Cheap eats in Shoreditch
The cheapest good meal in Shoreditch is a salt beef beigel from Beigel Bake at 159 Brick Lane, open 24 hours a day. After that, the best value sits a few streets apart: pasta from £9.50 at Padella on Phipp Street, a £10 Margherita at weekday lunch at Pizza Pilgrims on Shoreditch High Street, and a brisket bun for £12.50 at Smokestak on Sclater Street. Here is how to eat well in E1, E2 and EC2A without a tasting-menu bill.
Beigel Bake, Brick Lane
Beigel Bake is the white sign at 159 Brick Lane, and it never shuts: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Its bestsellers are hand-carved salt beef with mustard and pickles, and smoked salmon with cream cheese. It has been on the street since 1974, according to Time Out's history of the two Brick Lane bagel shops. Read the full story in our Brick Lane bagels guide.
Padella, Phipp Street
Padella at 1 Phipp Street, EC2A, just off Great Eastern Street, rolls its pasta fresh every day in an open kitchen. On the menu for Saturday 31 October, tagliarini with dried chilli, garlic and pangrattato is £9.50, pici cacio e pepe £13.50 and the pappardelle with eight-hour Hereford beef shin ragu £16.50. Lunch runs Monday to Saturday from noon to 3.45pm and dinner from 5pm to 10pm, with Sunday service from noon to 9pm. You can book up to four weeks ahead or join the virtual queue from anywhere within 2km.
Pizza Pilgrims, Shoreditch High Street
Pizza Pilgrims at 136 Shoreditch High Street, E1 does Neapolitan pizza, takes bookings and welcomes walk-ins. The deal to know: a classic Margherita for £10, Monday to Thursday from noon to 3pm. It also lists vegan and halal options and is dog friendly.
Smokestak, Sclater Street
Smokestak at 35 Sclater Street, E1, a minute from Brick Lane, is a barbecue restaurant where the buns are the bargain. The menu has a pulled pork bun with green chilli slaw at £11.50 and a brisket bun with pickled red chilli at £12.50; add skin-on chips with aioli for £6. It opens for lunch from noon every day and runs all day on Saturday and Sunday.
Boxpark, Bethnal Green Road
Across from Shoreditch High Street station, Boxpark Shoreditch at 2-10 Bethnal Green Road is a food and shopping arcade with street food traders including Black Bear Burger, Dub Pan, Greekos Gyros, Satay Street, The Taco House, Pizza Social Club and Sicilian Pride, plus Love Churros for afterwards. It opens from 11am every day, until 11pm Monday to Thursday, 11.45pm on Friday and Saturday and 10.30pm on Sunday. It calls itself the home of the fan and shows live sport, so check the fixtures before you go if you want a quiet lunch.
Tayyabs, Fieldgate Street
A short walk south in Whitechapel, Tayyabs at 83-89 Fieldgate Street, E1 has cooked Punjabi food since 1972. You bring your own bottle, which is what keeps the bill down. The lamb chops arrive sizzling and are the order; the karahi chicken and tarka dhal fill out the table. It is open seven days a week, and for a group sharing grills and dhal it is one of the best-value dinners in east London.
Mien Tay, Kingsland Road
Up Kingsland Road towards Hoxton, Mien Tay at 106-108 Kingsland Road, E2 is a family-owned one cooking the home-style food of South West Vietnam, the Mekong Delta region the family comes from. Its own recommendations: fresh rolls with prawn, chicken clay-pot curry, goat with galangal and chargrilled quail with honey and garlic.
E Pellicci, Bethnal Green Road
For a cheap breakfast or lunch with history, E Pellicci at 332 Bethnal Green Road, E2 has been a family-run cafe since 1900. It opens Monday to Saturday from 8am to 3pm and is closed on Sunday.
Cheap eats by time of day
- Breakfast: E Pellicci, Monday to Saturday from 8am.
- Weekday lunch: the £10 Margherita at Pizza Pilgrims, or a bowl of pasta at Padella.
- Dinner for a group: Tayyabs, with your own bottle.
- After midnight: Beigel Bake, every night of the week.
For more, see our guides to brunch in Shoreditch, Brick Lane curry and the best restaurants in Shoreditch for when the budget stretches.
