Spitalfields, Burgers, Etc Restaurant Guide

The Rib Man – aka Mark Gevaux – is a landmark feature of Brick Lane’s Sunday market, with folks queueing for his BBQ ribs and pork rolls from pigs reared outdoors in Norfolk and Suffolk. Actually, you don’t need to queue: nowadays you can order his meat and trademark ‘Holy Fuck’ and other colourfully named hot sauces online.

“Simply love Hawksmoor!”. Founded by Will Beckett and Huw Gott, this phenomenal steakhouse chain remains one of the Top-5 most-mentioned restaurant groups in our annual diners’ poll and also one of the most popular. At heart – despite expansion to the 10 UK sites, one in Ireland and two in the US (Chicago, launched in July 2024, is the latest) – the essentials of the brand haven’t changed since they first opened near Spitalfields in 2006: “the steak and the sides are all thumping winners” (“chewy char on the all-grass-fed meat and perfect chips”); “cocktails are a standout attraction” (“those cherry Negronis are a bit too addictive!”); “service is smiley”; all the above is “unbelievably popular”; and consequently they are seemingly able to charge “silly prices”, while not deterring their huge fan base. Opening in the City also helped establish the brand as a huge client-entertaining favourite: “if you’re doing business with carnivores, the excellent steak, red wine, service, and professional ambience should help you seal the deal”. Meanwhile, “good fish and veggie options” have been added to the menu in recent times, perhaps to help defuse the obvious criticism that beef farming is not that super for the planet. In July 2024 – three years after the business tried to float on the stock exchange – majority owners, Graphite Capital, put their 51% stake in the business up for sale for a reported £100m valuation. Will and Huw will, it seems, retain their stake. Top Tip – “BYO is £5 on a Monday!”

“No gimmicks and great flavours” is the recipe for a “semi-religious experience” at this small group (which also has three delivery-only outlets): for its many fans, “still the gold standard by which all burgers in the UK should be judged”. “Gloriously juicy meat with just the right amount of extras” all “comes together in the most mouth-watering way”. You “don’t come for the experience” though: they are “very cramped when busy”, if “still somehow cool”. In August 2024 they opened a new site not far from London Bridge.

“This truck at Spitalfields continues to be a favourite of everyone I take there” – parked just outside the market, it delivers generous filled buns of the eponymous roasted bird, or boxes with meat, chips and salad.

“Sinfully good” burgers are delivered with “quick and efficient service” – and “genius free soft serve ice cream” (which accompanies your bill) – at this independent group with a handful of outlets around London. Former nurse Liz Down and her husband Stew started out in 2016 with a stall on Broadway Market, inspired by working holidays in the Canadian Rockies. Top Tip – “indulge in the guilty pleasure of their dry-aged beef glazed in miso with double cheese”.

“You just cannot beat” the “brilliantly cooked, juicy/sloppy burgers”, say fans of this indie group – “they’re worth the dirty fingers afterwards”. Founded by Joe Grossman in 2012, it now has seven outlets (plus two concessions) in London and another in Brighton, and after negotiating a tricky patch on home turf opened its first international branch in Dubai last year.

Having graduated from food trucks and market stalls to permanent sites in Shoreditch, Soho and Borough Yards, this classy fast-food operation is on the rise – with improved ratings to match. “I don’t even like burgers, but the vegan burger dripping with sweet Korean sauce – made especially without mayo for my fussy taste – was a total surprise, and drop-dead gorgeous”.