London Haggerston Restaurant Guide

The “short and desirable menu” of modern British dishes continues to win praise for this ambitious gastropub near Columbia Road Market, from former St John chefs Tom Harris and Jon Rotheram. A huge hit when it opened, it’s adopted a lower profile over the years, but remains “just the place to take hard-to-impress young adult children”.

“The food is always a delight” at “the little brother of (and much cheaper than) Moro”, nearby in Exmouth Market, which serves “excellent authentic tapas dishes washed down with delicious Spanish wine” or a “half-bottle of sherry”. It’s a notably “well run joint”, with “staff who know their grub” and are “very welcoming without being fussy”. Top Tip – “arrive early to nab one of their two outdoor tables on the paved street and imagine yourself in Spain as you watch life going by”.

This former icon of East End gastronomy is starting to look like a handy stop-off point near Columbia Road flower market, but not much more. The odd fan still hails its Med-inspired food and funky wine list as “exceptional all-round”, but – as Ed Wilson and his team have diverted effort to Sargasso in Margate – interest seems to be on the wane here (and, given the surprising paucity of reports, we’ve left it un-rated this year).

“Smoky perfection!” – Josh Katz’s “yummy and very moreish” Middle East-inspired grills in a vibey Haggerston railway arch and on Exmouth Market have won a massive reputation since he launched his take on ‘live-fire cooking’ in 2015; and the “buzzy, intimate atmosphere” of both locations is also a big winner. Top Menu Tip – “the flatbreads, chicken and cauliflower shawarma are standouts”.

“Extraordinary food served with commitment” in a “cutting-edge omakase” format makes the new Haggerston branch of this seafood duo one of the most exciting culinary arrivals of the year. “In a very stylishly decorated railway arch venue”, it is focused on a 12-seat chef’s table overseen by chef Leandro Carreira: “a beautiful sea-like resin counter”, where the “very skilled and friendly chefs are centre stage in front of diners, preparing the food as you watch”. “This is perfect fish cooking with innovation in each course, where you can fully differentiate the taste of each fish”; and with “dishes that are Noma-like in their execution and quality”. (Our meal ran: “sea urchin with almond milk, savoury custard with jus, fabulous churrasco of tuna belly, monkfish with leek, roasted fennel seed ice cream and Portuguese sponge cake and caviar”.) And while the focus is on E8 this year, the original SW3 branch in a quiet mews near Sloane Street still wins favourable mention for “wonderfully fresh fish excellently prepared”.

It helps to be a lover of funky offbeat wines, if you visit this ‘Wine Drinkers’ Clubhouse’ (incorporating members’ lounge, wine cellar, and retail store) in two so-now Haggerston railway arches, where much of the seating is at communal benches (achingly hip in every sense…). Its menu of creative small plates inspire reports that vary between highs and lows.

“Great pho” and other Vietnamese crowd-pleasers is the attraction at this well-known “cheap and cheerful” canteen on the ‘Pho Mile’ stretch of Shoreditch’s Kingsland Road.

This “slurpy Japanese noodles” outfit has grown from a 2011 pop-up to a fledgling national chain (14 branches in London, plus Brighton and Brum). These days it “feels formulaic, but the ramen does the business – the tonkotsu (pork broth, from which the place gets its name) is satisfyingly porky and the chilli chicken has a spicy hum”. Critics are not so sure, pointing to “very disappointing noodles” and “drab stock”.

“A top choice for breakfast and coffee” – the Shoreditch and London Fields outlets of this 20-year veteran of the Antipodean speciality coffee scene have imported the chilled, high-quality approach of its branches back home in Auckland and New Plymouth. In E2, the galvanising aroma of roasting coffee wafts up from the beans being ground in the basement, adding to its superb hipster vibe.

This quartet of family-run restaurants have won a big reputation for their southwest Vietnamese dishes, including pho and their famed goat with galangal. They started out 15 years ago in Shoreditch before heading across the river to Battersea.

By the canal in Hackney, this August 2021 newcomer arrived with high expectations thanks to the CV of chef Max Rocha and was quickly blessed by The Guardian’s Grace Dent, who felt that despite it’s “homespun edge”, it was “only just getting started on its path to being one of London most serious restaurants”. Our feedback was more cautious: split between finding it “a really nice, friendly new favourite” and “not living up to the hype”.

“A really exceptional experience… a real find… a fantastic night out” – Gabriel Waterhouse inspires acclaim for his relocated Bethnal Green supper club, whose gracious permanent home occupies a high-ceilinged space in Cambridge Heath. Every night, there’s “a one-sitting, 9-course tasting menu with low-intervention wine” (or non-alcoholic pairings) delivering “some really innovative dishes”. Ratings would be even higher, were it not for one or two reports along the lines of “love the new menu, but too many foams…”

“Such good pizza in very decent sizes for the price” earns this (south) east London chain some of the highest ratings for pizza in the capital and they’re “consistently quick” too. The latest addition to the group is a branch in Crofton Park.

“Portions are perfect for the price and they don’t ‘cheap out’ on the protein” at these “solid udon places” in Soho (est. 2010), a newer offshoot in the City’s Bloomberg Arcade and now also with the opening of ‘Koya Ko’ in Hackney’s Broadway Market (this last with a slightly different menu). “Very Japanese-chic, super-cosy and cute”, their “staff are kind and helpful with answering questions about ingredients”. Udon are more traditional and subtler than ubiquitous ramen, and arrive in Japan’s famous light dashi stock.