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Where to Eat and Drink Near Broadway Market and London Fields

The best places to eat on and and around east London’s hippest thoroughfare

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For a decade now, Hackney’s Broadway Market, which stretches from London Fields to the Regent’s Canal, has been a catwalk for the cool, a row of old newsagents, pie and mash cafes, fruit and veg shops interspersed with new-wave cafes, first-wave sourdough pizzerias, hair salons, fishmongers, trendy pubs, and places selling ornaments, expensive magazines, and nice smelling items. It has gone from being — in 2008 — a kind of unobvious hangout for the hippest early adopters to a perfectly plausible location for Aesop and Haeckels boutiques in 2022. Still hip, but now dripping in money.

Similarly, its restaurants, cafes, pubs, and bars — both those on Broadway Market itself and on its surrounding streets — have evolved too, and not necessarily along the same sometimes cynically commercial trajectory. Yes, the one pie and mash shop may now be boarded up into the declining history of an East End staple, but one of the city’s best Japanese restaurant groups has opened a location here; arguably the hottest opening of 2021 arrived; and not one but two of the standout pandemic success stories falls within a natural, if unscientific, catchment of this iconic Victorian market street.

Here’s Eater London’s selection of 15 places, winter 2023.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

E5 Bakehouse

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One of London’s pioneering traditional sourdough bakeries, baker Ben McKinnon arguably altered the course of bread history in Hackney over the last decade. Pick up excellent loaves, pastries, Viennoisserie, and a range of hot and cold drinks and enjoy in among the operational bakery. At lunch, there are tarts, sandwiches, salads, and cakes; occasionally there is pizza.

Secret Smokehouse

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While this exceptional-smelling venue is principally in the business of retail, it also offers a very decent breakfast, brunch, (at a push, lunch) deal: A deliciously chewy bagel filled with its house-smoked salmon, seasoned cream cheese, and the correct amount of pickles and capers. For a fiver, you can commandeer this sandwich and pick up a fresh orange juice or coffee as well.

Brat x Climpson's Arch

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Michelin-starred Brat, whose original restaurant lives above Smoking Goat in Shoreditch, is named after the old English colloquialism for turbot. During the summer of 2020, it sought to take advantage of an old relationship and the lockdown rules being relaxed outside earlier than in dining rooms, bring the grilled seafood (including whole turbot) sourced from Cornwall, lamb from Wales, beef from the English south west, and mostly grilled seasonal fruit and vegetables to this space off the edge of London Fields. Its stay has been repeatedly extended owing to its success in delivering one of the most European summer style dining experiences in the city. Chef Tomos Parry differentiates himself slightly from other grill chefs, aiming to emulate methods used in the north of Spain — namely the use of wood fire to cook his range of ingredients slowly.

Willy’s Pies

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Under an arch on Helmsley Place, Wednesday to Sunday, lockdown chef star Will Lewis, a piemaster, is offering truly peerless pastry cases filled with the likes of steak and ale; chicken, bacon, and leek; or rabbit, bacon, and cider and offering a cap of buttery mash and a drenching of gravy for £12. Better pies — a better sub £15 lunch — is hard to find anywhere in the city.

Elliot’s - Hackney

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A second site for the brand from Borough Market sees one of the city’s newest modern bistros is turning out good plates of broadly modern European fare and some good pizzas. From the small plate section try the likes of grilled squid, ink, and chilli or veal tartare with tonnato dressing, and olive oil crisps; from the pizza section, an ubergine, friggitelli pepper, and green olive gremolata number or a more classic meat feast: beef ragu, pancetta, basil, and parmesan. Finally, the wood oven offers whole fish and slabs of big meat. Red mullet and mussel vinaigrette; monkfish, sweetcorn, pancetta, and coco beans, or a Middlewhite pork chop, sage, and brown butter for example. Like Bright, a very strong wine list should be well explored.

