Restaurants in Hackney elevating east London dining

The borough of Hackney, running from Bethnal Green in the south to Stoke Newington in the north and Hackney Wick in the east, is thronging with some of London’s greatest restaurants.

Although it’s equally known for its nights out, peaceful green spaces and independent shops, Hackney is one of London’s most exciting places to eat out. From hand-rolled dumplings to Cantonese-style noodles and late-night vinyl, the diversity of cuisine reflects a multicultural and continuously evolving borough.

Exploring Hackney

Hackney covers a fairly large area, and as the transport connections aren’t as extensive as in other parts of London, it’s best to explore one neighbourhood at a time. There are overground stations and bus routes, but we recommend taking the opportunity to stroll. Hackney Marshes beside the River Lee is lovely to walk along, as are the green spaces of Victoria Park, Clissold Park, and London Fields. But the highlight, though, is the towpath along Regent’s Canal. Head to a station nearby (we suggest Angel) and take the one-hour walk along the canal to Haggerston, stopping at Signature Brew taproom for a takeaway pint, before before continuing to the restaurants and bars of Bethnal Green, Dalston and London Fields – many of which are a short walk away from the canal.

Such adventuring is bound to work up an appetite, so here’s some inspiration for when hunger strikes: the Roadbook guide to the best restaurants in Hackney.

London Fields

Cafe Cecilia

Best for: Elevated cooking by the canal
Location: Cafe Cecilia, 32 Andrews Road, E84FX
Price: £££

Down a side street off Broadway Market in London Fields, the unassuming Cafe Cecilia can be found in a brightly lit space overlooking Regent’s Canal. Chef Max Rocha combines his experiences in top London restaurants The River Café and St. John Bread and Wine with his Irish heritage and love for family cooking in a warm and welcoming menu. Dishes like the mussels, nduja and polenta, or the porcini and king oyster agnolotti, nod to his taste for modern European cooking, while the Guinness bread takes diners right back to Ireland. A family affair, uniforms are designed by Max’s sister, the designer Simone Rocha, while the space was designed by his father, the designer John Rocha.

Koya Ko

Best for: Udon and donburi in a casual, fast-paced setting
Location: 10-12 Broadway Market Mews, Hackney, London, E8 4TS
Price: ££

Chef Shuko Oda’s Koya Ko is a casual, fast-paced noodle bar, which joins sister restaurants in the City and Soho. This Hackney iteration on Broadway Market in London Fields boasts a unique menu and offers room for tachi-gui – standing while dining – at the bar, or you can eat outside on the sunny terrace. At the heart of the menu is freshly made udon and dashi, staying true to Koya’s roots, but if you’re not in the mood for udon, there are donburi bowls and various sides. The restaurant is open every day, all day – it even serves breakfast udon on weekend mornings – so drop by anytime for an informal and nourishing meal.

Wonton Charlie’s

Best for: Comforting Hong Kong-style lunchtime noodles
Address: 392-393 Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3PH
Price: ££

Occupying a former ticket office beside London Fields railway station, this popular lunchtime spot serves steaming bowls of wonton noodle soup from 11am to 3pm. The snaking queue moves fast for takeaway, or you can snag a coveted seat at the steamy central counter and watch the fast-paced chefs at work. Handrolled wontons – pork, prawn or fish skin – are XX slow-cooked chicken or fish broth. Springy noodles are made fresh each day and diners can also snack on crispy fish skins, while drinks include sour plum tea and local beers.

Sune

Best for: Candlelit meals and a top wine list
Location: 129A Pritchard’s Road, London, E2 9AP
Price: £££

Sune is a neighbourhood restaurant at the bottom of Hackney’s Broadway Market, owned by renowned sommelier Honey Spencer and partner Charlie Sims. Enjoy a candlelit evening meal with canal-side views, or save your visit for the delicious Sunday brunch menu – a seafood-focused showcase inspired by the brunch culture in NYC. As expected, the wine list is excellent, while the kitchen is captained by chef Michael Robins, who comes from the east London neighbourhood restaurant Pidgin. A varied menu includes za’atar spiced lamb ribs with honey, velvety homemade pastas and a lavish fruits de mer plate. Outdoor tables are reserved for walk-ins, encouraging a spontaneous glass of pét nat when the sun shines.

Bambi

Why we rate it: Dinner and disco in London Fields
Address: Netil House, 1 Westgate Street, London E8 3RL
Price: $$$

Newly reopened Bambi is everything that’s good about eating out in Hackney: a restaurant-club hybrid, dinner segues into drinks and dancing, while a DJ spins vinyl. Bambi 2.0 boasts an extended dining room, new mezzanine and outdoor seating gives Bambi 2.0 more space and variety, while a refreshed front bar allows for walk-ins. A new menu by chef Jamie Thorneycroft includes spiced prawns dipped in black garlic aioli, whipped ricotta with hot honey and trout toastadas. Snag a counter seat by the DJ decks for a front-row vinyl view.

