East London Restaurants

We’ve compiled the best of the best in East London - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.

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  • 1. Beigel Bake

    $ | Shoreditch

    Locals are keen to proclaim the virtues of their favorite Brick Lane bagel emporium, but to be perfectly honest, there's not much true competition aside from this spot and its two-doors-down neighbor, the Beigel Shop. Both serve delicious fresh beigels (the traditional European spelling) 24 hours a day, seven days a week (at just 40 pence each); both date back to when Brick Lane was home to a largely Jewish immigrant community, and both are family-owned (two branches of the same family, in fact). When it comes to picking between each establishment's excellent value (£6.50) hot salt beef sandwich (with sweet gherkin and tangy English mustard optional extras), however, always go for Beigel Bake.  

    155 Brick La., London, Greater London, E1 6SB, England
    020-7729–0616

    Known For

    • Brusque service
    • Classic hot salt beef beigel sandwich
    • Lively, often drunk, clientele
  • 2. E. Pellicci

    $ | Bethnal Green

    It's all Cockney banter and full English breakfasts at this tiny family-run café and onetime gangsters' lair near Brick Lane and Columbia Road markets. The atmosphere may be rowdy, but it's all good-natured, with greasy fry-ups (think eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans, toast, tomatoes, fried mushrooms, black pudding, and cabbage and mash) served alongside homemade Italian dishes like lasagna and cannelloni and British classics like pies and roast dinners, all courtesy of matriarch Mama Maria. With the ornate food-paneling (installed in 1946 by local carpenter and regular customer Achille Capocci) as a backdrop, a visit to E. Pellicci feels a little like a wonderful performance of East End life being staged for your benefit. 

    332 Bethnal Green Rd., London, Greater London, E2 0AG, England
    020-7739–4873

    Known For

    • Full cast of East End Cockney characters
    • Copious full English breakfasts and builder's brew tea
    • Cash-only cheap dishes

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Aug. No dinner, Reservations not accepted
  • 3. e5 Bakehouse

    $ | Dalston

    This bakery, which supplies bread to many of East London's top eateries, has a friendly café and deli on-site, where you can sample some of the tastiest toasted sandwiches in the city. The shop also stocks a concise range of elegant household items.

    Mentmore Terr., London, Greater London, E8 3PH, England
    020-8525–2890

    Known For

    • House-milled flour
    • Secret courtyard garden in back
    • Fantastic daylong sourdough-making classes that sell out months in advance

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 4. Gunpowder

    $$ | Spitalfields

    Eschew the myriad copy-and-paste curry houses of Brick Lane and opt instead for this broom cupboard–size Spitalfields restaurant serving flawless small-plate Indian cuisine. The charming waitstaff is happy to offer guidance when it comes to the menu, with its highly original takes on authentic flavor combinations from the subcontinent.

    11 White's Row, London, Greater London, E1 7NF, England
    No phone

    Known For

    • Ingredients not normally found on Indian menus, such as duck or sea bass
    • Good value multi-dish "feast" menus
    • Rasam ke bomb, a puff of spiced potato served atop a flavorful Bloody Mary--style shot

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
  • 5. Lyle's

    $$ | East End

    Globally acclaimed Brit chef and co-owner James Lowe forsakes heavy sauces and sorcery at this stripped-back, informal British dining mecca in Shoreditch. Stark but highly inventive locally sourced dishes may include house-cured cod with radiant nasturtium flowers or 24-hour Cornish Helford Estuary monkfish with wood sorrel and pick-your-own East Sussex greengages. A firm slice of treacle tart comes with a blob of raw double cream. All the sourdough bread, butter, charcuterie, pickles, and preserves are made in-house. Look for the Neal's Yard cheese plates (try Tymsboro and Stichleton). Dinner is served as a six-course set menu, while lunch is an à la carte small plates affair. 

    56 Shoreditch High St., London, Greater London, E1 6JJ, England
    020-3011–5911

    Known For

    • Highly modern and airy dining space
    • Serious new-wave British neo-bistronomy
    • Excellent cheese plates and wines by the glass

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. bank holidays, Reservations essential
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  • 6. Silo

    $$ | Hackney

    If you've ever wondered what the future tastes like, it might just be the 11-course tasting menu here at Silo, a sleek zero-waste restaurant opened by pioneering chef Douglas McMaster in this on-trend area of East London. Clever use of techniques like smoking and dehydration will change how you think about everyday ingredients like carrots and potatoes, while the occasional meat dishes—game and offal feature often—are melt-in-the-mouth delectable (those not in the mood for the full 11 courses can go à la carte with the small plates menu). The local neighborhood may still be a bit rough around the edges, but Silo, with its beautiful high-ceilinged dining room, black-clad staff, and wow cooking, is one of the chicest dining experiences in town.