Mare Street Market

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A multi-use venue is one of the area’s best spots to pick up a decent coffee, breakfast sandwich, bottle of wine, bag of crisps, a pizza, or a plate of simple unfussy seasonal fare. The laid-back service and chilled approach to sitting in and hanging out for a whole day (should you wish) with a laptop, friends, or colleagues lends it a sort of common room, clubby vibe which is good in different ways for different reasons every day of the week.

Two words: lasagna fritta. Wavy layers of baked pasta and rich sauce are deep-fried into crispy nuggets — it’s no surprise the dish has become a regular fixture on Bright’s always intriguing and peripatetic menu. But the east London neighbourhood restaurant’s best pasta dishes are more nuanced and less Instagrammed: cime di rapa and anchovies whizzed into a green sauce with orecchiette. There’s also decadently beige tagliatelle with crumbly chicken offal ragu, and clever not-too-sweet desserts from the new-school, alongside a superb and extensive wine list. One of the city’s most interesting modern dining rooms.

Paradox Design + Coffee

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Just some top coffee from one of the city’s best coffee stands.

pockets

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From a mono-product street food stall in Netil Market, warm, fluffy steamed pitta “pockets” here are theatrically stuffed, to order, with freshly fried falafel, loads of different salads, a slice of fried potato, hot chilli, tahina, chilli sauce, pickles, and seemingly much else. A sensationally fortifying lunch from one of London’s most popular vegan outfits.

Climpson & Sons Café

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One of the city’s speciality coffee elders still confidently pulls espressos and brews filters from its handsome premises at the top end of Broadway Market itself. Half decent pastries and the likes of “morning buns” from Dusty Knuckle in Dalston are another reason to stop by in the morning. Climpson’s is, as it has long been, a vibe.

Hill & Szrok Master Butcher & Cookshop

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Master butcher-turned lockdown provisioner par excellence, Broadway Market’s Hill & Szrok doubles as a restaurant and wine bar, which features just one stool-high sharing table (it doubles as the butcher’s counter during the day.) When open in the evenings by candlelight, the kitchen is preparing simple, seasonal mains from prime ingredients and large joints of meat to share — 1kg of cote de boeuf for £100, for example — alongside clever sides such as confit potatoes and onions cooked in stock.

Koya Ko Hackney

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Here, in one of the city’s cutest little fast food 2.0 restaurants, find one of London’s few great breakfast menus. Three choices: Japanese breakfast comprising a piece of soy-marinated grilled fish, rice, pickles, and miso soup; a pork and ginger miso soup with either rice or udon noodles; or an “English breakfast” udon bowl, including buttery mushrooms, smoked bacon, spring onion, egg yolk, and soy — it’s like a bowl of carbonara drank a couple of pints of Monster for breakfast. Lunch, too, where a range of Koya’s classic udon and donnburi options are available alongside fried chicken, an excellent green salad, and a special kids menu.

Yeast Bakery

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Formerly housed in an arch behind Netil Market, Yeast has moved out to the canal — and acquired a sleek, sizeable stage for its formidable baked goods in the process. Probably best known to Londoners as a wholesale supplier to cafes, it’s now focussed on serving up croissants, glass-like Kouign-amann, and towering brioche feuilletée to the area’s locals and canalside walkers.

Cafe Cecilia

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Cafe Cecilia was the hottest and trendiest restaurant of 2021. Since it opened in the autumn, it has maintained a steady flow of plaudits from all the coolest places — in part because of chef-owner Max Rocha’s connection to the world of fashion (he is the son of designer John and sister Simone Rocha.) However, there’s a surfeit of substance as well as style in this stark, minimalist cafe-bistro. M. Rocha and his staff belong to a new-school which is a direct descendent of the ingredients-obsessed old-school: those like the River Cafe, Rochelle Canteen, and Quo Vadis. And like peer Anna Tobias’s cooking at Cafe Deco, it is can be a bit beige, but is so often bright, clever, and deserving of the attention it has received this year. Do not miss great steak and chips with peppercorn sauce, nor fruit tart at dessert.

