Shoreditch, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

This well-regarded boozer, just off Great Eastern Street, was one of the first in Shoreditch to have a reputation for cooking (in the early 2000s); and is currently on an upswing having hired MasterChef winner Nikita Pathakji to bring some of her refined magic to the kitchen in summer 2024. A busy gastropub is a very different prospect from her former gaffs (Bibendum, Core and Kitchen W8), but her “good Sunday lunch” is definitely a hit.

Under chef Isaac McHale, this famous Shoreditch destination blazed a trail when it opened in 2013. McHale remains, but he parted ways in November 2024 with co-founders, Daniel Willis and Johnny Smith (who now are focused on Luca, see also). Perhaps the parting of the ways is a positive, as ratings in our annual diners’ poll only improved this year and remain consistent with the kitchen’s solidly good performance in recent times. Admittedly, for some years now there’s been a perception gap between its current level of performance (“OK, but I think I had expected more”); and the dazzling heights is scaled during the venue’s heyday (two Michelin stars, World’s 50 Best…), when it helped put Shoreditch on London’s gastronomic map by tearing up the stuffy old rule book for fine dining with its confident, casual and creative culinary cleverness. That said, it inspired no stern critiques this year and remains “a favourite” for a very loyal fan club: “simply great…”, “always a joy…”, “really great attitude and attention to detail…”. The main event is an eight-course tasting menu for £225 per person (with wine pairing at £175), or you can opt for the ‘short’ six-course version for £195 per person. Top Tip – the three-course lunch menu is £95 per person and is available Wednesday to Friday.

2022 Review: We have Tracey Emin and Madness front-man Suggs to thank, along with the rest of the OPEN campaign, for saving this iconic (for once the word is merited) Shoreditch landmark north of Liverpool Street, which – after its original launch in 2000 – became a seminal venue for emerging hipster East London. It closed in 2014 when it was about to be flattened for a skyscraper, but this 5,000 sq ft former rail power station (built in 1893) reopened in April 2021, initially with its terrace in operation. This was followed in May and June by its ground-floor ‘Engine Hall’ bar and restaurant and first-floor ‘Timber Loft’. Survey feedback was too limited for a rating, but all-round extremely positive.

“It’s a little crowded and cramped but the food is phenomenal” at Tomos Parry’s “lively, totally welcoming and unstuffy” operation – the clever conversion of the first floor of a Shoreditch pub (over the Smoking Goat) with its own separate entrance. When it opened in 2018, Tomos helped lead the vogue for cooking over fire in the capital and the “fabulous” results here remain “worthy of applause for their creativity, presentation, taste and good value”. “Passionate staff add to the atmosphere as does the open grill and it’s an absolute must-do, especially for a group of foodie friends looking for a fun night”. “From the bread through to the superbly done fish and vegetable-based dishes and a memorable wine list, it’s memorable all round, every time”. Top Menu Tip – “exquisite Turbot” (for which the venue is named… in Welsh!).

A “carnivore heaven” near the entrance to the Barbican arts centre – this “City institution” serves a menu of “hands-down brilliant game” and “traditional British food” (including “lovely roasts on Sunday”) in a traditional pub setting. It’s not for the squeamish, with lots of dead animals stuffed in cases, mounted on the walls or hung from the ceiling waiting to be cooked.

“Superb modern British cooking in a sexily stark but verdant setting” thrills the crowd at this Shoreditch institution now in its 22nd year, from Melanie Arnold and Margot Henderson (wife of St John’s Fergus – their son Hector is now head chef while daughter Frances works FoH). “Lovely both in the garden tent in summer and the more intimate indoor restaurant in winter; the fact that it’s hard to find just adds to the romance” (the premises were originally built as school bike sheds). First-time visitors say it’s “everything I had hoped it would be”, with a “very interesting menu”. Top Tip – “sublime monkfish liver pâté with pickles”.

“Captain Kirk is at the helm and the flavours are set to stunning” at this Shoreditch yearling from Great British Menu winner Kirk Haworth (and sister Keeley). It opened in July 2024, and seven short months later became “the first Michelin star vegan restaurant” – an accolade that’s “well deserved” according to practically all feedback in our annual diners’ poll (e.g. “This plant-based food is a revelation…”; “one of the most exciting meals I’ve ever had…”; “I have been waiting years for this restaurant to open,… at long last, an outstanding delicious and imaginative vegan tasting menu”). And folks are “loving the open kitchen and counter experience as well” – “Kirk serves you and chats” and the “wonderful” service generally “makes you feel like family”. If you were looking to criticise, you could say that the “space is somewhat cramped”. More typically, though, it’s just full-on raves all-round (“As someone who has banned any product in our house which contains the word ‘Vegan’ on the packaging, I could eat at Plates every week and not be bored!”). Top Menu Tip – “The lasagne is a highlight. Grateful for the excellent laminated bread, otherwise it would have been light on carbs”.

