Much like the area’s patchwork of architecture, which flits from glass skyscraper to crumbling warehouse, the restaurants in Shoreditch are a real hodge-podge of styles.
Only on these colourful streets you can find a Thai restaurant inspired by late-night roadside BBQs tucked below a Michelin-starred dining room dedicated to turbot. Or an extravagant, kitschy pizzeria plucked from 1970s Capri down the road from a glorious Modern British spot hidden away in an old school bike shed.
Here you’ll find The Nudge’s pick of the most delicious and unusual restaurants in Shoreditch.
Bon appetit.
NOTE: To avoid this list becoming a torturously long scroll, we’ve drawn up an arbitrary border at the top of Commercial Street – you can find our top recommendations for Spitalfields restaurants here.
Manteca | Nose-to-tail dining
Manteca (the name literally means ‘lard’) is a restaurant from culinary super-weights David Carter (Smokestak) and Chris Leach (Kitty Fisher’s), celebrating nose-to-tail dining with a boldly Italian slant. Having started life as a short-term pop-up, the place skyrocketed in popularity and still regularly books out this bigger, permanent restaurant.
The space feels warm owing to the blonde wood and ember-fuelled pizza oven, and the metal-clad central bar is well stocked with natural wines and aperitivi. As for the food, the fresh pasta dishes are perfectly al dente and dangerously moreish. Meanwhile, whole-animal butchery is carried out in house, and arrives at your table in the form of the restaurant’s signature mortadella and pig head fritti.
Details: 49-51 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, EC2A 3PT | Book here
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Brat | Relaxed Michelin Star Dining
This is the kind of brat you do want to pay a visit. Scoring a Michelin star just six months after opening, it was the first solo spot from another former Kitty Fisher’s chef, Tomos Parry (who’s since gone on to open the equally popular Brat spin-off in Climpson’s Arch, and Mountain in Soho). Named in tribute to what Parry considers “the king of the sea”, turbot, he employs a surprising blend of his Welsh heritage with Basque cooking traditions to create a hyper-seasonal menu featuring char-flecked, texturally interesting, produce-focused dishes, served alongside an excellent wine list.
Details: First Floor, 4 Redchurch Street, E1 6JJ | Book here
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Counter 71 | Inventive Chef’s Table
Rebecca Dickson
When Fenn closed its doors in Fulham, we had a hunch that Joe Laker wasn’t just going to hang up his apron and retire. Now the acclaimed chef has gone solo in Shoreditch to open this 16-seat counter-only spot where he’s skipping normal restaurant conventions (no tables, no waitstaff, no menus) and serving everything straight to you from his and the team’s own hands. ‘Everything’ here meaning smoked egg and truffled topped English muffins, langoustine bisque with ginger & carrot, brown crab doughnuts and a parade of other show-stopping dishes that pay tribute to produce from the British Isles. Once the meal is over, conclude your evening in Lowcountry – the downstairs bar with cocktails themed around the US southern coast.
Details: 71 Nile Street, N1 7RD | Book here
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Rochelle Canteen | Hidden Garden Restaurant
Getting a table at Rochelle Canteen first requires you to find a gate with a doorbell in an old primary school playground. It’s a joint venture 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.
Details: School House, Arnold Circus, E2 7ES | Book here
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Brawn | The Quintessential Shoreditch Restaurant
A thoroughly laid-back neighbourhood spot housed in a former workshop space on a corner of Columbia Road. Brawn is the perfect retreat from the crush of the Columbia Road Flower Market on Sundays (go for the roast), or any time for that matter – the food is unfussy, unpretentious and show-stoppingly well executed. Changing regularly, the European 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.
Details: 49 Columbia Road, E2 7RG | Book here
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Popolo | Buzzy, Quality Italian
Shaking off the image of chequered tablecloths and raffia-wrapped Chianti, Michelin Bib Gourmand-toting Popolo is an Italian restaurant with the feel of a backstreet Japanese izakaya. There are tables upstairs, but a counter stool is where the action’s at. Prop yourself up and feast on small plates dished up there and then: fried olives in a pool of labneh to start, then pan-roasted ceps drizzled in salsa verde, glossy red carabinero prawns, Dorset crab tagliarini and pork cheek agnolotti to follow. And it goes without saying there’s a great wine list, too.
