Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Spitalfields
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Spitalfields restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 74 restaurants in Spitalfields and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Spitalfields restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Spitalfields Restaurants
1. Cinnamon Kitchen
Indian restaurant in City
9 Devonshire Sq - EC2
“Attractive Indians with a good range of different dishes” – Vivek Singh’s dynamic duo of affordable spin-offs from his celebrated Cinnamon Club inspire practically nothing but high praise. The long-established City outlet set inside a rather 1980s atrium development is “a solid option around Liverpool Street” (although at times “the cavernous interior can feel a bit odd and echoey”); the newer Battersea branch occupies a railway arch near the power station and feels “different” (in a good way).
2. Sichuan Folk
Chinese restaurant in Whitechapel
32 Hanbury St - E1
2023 Review: 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”.
3. Rosa’s
Thai restaurant in Shoreditch
12 Hanbury St - E1
2021 Review: The “lovely Thai food” at these reliable cafés is “impressively authentic given that they are a chain” – “excellent value” and “fast”, if occasionally let down by “iffy service”. Founded in 2008 by Saiphin and Alex Moore, who inherited the name of their first East End site, the group has 18 branches in London and expanded to Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (delivery only) and Leeds following the sale of a majority stake to US investors. The couple also have two spin-offs, Lao Café in Covent Garden and the new Chinese noodle bar Hoh Sek in St Katharine Docks.
4. The Rib Man
Burgers, etc restaurant in Shoreditch
Brick Lane, Brick Lane Market - E1
“Messy but worthwhile!” – a trip to Mark Gevaux’s acclaimed pitch on Sundays at Brick Lane, for his BBQ ribs and pork rolls from pigs reared outdoors in Norfolk and Suffolk. But the creator of ‘Holy Fuck’ hot sauce suffered an aneurism and underwent surgery in summer 2023 – wishing him all the best for a speedy recovery… not only is he a top bloke, but we all need him back at work…
5. Poppies
Fish & chips restaurant in Spitalfields
6-8 Hanbury St - E1
2023 Review: 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.
6. Flat Iron
Steaks & grills restaurant in Tower Hamlets
88-90 Commercial Street - E1
“One of the best bangs for your buck in town” – this “well-priced” steak chain has a “sensible formula” and has “managed to keep standards up despite constant expansion” (its latest, 11th London site, opened in March 2023 in Kensington). “Surroundings are basic” and “their menu is very simplistic: you choose a cut of meat, sauce and sides – the cuts are cooked to perfection”, “chips are hot, the service is punctual” and “free ice cream at the end ensures happy faces when people leave”.
7. St John Bread & Wine
British, Traditional restaurant in Shoreditch
94-96 Commercial St - E1
“Wearing the ‘nose-to-tail’ mantle a little more lightly” than the Smithfield original, Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson’s Spitalfields canteen hits the nail on the head for many diners. Its robust British small plates are “seriously good – different, and utterly delicious with plenty of offal” – and “the wine list with lesser known bottles is also interesting”. “The room may be clinical” but “its basic style is attractive… if you like that sort of thing”. Top Menu Tip – “the best bacon butty in London!”, plus “mega Eccles cakes with Lancashire cheese to fill you up”.
8. Chez Elles
French restaurant in
45 Brick Ln - E1
“A simple menu with unexpectedly great food” is to be found at this ‘bistroquet’ on Brick Lane, which has flown the Tricolor in curry country for the past 11 years with a parade of Gallic classics including snails, frogs’ legs and veal sweetbreads.
9. Andina Spitalfields
Peruvian restaurant in Spitalfields
60-62 Commercial Street - E1
2023 Review: 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”.
10. Gunpowder
Indian restaurant in City
11 Whites Row - E1
“Innovative small plates pack a flavour punch” (“the lamb chops are some of the most glorious things ever”) at this “buzzy if rather cramped” Indian street-food trio, with operations near Tower Bridge, and in Spitalfields and Soho. Top Tip – “good, if limited, pre-theatre menu. Virtually no choice but, with tasty and large portions costing £22 for two courses or £25 for three, excellent value”.
11. Hawksmoor
Steaks & grills restaurant in Shoreditch
157 Commercial St - E1
“Still one of the steak stalwarts of London…”; “still our go-to place for a relaxed night out…”; “still the place for a discreet business meeting in the City…”. Few brands inspire as much long-term adulation as Huw Gott and Will Beckett’s steakhouse chain, which has ridden the zeitgeist since its founding in 2006; and which is now (with the help of Graphite Capital, who own most of it nowadays) to be found in NYC and Dublin, as well as Manchester, Edinburgh and Liverpool. A “terrific” cocktail in the bar, precedes “awesome steaks with fantastic side dishes, all in a cool setting”. At least, that’s long been the accepted wisdom anyway, although there’s a widespread feeling that quality “has dropped off a bit in recent years”. In this year’s annual diners’ poll, ratings improved in some respects and declined in others, with historical concerns over stratospheric prices supplanted by niggles that maybe the formula is just “starting to look a tad tired” and that service – though often “excellent” – can also sometimes seem increasingly “impersonal” (“you are just a number!”). The majority verdict for the time being, though? Still “always hits the spot”.
