Where to eat in Shoreditch
22 places to eat in Shoreditch, each one on the Guide on merit.
Altamura Bakehouse
Pugliese bakery · European
A Hackney Road bakehouse doing Pugliese bread and focaccia properly, and doing it well enough to plan a Saturday around.
The focaccia is cut to order, so say how much you want.
Appalachia
American restaurant · North American
Southern US soul food from an ex-Smoking Goat chef in Shoreditch: smoked eel, jalapeno deviled eggs, fire and smoke.
Head down to the Lowcountry bar in the basement for a Southern-leaning drink before or after.
Bistro Freddie
French-British bistro · European
A burgundy little Shoreditch corner doing British produce with a French accent, white tablecloths and a candlelit Parisian hum.
Small room, books up fast, so aim for a counter or window seat by the open kitchen.
Bun House Disco
Cantonese · Asian
Fluffy bao and creative cocktails in an 1980s Hong Kong fever dream, from the Bun House team.
Come for Z He's Chinese-herb cocktails, not just the buns; the five spice mai tai is the move.
Cafe Mission
A rooftop café on Fashion Street serving Asian-influenced contemporary dishes with vegetarian options. The menu is short and the food is fresh and carefully made, though waits can stretch past 40 minutes. There is outdoor seating on the terrace.
Charista
Bengali chai & street food · Asian
The home chai a few old men still guard, served to the rest of us. No alcohol, no pork, just date-molasses tea and kati rolls.
Order the gurer chai and a kati roll, and come hungry for the afternoon tea spread.
Cycene
Tasting menu · European
Theo Clench's candlelit six-table room in Shoreditch's Blue Mountain School, a Michelin star within months. An intimate, culty fine-dining sanctum.
Fifteen seats over two floors. Book well ahead.
Dallas Burger
Burgers · North American
Lisbon's Dallas lands in Shoreditch with 100 percent grass-fed patties, old-fashioned and well made.
The 165g patty is a three-cut, grass-fed British beef blend on a glossy brioche bun.
Dopi
Korean restaurant · Asian
A Korean restaurant on Bethnal Green Road where you order from touchscreens at bright, sparse tables. The tteokbokki arrives in a silver pot with a pleasant tingle and bobbing rice cakes among fish cake. This is drinking food done well.
Duchy
Bistro · European
If you miss Leroy, this is a no-brainer. Same room, same vinyl, great wine.
Perch at the old marble bar for a Negroni Savoyard before deciding whether to stay for the game and pasta.
Legado
Regional Spanish · European
Spanish cooking well beyond tapas, built around two Segovian ovens and a chef who already knows how to win stars.
Order something off the wood-fired ovens and let the sommelier loose on the list.
Mitsu
Japanese · Asian
A glossy robata izakaya on the old Nobu site, where the cooking lives up to the setting.
This one runs late; DJs, karaoke and dancing carry it well past dinner.
Noisy Oyster
Seafood · European
A chrome martini bar in seafood-bistro clothing, from the Firebird team.
Grab the terrace and order seafood snacks by the round, each with its own little martini.
One Club Row
Bistro · European
Paris-meets-NYC bistro with immaculate service and a crowd having a better night than you.
Watch for the lit walk-in seats available sign at street level if you did not book.
Plates
Plant-based tasting menu · European
The only plant-based kitchen in the UK with a Michelin star, and it wears it lightly. Kirk Haworth cooks vegetables with classical French technique in a small, warm, earth-toned room off Old Street.
Two menus, eight courses at 109 or eleven at 130. Wednesday to Saturday only, so book several weeks out.
Pomme Bakery
French bakery · European
A solo baker doing her own recipes from scratch, still half a secret. The almond croissant is worth the trek to Hoxton.
It is one baker working alone, so go early before the day's specials sell out.
Project 44
Coffee shop
A reliable Shoreditch coffee and sandwich stop, Dusty Knuckle bread and faultless wifi.
Grab a front bench and order the Dusty Knuckle sandwich; the wifi actually holds, so it doubles as a laptop morning.
Rochelle Canteen
British restaurant · European
A former bike shed behind an unmarked blue door and a small buzzer, opening to a greenhouse dining room. St John-inspired British cooking, the long lunch, the creatives' secret.
Look for the unmarked blue door and silver buzzer; lunch in the courtyard on a warm day is the way to do it.
Singburi
Thai · Asian
The cult Leytonstone Thai, reborn bigger in Shoreditch: a daily-changing, big-flavoured menu over an open kitchen.
The current Singburi is the Shoreditch site with grill seats and a drinks licence; the original Leytonstone cafe has gone.
Sohaila
Levantine restaurant · Middle Eastern
Fat Macy's social enterprise turned Shoreditch dining room. Levantine mezze meets natural wine, with a purpose behind the plate that does not announce itself.
Plates are for sharing, so reckon on two or three each; lead with the labneh and chilli butter.
Tatar Bunar
Ukrainian · European
Southern Ukrainian that critics fell for fast, in a room as good as the cooking. Book ahead.
Book ahead; it was tipped as one of London's hardest tables on opening, and the all-Ukrainian wine list rewards a steer from staff.
Tavern
British bistro · European
The Restaurant St Barts team turned the old Nest into a British bistro, generous and nostalgic cooking without the tasting-menu formality.
The tasting-menu era is over, so it is à la carte now. Start with the chunion puff and the devilled pig skin.
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