London Whitechapel Restaurant Guide

This “excellent gallery restaurant” has proved “a great addition to the Whitechapel area”, with “well-cooked small plates of British food on an ever-changing menu”. Chef Nick Gilkinson is making a speciality of this type of venue – he was previously at the Garden Museum in Lambeth. Here, he is joined by Joe Fox, ex-head chef at Petersham Nurseries. (The name refers to the gallery’s architect, Charles Harrison Townsend.)

The original – “a very friendly and very cosy little place with approximately 16 covers in St Katharine Docks” – is the most commented on of this small chain: “brilliant in its simplicity and delivery” of a straightforward pasta menu. Also with spin-offs near Aldgate and, more latterly, Canary Wharf.

This “reliably good Gallic bistro” stands out from the crowd in Brick Lane, perhaps the last address you’d expect to find something “so French” in London.

This “upscale gastropub” in Spitalfields is a “beautifully refurbished” old boozer, now incorporating bedrooms and a roof garden. The “industrial chic” first-floor dining room may have a “simple menu, but the dishes are far from simple, packed full of flavour and balanced superbly – fine-dining food at gastroboozer prices”.

“Better than any Thai food I had in Thailand… and with a cool Shoreditch vibe” – this former factory near Spitalfields Market offers dishes with an “intensity and complexity of flavours that’s second to none” – the “real Thai tastes (spicy, hot, sour, sweet and sharp) are tongue tingling!” “The front of the restaurant is more light and airy. The back gives a kitchen view but is dark”; “the team are relaxed, friendly and informative about the dishes (an essential point, as many options do require explanation for those not ‘au fait’ with Thai cuisine)”.

Nowadays just in Spitalfields (with Soho, Shoreditch and Notting Hill branches opening and closing over the years), this Peruvian-inspired haunt received mixed reviews this year, linked with one or two incidents of “awful” service. Feedback on its Latino fare, which majors in ceviches and salads (but which is also accompanied by a selection of larger and mostly meaty ‘classic dishes’) is more consistent, though, and fans say it’s “still a cracking place, even after relocating”.

“You come to eat, not dine” at this “loud and popular” 500-seater, which “lives up to its reputation as the go-to curry house in (well, near to) Brick Lane”. Top Menu Tip – “the lamb chops are meatilicious and the dry meat curry is rich and very tasty”; BYO.

“Prepare to be blown away by the flavours at this tiny spot in Spitalfields” – its “absolutely brilliant vegetarian and vegan”, Middle Eastern-inspired dishes “truly sing”, delivering “a taste explosion” such that “carnivores will not miss the meat” (“the charred oyster mushroom skewers are stunning… thinking about the labneh, hummus and laffa bread makes me salivate!”). Having opened it in 2019, Marc Summers launched a 50-cover sibling in Soho in July 2022 on the former site of Vasco & Piero’s Pavilion (see also), complete with open kitchen and counter-style dining. The chef is rising star Helen Graham.

“What they do – a limited repertoire – they certainly do well” at this “no-nonsense” steakhouse chain (which serves no starters or puds, just five or six mains and sides, plus “a tiny key they give you at beginning of meal to exchange for a delicious ice cream cornet to take with you as you go!”). It amounts to “amazing value for a good (ish) steak” – “tasty, not mind-blowing, but dependable and fairly priced, and elevated by the sides and sauces”. On the site of a former Byron, the 10th branch opens in Waterloo in 2022.

“Tops for combining punchy tastes and value”: this Indian street-food trio – in Spitalfields, near Tower Bridge, and – since late 2021 – now in Soho too – offers a “distinct” and “modern spin” on Indian cuisine. Although the plates are small, “it’s amazing how they deliver such big flavours”.

“Still the best authentic Pakistani grilled meat and curry” is to be had at this grunge-tastic Whitechapel legend of 50 years’ standing, where “tastes are genuine” and prices “cheap as chips”. Top Menu Tip – “love the lamb chops”.

This “tiny place near Truman’s old brewery” serves an “excellent and authentic take on Sichuan cuisine, in a calm atmosphere, away from the agitation of Brick Lane”. Top Tip – “‘numb and spicy’ dumplings live up to their name”.

“East London is where you get the best pork rolls in town” – courtesy of Mark Gevaux, a former butcher who has perfected the art of BBQ baby-back ribs, from pigs reared outdoors in Norfolk and Suffolk, and his own famous ‘Holy Fuck’ sauces. Available only in Brick Lane Market on Sundays (they sell out early) and at West Ham home games.

You can “travel back in time” at this trio of deliberately retro chippies, with their “Formica tables and period posters creating a great atmosphere” – “the fish ’n’ chips are excellent, too”. Founder Pat ‘Pops’ Newland, an East Ender who started working at the age 11, was still a hands-on owner in his 80s when he died in April 2022.

“Move away from the ordinary and enjoy something special” at this “cracking venue” – an über-functional, white-walled Spitalfields canteen whose “great, innovative menu” of offbeat British dishes (such as chitterlings) is a stripped-down version of Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson’s world-famous Smithfield original. To some, it is even better: “I now prefer B&W to the mothership – it’s more lively and wears the ‘nose-to-tail’ cloak a little more lightly”.

“Don’t think high end, but these local 24-hour cafés are reliable and pleasant for a plain meal at any hour of the night or day”, but particularly come into their own in the wee hours. In fact, only the well-known Chelsea original and the Aldgate spin-off (in a hotel) are open 24/7: opening hours in Bloomsbury are more selective. (Aldgate also has a standalone bar with a 24-hour alcohol licence).

Still “a gold standard”, with their “lovely, beautifully displayed food” – this small group of deli-cafés has expanded slowly since the first one opened in Notting Hill 21 years ago; the latest arrived in Pavilion Road, Chelsea, in January 2022. Hugely influential Israeli-born chef and writer Yotam Ottolenghi has transformed the way much of the world sees Middle Eastern cuisine – and vegetables. “I’m not a vegetarian, but I love eating the veg dishes here and I find I don’t need to order any meat”. (See also the chef’s two grander restaurants, Nopi and Rovi).

“The best burgers in town” – “the juiciest, the most flavourful” – are a credible claim for this quartet in Spitalfields, Victoria, the City’s Bloomberg Arcade and Westfield White City, the highest-rated of the non-mainstream burger chains in our survey this year. New Yorker Zan Kaufman named them after the Greenwich Village street where she ate the burger that inspired her to quit her job as a corporate lawyer and start flipping patties on the back of a London truck, 11 years ago.