OMBRA Bar & Restaurant

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Chef Mitshel Ibrahim’s Vyner Street trattoria cannily slants mainstays of Italian cuisine to create a restaurant that feels like the London Italian that it is, rather than the Venetian bacaró that inspires it but to which it isn’t really to be compared. The canalside dining room and ample terrace awaits faithfully with Roman artichokes; pillowy gnocchi fritti anointed with mortadella; carne salada paired with shimeji mushrooms alongside Parmesan; and quality rotating pastas. The tiramisù is deservedly legendary.

E5 Bakehouse

One of London’s pioneering traditional sourdough bakeries, baker Ben McKinnon arguably altered the course of bread history in Hackney over the last decade. Pick up excellent loaves, pastries, Viennoisserie, and a range of hot and cold drinks and enjoy in among the operational bakery. At lunch, there are tarts, sandwiches, salads, and cakes; occasionally there is pizza.

Secret Smokehouse

While this exceptional-smelling venue is principally in the business of retail, it also offers a very decent breakfast, brunch, (at a push, lunch) deal: A deliciously chewy bagel filled with its house-smoked salmon, seasoned cream cheese, and the correct amount of pickles and capers. For a fiver, you can commandeer this sandwich and pick up a fresh orange juice or coffee as well.

Brat x Climpson's Arch

Michelin-starred Brat, whose original restaurant lives above Smoking Goat in Shoreditch, is named after the old English colloquialism for turbot. During the summer of 2020, it sought to take advantage of an old relationship and the lockdown rules being relaxed outside earlier than in dining rooms, bring the grilled seafood (including whole turbot) sourced from Cornwall, lamb from Wales, beef from the English south west, and mostly grilled seasonal fruit and vegetables to this space off the edge of London Fields. Its stay has been repeatedly extended owing to its success in delivering one of the most European summer style dining experiences in the city. Chef Tomos Parry differentiates himself slightly from other grill chefs, aiming to emulate methods used in the north of Spain — namely the use of wood fire to cook his range of ingredients slowly.

Willy’s Pies

Under an arch on Helmsley Place, Wednesday to Sunday, lockdown chef star Will Lewis, a piemaster, is offering truly peerless pastry cases filled with the likes of steak and ale; chicken, bacon, and leek; or rabbit, bacon, and cider and offering a cap of buttery mash and a drenching of gravy for £12. Better pies — a better sub £15 lunch — is hard to find anywhere in the city.

Elliot’s - Hackney

A second site for the brand from Borough Market sees one of the city’s newest modern bistros is turning out good plates of broadly modern European fare and some good pizzas. From the small plate section try the likes of grilled squid, ink, and chilli or veal tartare with tonnato dressing, and olive oil crisps; from the pizza section, an ubergine, friggitelli pepper, and green olive gremolata number or a more classic meat feast: beef ragu, pancetta, basil, and parmesan. Finally, the wood oven offers whole fish and slabs of big meat. Red mullet and mussel vinaigrette; monkfish, sweetcorn, pancetta, and coco beans, or a Middlewhite pork chop, sage, and brown butter for example. Like Bright, a very strong wine list should be well explored.

Mare Street Market

A multi-use venue is one of the area’s best spots to pick up a decent coffee, breakfast sandwich, bottle of wine, bag of crisps, a pizza, or a plate of simple unfussy seasonal fare. The laid-back service and chilled approach to sitting in and hanging out for a whole day (should you wish) with a laptop, friends, or colleagues lends it a sort of common room, clubby vibe which is good in different ways for different reasons every day of the week.

