Smoking Goat is a thai restaurant in Shoreditch, London.
The Smoking Goat charcoal Thai BBQ kitchen on Shoreditch High Street in east London, opened 2014 in Soho then moved to a larger Shoreditch site in 2017.
Editorially verified June 5, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Why locals love it: A charcoal-fuelled Thai canteen on the corner of Shoreditch High Street and Redchurch Street with wok-burners and smokers run by chefs who built the menu from northern Thai.
Tip: Walk-up at the bar; tables book a week ahead through their site. The fish-sauce wings and lardo-curry are the canonical orders.
Address: 64 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JJ
Owen Kenworthy's Columbia Road dining room in east London, opened 2010, runs Modern European small plates and a natural-wine list at a residential street.
Why locals love it: A Columbia Road natural-wine room you can only easily walk to from the Sunday flower market, missed by anyone not in east-London for the morning.
Tip: Best on a Sunday after the Columbia Road flower market closes at 14:00. The kitchen runs to 17:00; counter takes walk-ups.
Margot Henderson's daily-changing British canteen inside a converted bike shed off Arnold Circus in Shoreditch London, open since 2004 for lunch.
Why locals love it: A daily-changing British canteen inside a converted bike shed off Arnold Circus that opens only for lunch and Thu-Sat dinner since 2004.
Tip: Open Mon-Sat for lunch and Thu-Sat dinner only. No music, no printed menu; the day's run is on the wall.
Will Lander's wine shop and bar next to Quality Chop House on Farringdon Road in Clerkenwell London, opened 2019, the city's smartest neighborhood wine-shop.
Why locals love it: A wine shop and bar tucked beside Quality Chop House on a Clerkenwell side street where every bottle pours for £15 corkage at the bar.
Tip: Buy a bottle off the shelf, then drink it at the bar for £15 corkage. The lunch sandwich menu comes from Quality Chop House.
Owen Kenworthy's Columbia Road dining room in east London, opened 2010, runs Modern European small plates and a natural-wine list at a residential street.
Why locals love it: A Columbia Road natural-wine room you can only easily walk to from the Sunday flower market, missed by anyone not in east-London for the morning.
Tip: Best on a Sunday after the Columbia Road flower market closes at 14:00. The kitchen runs to 17:00; counter takes walk-ups.
Neil Borthwick's upstairs dining room above the historic French House pub on Dean Street in Soho London, opened 2017, the city's most-defended phone-free.
Why locals love it: An upstairs Soho dining room above a historic pub that bans mobile phones and serves the Modern British canon to a hushed dining room of regulars.
Tip: No mobile phones, no music. Tables book one week ahead. The downstairs pub still pours a proper half-pint of bitter for £2.50.
Margot Henderson's daily-changing British canteen inside a converted bike shed off Arnold Circus in Shoreditch London, open since 2004 for lunch.
Why locals love it: A daily-changing British canteen inside a converted bike shed off Arnold Circus that opens only for lunch and Thu-Sat dinner since 2004.
Tip: Open Mon-Sat for lunch and Thu-Sat dinner only. No music, no printed menu; the day's run is on the wall.
Gergovie Wines's importer-run wine bar and kitchen inside a Maltby Street railway arch in Bermondsey London, opened 2010, the home address of London chef.
Why locals love it: A natural-wine bar and kitchen inside a Bermondsey railway arch run by an importer, open Wed-Sat only and long-favored by London chefs who eat here on days off.
Tip: Wed-Sat only; closed Sun-Tue. Walk-up at the counter from 12:00. The kitchen rewrites the chalkboard every service.
Lori De Mori and Laura Jackson's Regent's Canal cafe on the towpath in east London, opened 2010, an outdoor-only seasonal cafe closed November to March.
Why locals love it: An outdoor-only cafe-and-restaurant on the Regent's Canal towpath between De Beauvoir and Haggerston Park that closes November through March every year.
Tip: Open March to October only. No bookings, outdoor seats only, cash and card. Daytime kitchen runs to 17:00.