“Exceptionally creative seasonal menus focusing on one core ingredient at a time make Nest a unique proposition” – and the 2023 move from Hackney to bigger premises next to Shoreditch Town Hall has seen the food rating rise to its highest-ever level, with set menus based on specific British landscapes. “Execution and warm, personal service are still bang-on”, while “an improved wine list with some real rarities (fairly marked up too!) makes up for the slight bump in price”. Sibling to highly rated St Bart’s, this is “a place to return to again and again” .

2024 Review: A glass-roofed atrium dining room that’s part of a new boutique hotel (created from six Georgian townhouses) on the City/Shoreditch fringes, that opened last year. No survey feedback as yet, but it looks well styled and potentially a useful option in the area either for a cocktail, or for a meal with a flexible all-day menu served: first a breakfast selection; later in the day of small and sharing dishes. (There’s also a restaurant here serving South East Asian food called Quercus).

Joe Laker’s 16-seater north of Old Street has won attention since it opened three years ago – for example it was in Harden’s 2024 Top 100 Best UK Restaurants – but still perhaps doesn’t make the waves that its level of excellence deserves: in particular, inexplicably it has yet to be granted its Michelin star. Served at a curved counter looking onto the kitchen: the main event is a nine-course tasting menu price at £145 per person (with a six-course menu at lunch £70 per person). In his December 2024 review, David Ellis of The Standard was upbeat although of the converted pub surroundings he queried “if this was a dream site or a case of financial compromise”. Still, no quibbles about the cuisine: “seasonal, sustainable and British, the usual stuff. But goodness, is it well done”.

The first opening from ‘Evolv’ – the renamed group that was D&D London – an extension of the Bluebird brand previously synonymous with the famous Chelsea landmark. It’s now the new identity for the brasserie on the ground floor of the group’s South Place Hotel. The brasserie menu will not represent a big departure from its former style and likewise the interior is largely unchanged from its former incarnation (although the terrace features Bluebird’s distinctive looks with large umbrellas, planters, and private bookable cabins). Given Bluebird’s dirgeful performance over many years, don’t go with any high hopes, but historically this has been a useful if undistinguished City-fringe rendezvous.

“A great reimagining of a local East End boozer” – this February 2025 newcomer from the team behind the Camberwell Arms occupies a restored classic late Victorian pub in Shoreditch. Upstairs there’s a stand-alone restaurant called Club Row (see also) from chef Patrick Powell, formerly of the Midland Grand and Allegra. The pub proper is “atmospheric with friendly service” and good grub: “the chicken platter is superb value; super bar snacks too”.

Upstairs from the relaunched Knave of Clubs pub in Shoreditch (with its own entrance), a venture open in Spring 2025 aiming to inject a shot of Manhattan-style glamour into the area. In an April 2025 review, the Standard’s David Ellis hailed it as “E1’s answer to The Dover, Mayfair’s wood-panelled, come-hither martini den” serving up “Paris spied through a New Yorker’s telescope”. In early May 2025, The Guardian’s Grace Dent found a shabby-chic upstairs dining room with a “heady, tipsy, twinkly atmosphere” giving a “thrilling, retro glimpse of mindlessness” in our era of health-conscious mindfulness. Chef Patrick Powell’s cooking is heartier, less “fine dining” here than at his former employer, Allegra in Stratford (“croquettes filled with lobster and ham, roast scallops in confit garlic butter and thick French onion soup topped with comté and gruyere”).

“So delicious, meat is not missed” – this ‘vegetable forward’ yearling on Notting Hill’s Portobello Road inspires nothing but praise for ‘unfailingly good food that’s so healthy’. Indeed, owners Irina Linovich and ACME Fire Cult’s Daniel Watkins have already lined up site No. 2 with a late 2025 opening in Old Spitalfields Market. In both spots seasonal produce is cooked over fire with fermentation to boost flavour and ‘celebrate vegetables in unique and innovative ways’.