TaiwaneseTaiwanese Street Food
Bao Fitzrovia
££·Old Street
Compact restaurant specializing in Taiwanese street food, particularly their signature steamed bao buns. The menu features authentic flavors and modern presentation.
Restaurants
From Michelin-starred fine dining to beloved local favourites
Bao Fitzrovia
££·Old Street
Modern BritishCanal Side Dining
Beagle
££·Hoxton
Relaxed restaurant and bar situated alongside Regent's Canal offering modern British cuisine. The airy space features large windows overlooking the water and towpath.
Indian CafeBacon Naan Roll
Dishoom Shoreditch
££·Boundary Street·Shoreditch High Street
The Shoreditch outpost of London's best-loved Bombay cafe, set in a former garage. The breakfast bacon naan roll is the stuff of legend, and the black daal keeps people coming back evening after evening.
SteakhousePremium Steaks
Hawksmoor Spitalfields
£££·Spitalfields
Renowned steakhouse serving exceptional British beef in a beautifully converted Victorian warehouse. Famous for their dry-aged steaks and classic cocktails.
FrenchTheatrical Dining
Les Trois Garcons
£££·Shoreditch
Flamboyant French restaurant housed in a former Victorian pub with extravagant decor including stuffed animals and crystal chandeliers. The menu offers classic French cuisine with theatrical presentation.
ThaiFiery Thai BBQ
Smoking Goat Shoreditch
££·Shoreditch
Authentic Thai barbecue restaurant known for its intense flavors and smoky grilled meats. The menu focuses on regional Thai dishes with serious heat.
Tasting MenuMichelin Star
The Clove Club
££££·Shoreditch·Old Street
Isaac McHale's tasting menu restaurant in the old Shoreditch Town Hall. Endlessly inventive cooking that balances playfulness with real substance.
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Basque GrillMichelin Star
Brat
£££·Redchurch Street·Shoreditch High Street
Tomos Parry's Michelin-starred grill restaurant above a pub, where whole turbot cooked over fire is the signature dish. Everything tastes of smoke and flame, and the Basque-influenced menu is thrillingly direct.
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Indian Small PlatesSpice Perfection
Gunpowder
££·Spitalfields·Liverpool Street
Tiny Spitalfields spot doing bold, fiery Indian small plates based on family recipes. The spiced venison doughnut and Kashmiri lamb chops are unmissable.
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ItalianNose-to-Tail Italian
Manteca
£££·Shoreditch·Shoreditch High Street
Chris Leach's nose-to-tail Italian is one of the most exciting restaurants in London. House-made salumi, hand-pulled pasta, and a roaring wood grill.
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Thai BBQLate Night Dining
Smoking Goat
££·Redchurch Street·Shoreditch High Street
Fiery, funky Thai barbecue that's become a late-night Shoreditch essential. The fish sauce wings and the crying tiger beef are addictive, and the no-bookings policy keeps the atmosphere buzzy and spontaneous.
Modern BritishMichelin Star
Lyle's
£££·Tea Building·Shoreditch High Street
James Lowe's stripped-back dining room in the Tea Building serves a daily-changing set menu of exquisite simplicity. The cooking is all about showcasing perfect British ingredients with minimal intervention.
BritishEast End Institution
St John Bread and Wine
££·Spitalfields·Liverpool Street
Fergus Henderson's Spitalfields outpost is a more relaxed, all-day version of the Smithfield original. The doughnuts are pillowy perfection. The bone marrow is non-negotiable.
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French-ItalianNatural Wine Star
Brawn
£££·Columbia Road·Hoxton
A neighbourhood restaurant on Columbia Road with a French-Italian menu and one of London's best natural wine lists. The cooking is robust, seasonal, and deeply satisfying. Sunday lunch here is a rite of passage.
Fresh PastaWorth The Queue
Padella Shoreditch
££·Shoreditch·Shoreditch High Street
The Shoreditch outpost of London's favourite pasta bar. Hand-rolled, cooked to order, and priced so fairly it almost feels like a public service.
SteakBest Steak in E1
Hawksmoor Shoreditch
£££·Shoreditch·Shoreditch High Street
The original Hawksmoor, in a dark and handsome Commercial Street basement. The bone-in prime rib and the Sunday roast are both exceptional. Book the private dining room for a treat.
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BritishHidden Courtyard
Rochelle Canteen
££·Arnold Circus·Shoreditch High Street
Hidden behind the walls of a former school playground, Margot Henderson's canteen serves honest British food in one of London's most charming secret spaces. Ring the bell at the gate.
BagelsOpen 24 Hours
Brick Lane Beigel Bake
£·Brick Lane·Shoreditch High Street
The legendary 24-hour bagel shop that's been feeding Brick Lane since 1974. The salt beef beigel is an East London institution, and at these prices, there's no better late-night snack in London.
