Francis Road’s darling Yardarm in Leyton is still operating as an essential shop stocked with fresh bread, pastries, cheese, milk, and meats, as well as a food takeaway option for hungry east Londoners. Currently, no hot food option available, but they’re running online wine tasting courses.

Brought to you by ex-Brat chef Will Lewis who’s been hand-making premium fresh pies to order since the first lockdown originally from his home kitchen. Find a seasonal, weekly changing menu with four options; one meat pie, one vegetarian pie and one sweet tart and the mainstay, the treacle tart. All savoury pies arrive ready-to-bake at home. Available for pick up from Marmelo & Sons in Leyton, order on their website or email. They’ll be delivering using good old-fashioned manpower on bikes to North and East on Wednesdays and South and West on Thursdays. 

Tucked away in one of Forest Gate’s repurposed archway, Arch Rivals will resume pumping out excellent globetrotting food and drink from 11 January. They’ll be using suppliers to turn the restaurant space into a small store for butchers shop, dry goods and household staples such as beers, wine, cheese and eggs. Their signature toasties are available all-day and can be ordered in-person at the arch or online. However, evening menu will change daily depending on what the kitchen can get from day-to-day, it’s pre-order only and allocates 3 collections per time slot so that there are never more than three people in the arch. 

Mediterranean restaurant Oren is open for pick up through their restaurant window (no access inside) and deliveries via their website. They’ll be baking challahs and pitas daily, as well as stocking up on natural wines, provisions and at-home goods that will be available for local and nationwide deliveries. 

Legendary ocakbasi restaurant will be pumping out their usual charcoal-grilled Turkish mezzes, doner pide and deep-fried helloumi offerings for takeaways only. They’ve paused their deliveries on Big Night and Slerp for now to focus on takeaways. 

Pickle queen Freddie Janssen’s Dalston neighbourhood cafe has once again turned Snackbar’s dining room into a waiting room for delivery drivers. Catering to the work from home lunchtime crowd, swap the usual boring Pret grab-and-go lunches for ‘Snacky Meals’ that are actually guaranteed to bring happiness, tuna melt, doritos fried chicken sandwich and kimcheeze toasties delivered straight to Londoners via Deliveroo and Big Night. Pick up directly from the restaurant for take away or click and collect is still available. 

Push the boat out and go all out for Dalston-based 8-course takeaway Japanese and Italian-influenced tasting menu at £34 pp. Ideal for the perfect lockdown treat for those wanting a special experience in their own homes: great for lockdown birthdays, anniversaries, or just a special treat. Menu changes bi-weekly, with the first menu featuring the likes of sea bream, truffle and furikake, tuna, lardo and moromi and kakuni Pork. Pre-order for click and collect or delivery of up to 2.5 miles of the restaurant.

Pidgin is offering a weekly changing, four-course menu to be collected from the restaurant, at the same level that would normally be eaten at the restaurant. Helpful cards offer reconstitution tips, with this week’s dishes including treviso with sumac, pomegranate molasses and bergamot dressing, confit chicken thigh curry, and a blood orange posset. With an option for additional add-ons such as wine pairings and house cocktails to take eating at home to the next level.

Luckily, this biryani house is still delivering to East London postcodes. While its menu remains the same, there is a minimum spend of £35. Luckily, as portions are generous, this should feed a hungry family or those in self-isolation for a couple of days at least. The lamb biryani is obviously a must-try, as are achingly tender murgh malai chicken kebabs, and the tangy stewed lamb dish, achari gosht.

The organic bakery and millhouse under the railway arches in Hackney is still up and running seven days a week, offering a condensed breakfast and lunch menu for pre-ordered one-hour takeaway slots and have added more postcodes to their delivery map. Their shelves are stocked with the usual bread, cakes, pastries, organic fruit and veggies, beer and wine, basic baking ingredients including sourdough starters, preserves, and lots of bulk items. Due to high demand, there’s a two loaf limit per customer to give everyone an opportunity to have fresh bread. Maybe, third time round is the time to finally master sourdough? E5 has a selection of online sourdough baking classes to help with lockdown boredom.