Dalston

Little Duck the Picklery

Best for: An open kitchen specialising in ferments and pickles
Location: 68 Dalston Lane, London E8 3AH
Price: £££

Little Duck the Picklery is a popular neighbourhood wine bar and restaurant in Dalston, with a special focus on fermented and pickled foods. Bottles of kombucha and drinking vinegar line the shelves, and seasonal ferments and pickles in jars are available to buy from the fridge. There’s a large kitchen counter where chefs work on one side and guests sit at the other. It’s this cosy interaction that makes it feel like eating at a chef friend’s home kitchen. Due to its diminutive size, reservations go quickly at Little Duck the Picklery, so book in advance.

Acme Fire Cult

Best for: Open fire cooking with great beers
Location: Abbot Street, London, E8 2LX
Price: £££

Tucked down an alley off Dalston Kingsland lies Acme Fire Cult, an open fire restaurant from chef Andrew Clarke. Legendary meat plates spotlight native and rare breeds, all sourced from regenerative farms in the UK. Vegetables also take centre stage, with celeriac, squash and aubergines cooked directly on hot smoky coals. On a warm day, sit outside on the terrace (one of the best in London) and enjoy the sharing plates with some hazy beers from the brewery.

Angelina

Best for: Well-priced kaiseki tasting menu
Location: 56 Dalston Lane, London, E8 3AH
Price: ££££

On Dalston Lane, curious eaters will find Angelina, an inventive restaurant that explores a playful fusion of Italian and Japanese cuisine. The kaiseki tasting menu (priced at 68 GBP per person), runs 13 courses and blends Japanese and Italian influences. Pairings like the fritto misto with tempura or focaccia with soft and fluffy Hokkaido milk bread gently highlight the similarities between the two cuisines. Opt for the wine pairings option if you feel like living lavishly. Angelina serves great food, and with banging funk tunes blasting on the speakers, it’s not too serious either.

Clapton

My Neighbours the Dumplings

Best for: Hand-rolled dumplings in a lantern-lit, relaxed setting
Address: 165 Lower Clapton Road, E5 8EQ
Price: ££

A longstanding local favourite in Clapton, My Neighbours the Dumplings excels in hand-rolled dumplings, silky cheung fun and comforting Cantonese-style sharing plates. Interiors are casual and stripped-back with communal tables, while an ambient, lantern-lit garden is fringed by potted palms. This is a popular spot, so be prepared to bump elbows with your neighbour as you tuck into plates of sticky buttermilk chicken wings and sip a matcha mezcalita cocktail. There is a second location by Victoria Park, also in Hackney, which is slightly bigger and has a more polished dining room, though it retains the same buzzy neighbourhood feel.

Darling’s

Best for: Pasta-making workshops and communal dining 
Location: 455 Wick Lane, London, E3 2TB
Price: ££

Following a successful crowd-funding campaign, Egle Loit’s pasta joint Darling’s has graduated from a Walthamstow pop-up to a permanent space in Bow. Inside, guests are encouraged to share their space with other parties on a bleached wood communal table lined with candles and linen fabrics. A changing menu might include signatures such as paccheri with pistachio and brown shrimps or an exceptional casarecce with smoky tomato and burrata. For those keen to hone their cooking skills, look out for regular pasta-making workshops.

Bethnal Green

Brawn

Best for: Neighbourhood cool on the corner of Colombia Road
Location: 49 Columbia Road, London, E2 7RG
Price: £££

As one of London’s first small neighbourhood restaurants serving natural wine and sharing plates, Brawn set the tone for what has become a popular model across Hackney. It takes its inspiration from head-to-tail cooking: its name refers to a dish that uses meat from the head of a pig, and it takes a pig as its emblem on the signage. Thanks to the ever-changing menu, you might not know what you’re going to eat, but you’re always in for a lovely meal. We’d recommend ordering the pasta dish no matter what, because these chefs know what they’re doing.

The Water House Project

Best for: Unpretentious tasting menus in an industrial space
Location: 1 Corbridge Crescent, Bethnal Green, London E2 9DT
Price: ££££

The Water House Project began as a supper club in chef Gabriel Waterhouse’s home before it found its permanent location in Bethnal Green. The double-height space is certainly industrial, yet feels homely and welcoming with an open plan kitchen, making it feel like you are visiting your extremely talented friend’s impressive home kitchen. The Water House Project offers a seven-course meal on Wednesday evenings and Saturday lunch, and a nine-course menu on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, at 7pm, with prices starting from 100 GBP per head. With one seating per evening, it really does feel like an intimate dinner party. The food changes seasonally and is always prepared elegantly and with utmost attention to flavours. All the delight of a tasting menu, with none of the stuffiness.

Haggerston

Planque

Best for: Wine afficionados
Location: 322-324 Acton Mews, London, E8 4EA
Price: ££££

In the railway arches right outside Haggerston station is a wine bar, members club, restaurant and cellar called Planque – which means ‘hideaway’ in French, but also sounds a lot like plonk, which sums up the tone of the place. Planque is all about informality and creating a community around modern, low-intervention wines. The rotating menu is prepared by chef Seb Myers, formerly of P. Franco and the celeb favourite Chiltern Firehouse, and sommelier James Lewis from Shoreditch restaurant Lyle’s. You can pay 80 GBP a month for membership, which grants you cellaring for 37 bottles of wine (because who has space to keep that many at home?), plus access to the member’s lounge area and regular exclusive events. Or you can simply turn up for dinner and drinks. Meals take place around one long convivial table, so you are bound to meet some likeminded wine fans and make a friend or two.

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