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Zero WasteSustainability Pioneer
Silo
£££·Hackney Wick·Hackney Wick
Douglas McMaster's zero-waste restaurant walks the walk. Everything is composted, fermented, or repurposed, and the cooking is genuinely thrilling rather than preachy.
TaiwaneseCult Following
Bao Shoreditch
££·Shoreditch·Shoreditch High Street
The fluffy steamed bao are addictive, the fried chicken is dangerously good, and the 40-day aged beef bao is worth crossing town for. No reservations, just commitment.
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VietnameseLocal Secret
Mien Tay
£·Shoreditch·Old Street
No-frills Vietnamese that the locals guard jealously. The pho is deeply flavourful, the summer rolls are textbook, and the prices are almost absurdly cheap.
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VietnameseFast & Brilliant
Keu Shoreditch
£·Shoreditch·Old Street
Vietnamese street food that punches well above its weight class. The banh mi are crisp and packed with flavour, and the pho is a proper bowlful of comfort.
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Neapolitan PizzaBest Pizza Night Out
Pizza Pilgrims Shoreditch
££·Shoreditch·Shoreditch High Street
Leopard-spotted Neapolitan pies from the brothers who drove a Piaggio to Naples and never looked back. The Nduja is filthy in the best possible way.
ItalianSoho House Style
Cecconi's Shoreditch
£££·Shoreditch·Shoreditch High Street
The Shoreditch House version of the Mayfair Italian classic. Beautiful tiled interior, reliable pasta and cicchetti, and the kind of crowd that makes you want to dress up a bit.
Modern British PubBest Gastropub
The Marksman
££·Bethnal Green·Bethnal Green
The Hackney Road pub that won every award going. Downstairs is proper boozer, upstairs the cooking is refined, inventive, and rooted in British tradition. The beef and barley bun is iconic.
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Italian-AmericanInstagram Famous
Gloria Shoreditch
££·Shoreditch·Shoreditch High Street
The Big Mamma group's gloriously over-the-top trattoria. Truffle pasta arrives in clouds of smoke, limoncello spritz flows freely, and the whole thing is an unashamed party.
BBQ & Smoked MeatsSmoke Master
Smokestak
££·Shoreditch·Shoreditch High Street
David Carter went from a shipping container to a proper restaurant and the brisket only got better. Low and slow is the motto, and the 35-day aged beef rib is extraordinary.
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Chops & SteaksBest Value Meat
Blacklock Shoreditch
££·Shoreditch·Shoreditch High Street
Skinny chops, fat chops, all the chops. The all-in Sunday roast for twenty quid is one of the best deals in London. The pre-theatre cocktails are dangerously cheap too.
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PakistaniEast End Legend
Lahore Kebab House
£·Whitechapel·Whitechapel
The Umberston Street institution that has been doing the best lamb chops in East London for decades. BYOB, no fuss, just extraordinary Pakistani food at extraordinary prices.
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PunjabiBYOB Legend
Tayyabs
£·Whitechapel·Whitechapel
The dry meat, the lamb chops, the mixed grill. Tayyabs has been packing them in for good reason since 1972. Bring your own bottle and prepare to wait.
BagelsBrick Lane Icon
Beigel Bake
£·Brick Lane·Shoreditch High Street
Open 24 hours, salt beef piled high, and a queue that snakes out the door at 3am. This is Brick Lane at its most essential. Accept no imitations.
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Italian CafeGrade II Listed
E Pellicci
£·Bethnal Green·Bethnal Green
A Grade II listed family cafe on Bethnal Green Road since 1900. The full English is a thing of beauty, the tea is proper builder's, and Nevio Pellicci greets everyone like family.
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Modern EuropeanNatural Wine Haven
Bright
£££·Bethnal Green·Bethnal Green
A tiny counter-dining room on Westgate Street with an immaculate wine list and food that punches miles above what you'd expect from the setting. Book early.
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Modern EuropeanWine Bar Excellence
Leroy
£££·Shoreditch·Old Street
Sam Kamienko and Ed Thaw's all-day wine bar serves some of the most quietly excellent food in East London. Every dish is a study in balance and restraint.
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Wine Bar & KitchenCult Wine Bar
P Franco
££·Clapton·Hackney Downs
The Clapton wine bar that spawned a movement. Guest chefs rotate through the tiny kitchen, the natural wines are impeccable, and you'll sit elbow-to-elbow with strangers who become friends.
ThaiAuthentic Thai
Som Saa
££·Spitalfields·Liverpool Street
Proper regional Thai food in a big, buzzy Commercial Street warehouse. The curries are complex and deeply flavoured, the larb is textbook, and the whole thing feels like a Bangkok canteen gone right.