Details: 26 Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3DU | Book here
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Nest | Seasonal Tasting Menus
Nest was one of Hackney’s most over-subscribed restaurants until they flew the proverbial and set up shop with a larger restaurant in Shoreditch instead. They’ve been at the vanguard of seasonal, sustainable cooking for years now, producing regularly changing tasting menus centred around a particular ingredient. And if that sounds like you’re in five courses of potato peelings and strange offcuts, fear not – the same team won a Michelin star for their other restaurant, St Barts, within months of opening, so rest assured the quality here is exceptional. Joining your menu (which you can choose to read, or keep sealed for an evening of mystery) is a wine pairing selected entirely from one region.
Details: 374-378 Old Street, EC1V 9LT | Book here
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Lyle’s | Michelin Star Tasting Menus
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 small part of the population were expecting a 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… and the Michelin man agrees.
Details: The Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JJ | Book here
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The Clove Club | World-Renowned Cooking
The Clove Club hasn’t got much going for it. If you discount the fact that it consistently ranks as one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 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 housed in the striking setting of Shoreditch town hall.
Details: Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, EC1V 9LT | Book here
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Padella Shoreditch | God-Tier Fresh Pasta
From its launch in Borough Market back in 2016, Padella has remained the reigning champion of London’s fresh pasta restaurants. The only drawback? The queues. So Jordan Frieda and chef Tim Siadatan have opened a second restaurant in Shoreditch. Unlike the original, there are a small number of bookings available each day, and walk-ins are easier to come by since this one is a whole lot bigger – thanks in part to the breezy street-side dining terrace round the back.
Details: 1 Phipp Street, Shoreditch, EC2A 4PS | Book here
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Bistro Freddie | Stylishly Retro Date Spot
The Crispin team go old-school with this candlelit bistro tucked away on the backstreets of Shoreditch. Tablecloths, wood panelling and modernist paintings conspire to transport you to another time, while the famous snail flatbread starter and the signature chicken & tarragon pie for two take you to another place. Cocktails make a great opener to the evening, but the natural wine list is well worth exploring too.
Details: 74 Luke St, EC2A 4PY | Book here
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Leroy | Small Plates & Vinyl
First, there was Ellory. Now, there’s Leroy; its remixed 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…
Details: 18 Phipp Street, EC2A 4NU | Book here
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Lahpet | Comforting Burmese Fare
Lahpet is easily the best Burmese restaurant in Shoreditch. And yes, it’s also the only Burmese restaurant in Shoreditch. But Lahpet is ready to make up for lost time by presenting gorgeous, heart-stirring dishes like split pea tofu fritters; dried shrimp dumplings; and pork and mustard green curry. 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.
Details: 58 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch, E1 6JW | Book here
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Blacklock Shoreditch | Cheap as Chops
Home to the city’s best (and, coincidentally, most affordable) chops, Blacklock serves up quality cuts by the 100g. Go all-in with the mighty platter (and a bundle of flatbreads to mop up the juices), or build your own adventure with starters (pig’s head on toast), sides (10-hour ash roasted sweet potato) and mini cuts (£6 pork belly or lamb T-bone). All alongside cocktails served table-side from a drinks trolley, with change from a tenner.
Details: 28-30 Rivington Street, EC2A 3DZ | Book here
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Dishoom Shoreditch | Cult Indian Spot
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 restaurant wins bonus points for its leafy verandah, providing a cosy weeknight date spot when covered and a bacon-naan filled sun-trap on lazy weekend mornings.
Details: 7 Boundary Street, Shoreditch E2 7JE | Book here
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Smoking Goat | Close-Quartered Thai BBQ
Smoking Goat is a low-lit, seductively smoky eatery styled after late-night Thai canteens. As such, the grub here riffs off 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.
Details: 64 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JJ | Book here
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Gloria | Bombastic Italian
A temple to decadence: Gloria was the debut UK restaurant from the Parisian Big Mamma team, who have since repeated their unrivalled levels of extravagance with Circolo Popolare, Ave Mario, Jacuzzi and Carlotta. Packed to the rafters with old-school frills and kitschy decor, the restaurant is famed for its ten-layer lasagne, outrageous cocktails and giant lemon meringue pie. It’s one of the most entertaining restaurants you’ll have the pleasure of eating at in East London.
Details: 54-56 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3QR | Book here
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Santo Remedio Café | Convivial Mexican
Edson and Natalie Diaz-Fuentes’ original Shoreditch restaurant was a smash hit before it was forced to close prematurely due to landlord issues. Thankfully for us all they bounced back with a huge flagship down in London Bridge, and now they’re finally back on home turf with a sophomore eatery where the vibe is colourful and eclectic, with an open kitchen firing out rounds of flavour-dense tacos, tostadas and quesadillas.
Details: 55 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3HP | Book here
Making a night of it? Then you’ll need our list of the best bars in Shoreditch, too