East London's restaurant frontier moved here in the 2010s: Broadway Market on Saturday, Mare Street wine bars and Ridley Road's afro-Caribbean grocers.
Charlie Mellor's wine-bar dining room on Hackney Road in east London, opened 2017, runs a Modern European small-plates menu with a natural-wine list and late kitchen.
Signature: Beef tartare, Whatever Modern European plate is on
Order: Beef tartare with bone-marrow chips, and a glass of Jura red from the natural-wine list.
Tip: Open Wed-Sun, kitchen runs to 23:30. The downstairs wine room takes walk-ins on weeknights.
Lori De Mori and Laura Jackson's Regent's Canal cafe between De Beauvoir and Haggerston Park in east London, opened 2010, an outdoor-only seasonal cafe (closed Nov-Mar).
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Tip: Open March to October only, daytime only, outdoor seats by the towpath. No bookings, cash and card.
Ben Mackinnon's railway-arch bakery beside London Fields station in Hackney London, opened 2010, mills its own organic flour and ships Hackney Wild sourdough across the city.
Tip: The Sunday morning canal-side queue runs 30 minutes; weekday opening at 07:30 walks in. Cinnamon buns sell out by 11:00.
Worth the queue: Hackney Wild sourdough
Olly Gold's laminated-pastry counter in Hackney London, opened 2016 on Richmond Road, runs the city's most-photographed viennoiserie and a Pophams Pizza sibling next door.
Tip: Bacon and maple Danish sells out by 10:00 on a Saturday. The Islington site at 36 Prebend Street has identical bake but quieter queues.
Worth the queue: Bacon and maple Danish
Max Tobias's social-enterprise bakery in a Dalston car park in east London, opened 2014, runs sourdough sandwiches, pastry and a youth training program.
Tip: Salt beef sandwich is the marquee fill. Sunday roast bread loaf sells out by 13:00. Outdoor seating only in summer.
Worth the queue: Salt beef sandwich
Dane Per Brun Madsen's Mentmore Terrace bakery in Hackney London, opened 2020 next to E5 Bakehouse, runs Scandinavian rye, sourdough and a small pastry counter.
Tip: Rye loaves come out at 09:00 and 13:00; phone-order ahead for guaranteed stock. Closed Mon-Tue.
Worth the queue: Rye loaf
Anette Moldvaer and James Hoffmann's Square Mile coffee roastery near Wenlock Basin in north London, founded 2008, the city's most-cited specialty roaster and the bean behind Kaffeine.
Tip: No public cafe; the beans go to subscribers and the city's top espresso bars (Workshop, Prufrock, Kaffeine).
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Brazil, Kenya, Costa Rica
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail, Subscription
Daniel Climpson's roaster on Broadway Market in Hackney London, founded 2002, runs a Saturday-market cafe at 67 Broadway and a roastery on Helmsley Place.
Tip: The Saturday market is the canonical visit. Climpson's Arch on Helmsley Place is a Friday-Saturday-only railway-arch bar.
Sources from: Brazil, Ethiopia, Colombia, El Salvador
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail, Subscription
Liam Kelleher's natural-wine room on Lower Clapton Road in Hackney London, opened 2014, runs a wall-of-wine shop by day and an evening counter with a rotating chef residency.
Signature pour: Whatever Italian skin-contact white is on by the glass
Wine focus: Natural wine, all-region with strong Italian and French focus
Food: Small plates from a rotating chef-in-residence
Tip: Walk-up only. Tuesday-Thursday at 17:30 is the easy slot; Friday-Saturday queue 30 minutes for a counter seat.
Michael Sager and Charlotte Wilde's bar on Hackney Road in east London, opened 2013, ran the bridge between London's old wine-bar scene and the natural-wine wave.
Signature pour: Whatever German Riesling is on by the glass
Wine focus: International natural and low-intervention wines
Food: Small plates and a famous grilled cheese sandwich
Tip: The grilled cheese sandwich is the marquee bar snack. Wednesday and Thursday nights run a £25 menu pairing.
Charlie Mellor's downstairs wine cellar at The Laughing Heart on Hackney Road in east London, opened 2017, runs a deep natural-wine list and a late kitchen to 23:30.
Signature pour: Whatever Jura red is on by the glass
Wine focus: Natural wine, biodynamic and orange
Food: Small plates and late kitchen
Tip: Downstairs walks in any night; upstairs dining room books a week ahead. Wine club subscriptions get the rarest bottles.
Max and Noel Venning's neighbourhood cocktail bar on Kingsland Road in Dalston London, opened 2016, runs a daily-mixed-on-site cocktail menu and a small wine list.
Signature drink: Whatever house-mix of the season is
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Walk-up only Tue-Thu. Friday-Saturday books a week ahead. The brothers source ingredients to make every house spirit from scratch.
Matt Whiley's hyper-seasonal cocktail bar on Sclater Street in Shoreditch London, opened 2018, builds the menu around local UK ingredients and zero-waste production.
Signature drink: Hyper-seasonal house mixes
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Counter seats are walk-up. The menu turns over by season; British produce defines the drinks list throughout the year.
Edward Mason and Greg Hobbs's Five Points Brewing brewery taproom on Mare Street in Hackney London, founded 2013, runs a railway-arch tap with Five Points Pale and Railway Porter.
Tip: The arch has outdoor seats. Friday evening fills with the Hackney Central commuter crowd; Saturday afternoon walks in any time.
Broadway Market between London Fields and Regent's Canal in Hackney London, trading since 1890 and revived in 2004 by the residents, runs Saturday-only with 80 weekly stalls.
Tip: E5 Bakehouse, Climpson and Sons, and Pump Street Bakery all sit on or near the strip. Arrive by 10:30 for the best of the bakery queues.
Charlie Mellor's Modern European wine bar on Hackney Road in east London, opened 2017, runs the city's most-trusted late kitchen with small plates until 23:30 Wed-Sun.
Try: Modern European small plates
Tip: The downstairs wine cellar takes walk-ins any night. Closed Mon-Tue. Last orders for kitchen at 23:30 sharp.