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.
Andy Beynon's one-Michelin-starred fish counter on the edge of London Fields in Hackney London, opened October 2020, runs an 18-seat kitchen table.
OrderWhatever Cornish day-boat fish opens the menu.
Book6 weeks ahead
TipOne sitting per service; book six weeks ahead. The relaxed wine bar at the front takes walk-ins and pours from the same list.
Max Rocha's solo Cafe Cecilia by Regent's Canal in Hackney London opened 2021. Modern European plates with Anglo-Irish notes, drawing on River Cafe and St.
OrderWhatever fish course is on, with the Guinness bread to start and a bottle from the natural-wine list.
TipBook Wed-Sun on Resy; lunch and dinner slots release a week ahead. Saturday brunch is the quieter door.
Dan's 48-hour-fermented sourdough pizza counter on Upper Clapton Road in east London, opened 2013, runs a six-site Sodo group focused on seasonal toppings.
OrderMargherita on the 48-hour base, plus a chalkboard daily special with whichever in-season vegetable.
TipWalk-up only at Clapton; the Bethnal Green, Hoxton, Walthamstow, Hammersmith and Deptford siblings take Resy bookings.
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.
DrinkFilter coffee
TipOpen 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.
Worth the queueHackney Wild sourdough
TipThe Sunday morning canal-side queue runs 30 minutes; weekday opening at 07:30 walks in. Cinnamon buns sell out by 11:00.
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.
Worth the queueBacon and maple Danish
TipBacon and maple Danish sells out by 10:00 on a Saturday. The Islington site at 36 Prebend Street has identical bake but quieter queues.
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.
Worth the queueSalt beef sandwich
TipSalt beef sandwich is the marquee fill. Sunday roast bread loaf sells out by 13:00. Outdoor seating only in summer.
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.
BeansEthiopia, Colombia, Brazil, Kenya, Costa Rica
BrewsEspresso, Filter, Whole bean retail, Subscription
TipNo public cafe; the beans go to subscribers and the city's top espresso bars (Workshop, Prufrock, Kaffeine).
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.
BeansBrazil, Ethiopia, Colombia, El Salvador
BrewsEspresso, Filter, Whole bean retail, Subscription
TipThe Saturday market is the canonical visit. Climpson's Arch on Helmsley Place is a Friday-Saturday-only railway-arch bar.
The Lower Clapton Road natural-wine room in Hackney London that traded as P. Franco from 2014, relaunched as 107 in 2023, wine shop by day, counter by night.
PourWhatever Italian skin-contact white is on by the glass
WineNatural wine, all-region with strong Italian and French focus
FoodSmall plates from a rotating chef-in-residence
TipWalk-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.
PourWhatever German Riesling is on by the glass
WineInternational natural and low-intervention wines
FoodSmall plates and a famous grilled cheese sandwich
TipThe grilled cheese sandwich is the marquee bar snack. Wednesday and Thursday nights run a £25 menu pairing.
Amit and Aneesh Patel's vinyl-and-natural-wine bar on Kingsland Road in Dalston London, opened 2013, runs a casual Japanese kitchen, Klipschorn speakers.
PourWhatever Jura or Loire red is on by the glass
WineNatural and low-intervention from European growers
FoodCasual Japanese small plates
TipThe downstairs hi-fi room books a week ahead; bar counter takes walk-ins. The kitchen runs late on Friday and Saturday.
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.
DrinkWhatever house-mix of the season is
FoodSnacks only
TipWalk-up only Tue-Thu. Friday-Saturday books a week ahead. The brothers source ingredients to make every house spirit from scratch.
Remy Savage, Paul Lougrat and Maria Kontorravdis's Bauhaus-themed cocktail bar on Kingsland Road in Dalston London, opened 2022, runs blind-tasted spirit.
DrinkBatched Bauhaus-blind-tasted martini
FoodSnacks only
TipWalk-up at the counter; tables run on Resy. Open until 04:00 weekends; the rotating cocktail menu pours all under £14.
Howling Hops's Hackney Wick tank bar in east London, founded 2014, is the UK's first dedicated tank bar with ten stainless-steel tanks pouring unfiltered.
TipOpen daily from midday. Live music Fridays from 20:30 and vinyl DJs Saturdays from 20:00. Latin-fusion kitchen runs through the day.
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.
TipThe 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.
TipE5 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.
The Gillett Square upstairs room is where London's improvised and contemporary jazz programmes when it wants to be honest about what it sounds like, with a regular Tomorrow's Warriors slot for the next generation.
TipBook direct, the room is small and an in-demand quartet sells out in days. The downstairs cafe is the warm-up.
The Ashwin Street room programmed by Hamish Dunbar and Keiko Yamamoto is the central venue in Europe for experimental and improvised music, and the calendar is the single best test of what is current.
TipMembers get advance ticket access, the Eddie Prevost and Arto Lindsay weeks sell out fast.
The Kingsland High Street two-floor bar and basement club is the east London queer institution, with a calendar that runs from Horse Meat Disco-school disco nights through underground techno parties.
TipThe upstairs bar is the warm-up, the basement does not really get going until midnight. Sundays are the lock-in.
The 2013 Kingsland Road room founded by Amit and Aneesh Patel is the original London listening bar, built around a horn-loaded vinyl-only sound system and a Japanese-influenced izakaya menu.
TipBookings open six weeks ahead, the bar stools take walk-ins. Sundays are the quietest, the playing is at its most adventurous.
The Kingsland Road sister room to Brilliant Corners from the Patel brothers and Giant Steps adds live performance to the listening-bar formula, with a Japanese-leaning food menu and a tight gig calendar.
TipThe Wednesday and Sunday live sets are the most adventurous, weekends lean to DJs. Bookings open three weeks out.
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