    Unit 7 Queens Yard, London, Greater London, E9 5EN, England
    020-7993–8155

    Known For

    • Atmospheric views of London Stadium and the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower
    • Innovative design is full of surprises, including a bar made of recycled Italian shoe leather
    • Ingredients like house-churned butter and house-rolled oats that typify the zero-waste philososphy

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun.–Tues. No lunch Wed.–Fri.
  • 7. Bistrotheque

    $$ | Bethnal Green

    You'll need some help finding this East End fashionista headquarters located down a side alley in happening Bethnal Green. Once inside, check out the striking loft dining space and the bar, Manchichi, in its postindustrial chic setting, before polishing off light French and English dishes. Choices range from steak tartare and Croque Madame to cod and clams and Longhorn beef with red wine sauce. Be sure to catch the resident pianist at weekend brunch, camping up everything from Katy Perry to Girls Aloud on the baby grand.

    23–27 Wadeson St., London, Greater London, E2 9DR, England
    020-8983–7900

    Known For

    • Classic choices like steak tartare and Croque Madame
    • Weekend brunch with pancakes and maple syrup
    • Resident pianist at brunch

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Mon.–Wed. No lunch Thurs. and Fri. No dinner Sun., Reservations essential
  • 8. BRAT

    $$$ | Shoreditch

    Welsh chef Tomos Parry brings his signature wood-grilled, whole roast Cornish turbot to this Basque-inspired hipster restaurant. Expect other live-fire smashes like aged Jersey beef chops and seared leeks. Even the grilled bread is something special. 

    4 Redchurch St., London, Greater London, E1 6JL, England
    No phone

    Known For

    • Meat-heavy dishes grilled in a variety of ways
    • Noisy hipster atmosphere
    • Heritage Welsh grain flour breads
  • 9. Brawn

    $$$ | Shoreditch

    This unpretentious neighborhood restaurant serves inventive modern European cuisine—think rabbit, pork, and pistachio terrine or brill, mussels, and fennel in a bouillabaisse sauce. Enjoy your meal with some of the best natural wines you'll find in London.

    49 Columbia Rd., London, Greater London, E2 7RG, England
    020-7729–5692

    Known For

    • Welcoming vibe
    • Industrial look
    • Orange wines by the glass

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No lunch Mon.
  • 10. Merchants Tavern

    $$ | Hoxton

    The legend on the front of this Hoxton restaurant reads "Merchants of Good Fortune," which neatly sums up the exceptional, smart-casual dining experience you'll encounter within. Seasonal, veg-focused hits from France, Italy, and Britain emerge from the open-counter kitchen housed in a former Victorian warehouse and onetime apothecary. The rare-pink venison with braised red cabbage, Alsace bacon, and celeriac is sublime, as are other dishes like roast lamb with "forgotten" carrots, quail with foie gras, or wild partridge with sage polenta. Enjoy the vanilla panna cotta with unstoned damsons, and note the £20 two-course set lunch.

    38 Charlotte St., London, Greater London, EC2A 3PG, England
    020-7060–5335

    Known For

    • Eclectic Modern European cuisine
    • 1960s-style interior and open kitchen
    • Rare-pink venison with Alsace bacon

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner Sun., Reservations essential
  • 11. Poppies of Spitalfields

    $$ | Spitalfields

    This eatery strikes a balance between trendy and traditional with retro-diner style and efficient service. The specialty is fish-and-chips, but if fish isn't your thing, try the free-range grilled chicken.

    6–8 Hanbury St., London, Greater London, E1 6QR, England
    020-3161–1422

    Known For

    • Wine, beer, and cocktails available (uncommon for a chip shop)
    • Walls covered with fun mix of maritime and rock and roll paraphernalia
    • Wider range of fish than at most traditional fish-and-chip places
  • 12. Rochelle Canteen

    $$ | Shoreditch

    You feel like quite the foodie insider once you finally track down the quirky Rochelle Canteen—it's set in a former bike shed at the Victorian-era Rochelle School. Ring the buzzer next to a blue door, go through the "Boys" entrance, and enter the long white canteen, where you'll enjoy gloriously understated British fare ranging from deviled kidneys on toast to Yorkshire ham and parsley sauce. Bump along with the Frieze London art crowd, and enjoy guinea fowl with bacon or skate and capers, and finish with quince jelly or lemon posset.

    Arnold Circus, London, Greater London, E2 7ES, England
    No phone

    Known For

    • Seasonal, daily-changing menu
    • Delightful garden views
    • Unpretentious vibe

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations essential

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