Guide by Vana

Where to eat in Spitalfields

7 places to eat in Spitalfields, each one on the Guide on merit.

1. 

   Nagare Coffee

   Coffee shop

   A small Japanese-leaning coffee shop in an 18th-century Spitalfields townhouse, under a 1930s greengrocer's sign the fit-out kept. House beans come from Curve, with guest roasters rotating in from Kyoto, Melbourne and Edinburgh. The Pearl 40 is jasmine pearl tea, vanilla, espresso and crushed pistachio.

   The ceramics on the counter are for sale, and the mugs run £14 to £30.

2. 

   Osteria Angelina

   Italian-Japanese · European

   Japanese-Italian that is darkly chic and thrilling. The pasta is made behind glass.

   Ask for the sake list; Masayo Nuttall chose it, and it sits oddly well next to the pasta.

3. 

   Sông Quê Phở Bar

   Vietnamese pho bar · Asian

   A focused pho spin-off of Song Que Cafe, the Kingsland Road Vietnamese cornerstone of over two decades, now on Commercial Street in Spitalfields. Eighty seats built around pho, spring rolls and bun.

   Come for the beef pho; it is what the whole room is built around.

4. 

   St John Bread & Wine

   British restaurant · European

   Fergus Henderson's pared-back Spitalfields room beside the market: nose-to-tail British cooking, the famous bone-marrow on toast, seasonal veg, and a serious bread-and-wine habit.

   Breakfast and the seed cake with a glass of Madeira are quieter, cheaper ways in than a full dinner.

5. 

   Two Roosters

   Malaysian · Asian

   Hainanese chicken rice specialists gone permanent inside Old Spitalfields Market, one dish done properly.

   One dish done properly: have the chicken poached, or roasted, or swap in tofu.

6. 

   Xi Home Dumplings Bay

   Dumpling restaurant · Asian

   Northern-Chinese dumplings from Dalian in a designed room, neon lobster on the ceiling and an open kitchen folding them by hand. The dumplings are the craft; the giant straw soup dumpling is the party trick.

   The pork soup bun you sip through a straw is the one everyone photographs; order it.

7. 

   ZeroToOne Coffee

   Vietnamese specialty coffee · Asian

   London's first Vietnamese specialty coffee, eight seats and the water tuned per brew. Order the salt coffee and linger.

   Order the salt coffee and let the barista talk you through it; there are only eight seats, so it is built for lingering.