12. Bubala
Middle Eastern restaurant in Tower Hamlets
65 Commercial Street - E1
“Every course hits harder than the next… and you don’t even realise all are vegetarian!” – this former pop-up – now with outlets in Soho (on the site of the now-transferred Vasco & Piero’s) and Shoreditch – serves “stunning” Middle Eastern-style dishes from founder Marc Summers (ex-Berber & Q) and head chef Helen Graham (ex-Palomar and Barbary). “If I could eat this food every day, I could easily become meat-free”. Plan ahead – “it’s hard to get a table!”
13. Bleecker Burger
Burgers, etc restaurant in Spitalfields
Unit B Pavilion Building, Spitalfields Mkt - E1
“Still the best burger in town in my opinion” is a widely shared view of this independent chain with four sit-down and three delivery-only kitchens. “No matter how many burgers I try in London, I can’t beat Bleecker” – “they get the simple stuff right: quality of meat, how the patty is made, doneness, ratio of meat to bread, and it adds up to a serious burger”. Zan Kaufman, a former New York corporate lawyer, launched her brand from the back of a truck 12 years ago, naming it after a Greenwich Village street.
14. Som Saa
Thai restaurant in Shoreditch
43a Commercial Street - E1
“Full of a young crowd who really want to enjoy the flavours of Thailand” – this “noisy” former factory near Spitalfields Market has won renown for offering “a unique flavour of ‘real’ Thai cuisine with a wonderful selection of zingy, spicy, aromatic and refreshing dishes”. Top Menu Tip – “nothing can beat the whole deep-fried seabass with crunchy bones, and sitting at the counter they’ll do half portions for a single diner. Excellent!”
15. Delamina East
Middle Eastern restaurant in Shoreditch
151 Commercial Street - E1
“Consistently very good food” results from the menu of small sharing plates at this modern Levantine duo in Marylebone and Shoreditch, created by Israeli-born cook Limor Chen and her husband Amir. There’s a “buzzy atmosphere without being too noisy” and a playlist that channels the Tel Aviv vibe.
16. The Buxton
British, Modern restaurant in Tower Hamlets
42 Osborn Street - E1
2021 Review: From the team behind the nearby Culpeper, this new (June 2019) gastroboozer occupies a cleverly rebuilt seven-storey site near the foot of Brick Lane, whose redevelopment has allowed the addition of 15 bedrooms. It opened too late for survey feedback: The Standard’s David Sexton found the ground floor bar a little “cramped” and “not for lingering”, but a good value, if “lonely pioneer of bourgeois taste” in this grungy ’hood.
17. The Culpeper
British, Modern restaurant in Aldgate
40 Commercial Street - E1
“Buzzing” old boozer on a Spitalfields corner site, which was very stylishly upgraded nine years ago and nowadays boasts an airy upstairs dining room with an “always interesting, always reliable” British bistro menu. “The roof terrace is a great bonus”, too.
18. Ottolenghi
Mediterranean restaurant in Spitalfields
50 Artillery Pas - E1
“Stunning salads, amazing pastries” and a “lovely variety of interesting prepared dishes” have stood the test of time at Yotam Ottolenghi’s “vibrant” deli-cafés – still hugely popular 22 years on from the launch of the first in Notting HIll. The Israeli-born chef and writer has had an enormous influence on the way people shop, eat and cook, helping to create a whole category of modern Middle Eastern cookery and “totally living up to his reputation as a leading expert in vegetarian cuisine” – even though his premises serve meat and fish. An occasional quibble – “the prices? Too high for a few stalks of broccoli even taking into account the undoubtedly skills of the Chef!”
19. Galvin La Chapelle
French restaurant in Spitalfields
35 Spital Sq - E1
“One of the best dining rooms in London”, the Galvin Bros’ “impressive” Spitalfields venue occupies a “spectacular” space that looks like a church, but which was actually part of a late-Victorian girls’ school – a “real special occasion place” both for romantics or for an “unbeatable, proper business lunch in the City”. It won improved ratings this year for its “fabulous”, “classic” cuisine, its “professional” service and its “refined” wines from a “huge book of vintages”.
20. Xi'an Biang Biang
Chinese restaurant in Tower Hamlets
62 Wentworth Street - E1
2021 Review: “Oodles of noodles… and fun, too”: this “bustling, happy-making eatery” – year-old sibling to Highbury’s Xi’an Impression – occupies a canteen-style space in Spitalfields and “specialises in spicy, hand-pulled noodles”; “yum!”.
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