, chickpea and tomato stew; and rhubarb panna cotta – all of which can be enjoyed al fresco…
Or, as it’s also known, behind the school bike shed. READ MORE
Details: School House, Arnold Circus, E2 7ES | Open daily 9-11am; 12-3pm, dinner Thurs-Sat 6-9pm
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Brawn | £££
A thoroughly laid-back, neighbourhood corner spot housed in a former workshop space on Columbia Road. Brawn is the perfect retreat from the business of the flower market on Sundays (go for the roast), or any time for that matter – the food is unfussy, unpretentious and showstoppingly executed. Changing regularly, the menu is produce and season-led, with a smattering of small plates to pick at as you choose, and a rather lovely wine list to accompany. READ MORE
Details: 49 Columbia Road, E2 7RG | Open for lunch Tues-Sat 12-3pm, and dinner 6-10.30pm Mon-Sat (11pm Fri & Sat)
Like going out in Shoreditch? Then you’ll need our list of the best bars in Shoreditch, too