This East Ham institution is still running a delivery and takeaway service on reduced hours from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The streamlined menu features Kerala classics such as biryanis, curries, and breads like parotta. For other favourites, like some of the dry fry items, placing an order in advance the day before could be an option.

Ahmad’s Pakistani restaurant is encouraging isolators to stay at home with discounts on their delivery service. Takeaway is also available with a one in, one out system. Highlights of the menu include the sizzling lamb chops, karahi gosht, and the garlic naan — crispy and pillowy in equal measure.

Ombra is going to revert back to being lockdown heroes, offering fresh pasta, a brand-new range of pasta sauces, seasonal groceries and wine for pick up from their Hackney site and their own delivery service. Stay tuned, it’ll be accepting takeaway orders once again via their website for antipasti, tiramisu, pasta, lasagne and daily-changing sauces to prepare at home. Coeliacs rejoice! There’ll be a range of gluten-free pasta options available as well. 

Don’t be put off by the offer of takeaway pizza and chips on the menu — some of the best Afghan food in the area happens to come out of this little eatery’s doors. Takeaway and delivery are possible and there are few dishes not to love. Borani-e-bademjan, fried aubergines served with yoghurt and dry fruit; chapli kebab, huge lamb patties studded with coriander seeds and pearls of onion; and the signature Qabuli pulao are all highlights.

This East End neighbourhood cafe has once again transformed their space into a fully-functioning food shop stocked with everyday groceries, wine, eggs, flour, take out coffee and sandwiches to-go for locals working from home. Daily lunch menu will be posted on their Instagram Stories, all supplies on offer will be boxed up ready for grab and go to prevent overcrowding.

Go full restaurant-mode at home with owner Charlie Mellor and chef Tom Anglesea. Currently working with a slimmed down menu, but expect an array of dumplings to be finished off at home with condiments, decadent extra add-ons and wines at retail prices via Big Night. 

Operating a collection service from its restaurant premises, Ghanian favourite Kate’s has thankfully stayed open due to popular demand. Open at 9am, the menu is still much the same. Food goes fast so it is best to ask what is available when calling to place an order. Favourite dishes include the sharing platter — diners can sample a wide range of food from tsofi to plantain — red red bean stew, and jollof, with a choice of meat or fish.

London’s sheng jian bao and hand-pulled noodle masters are knocking it out the park with their signature hand-made dumplings, biang biang noodles and special Saturday Hong Kong diner-style brunch items. Dumpling Shack and little brother Fen Noodles at Spitalfields Market will be open from Wednesday-Sunday from 11.30am-3pm, entrance will only be from the Lamb Street side and it’s strictly takeaway or on Deliveroo only. Their South Quay sites reopens on 13 January. Keep eyes peeled for their latest offering Sichuan Fry. What started as a special item on their menu has now taken on a life of its own. Look out for mala fried chicken sandwiches, doubanjiang honey hot wings and dan dan loaded cheese fries coming soon.

All the restaurants are temporarily closed, but London institution St John’s is keeping the capital fed with their glorious, generous pies to share at home. Throughout January, they’ll have a pie schedule in place with new weekly pie flavours up for grabs. Kicking things off this week are spinach and graceburn, chicken, leek and mushroom and beef and Guinness pies. The pies need to be finished off at home in the oven and comes with its very own enamel dish, which diners can keep. Keep your eyes peeled for freshly baked madeleines and bacon sandwiches made to order coming soon. Preorder is available via the online shop, for collection only from St. JOHN Bread and Wine, Spitalfields on Fridays only between 12pm-4pm. 

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean Londoners won’t scream for ice cream. Happy Endings’ selection of ice cream sandwiches and soft-serve ice cream is the perfect antidote for a shitty start to the year — take a delicious moment during lockdown and order an ice-cold treat. They’re back with a bang with two new collaboration ice cream sandwich flavours with Yard Sale Pizza and Tonkotsu. Click and collect or order for delivery via Slerp. Same-day local delivery within a 3 mile radius from their Mile End site.