Bright

Two words: lasagna fritta. Wavy layers of baked pasta and rich sauce are deep-fried into crispy nuggets — it’s no surprise the dish has become a regular fixture on Bright’s always intriguing and peripatetic menu. But the east London neighbourhood restaurant’s best pasta dishes are more nuanced and less Instagrammed: cime di rapa and anchovies whizzed into a green sauce with orecchiette. There’s also decadently beige tagliatelle with crumbly chicken offal ragu, and clever not-too-sweet desserts from the new-school, alongside a superb and extensive wine list. One of the city’s most interesting modern dining rooms.

Paradox Design + Coffee

Just some top coffee from one of the city’s best coffee stands.

pockets

From a mono-product street food stall in Netil Market, warm, fluffy steamed pitta “pockets” here are theatrically stuffed, to order, with freshly fried falafel, loads of different salads, a slice of fried potato, hot chilli, tahina, chilli sauce, pickles, and seemingly much else. A sensationally fortifying lunch from one of London’s most popular vegan outfits.

Climpson & Sons Café

One of the city’s speciality coffee elders still confidently pulls espressos and brews filters from its handsome premises at the top end of Broadway Market itself. Half decent pastries and the likes of “morning buns” from Dusty Knuckle in Dalston are another reason to stop by in the morning. Climpson’s is, as it has long been, a vibe.

Hill & Szrok Master Butcher & Cookshop

Master butcher-turned lockdown provisioner par excellence, Broadway Market’s Hill & Szrok doubles as a restaurant and wine bar, which features just one stool-high sharing table (it doubles as the butcher’s counter during the day.) When open in the evenings by candlelight, the kitchen is preparing simple, seasonal mains from prime ingredients and large joints of meat to share — 1kg of cote de boeuf for £100, for example — alongside clever sides such as confit potatoes and onions cooked in stock.

Koya Ko Hackney

Here, in one of the city’s cutest little fast food 2.0 restaurants, find one of London’s few great breakfast menus. Three choices: Japanese breakfast comprising a piece of soy-marinated grilled fish, rice, pickles, and miso soup; a pork and ginger miso soup with either rice or udon noodles; or an “English breakfast” udon bowl, including buttery mushrooms, smoked bacon, spring onion, egg yolk, and soy — it’s like a bowl of carbonara drank a couple of pints of Monster for breakfast. Lunch, too, where a range of Koya’s classic udon and donnburi options are available alongside fried chicken, an excellent green salad, and a special kids menu.

Yeast Bakery

Formerly housed in an arch behind Netil Market, Yeast has moved out to the canal — and acquired a sleek, sizeable stage for its formidable baked goods in the process. Probably best known to Londoners as a wholesale supplier to cafes, it’s now focussed on serving up croissants, glass-like Kouign-amann, and towering brioche feuilletée to the area’s locals and canalside walkers.

Cafe Cecilia

Cafe Cecilia was the hottest and trendiest restaurant of 2021. Since it opened in the autumn, it has maintained a steady flow of plaudits from all the coolest places — in part because of chef-owner Max Rocha’s connection to the world of fashion (he is the son of designer John and sister Simone Rocha.) However, there’s a surfeit of substance as well as style in this stark, minimalist cafe-bistro. M. Rocha and his staff belong to a new-school which is a direct descendent of the ingredients-obsessed old-school: those like the River Cafe, Rochelle Canteen, and Quo Vadis. And like peer Anna Tobias’s cooking at Cafe Deco, it is can be a bit beige, but is so often bright, clever, and deserving of the attention it has received this year. Do not miss great steak and chips with peppercorn sauce, nor fruit tart at dessert.

OMBRA Bar & Restaurant

Chef Mitshel Ibrahim’s Vyner Street trattoria cannily slants mainstays of Italian cuisine to create a restaurant that feels like the London Italian that it is, rather than the Venetian bacaró that inspires it but to which it isn’t really to be compared. The canalside dining room and ample terrace awaits faithfully with Roman artichokes; pillowy gnocchi fritti anointed with mortadella; carne salada paired with shimeji mushrooms alongside Parmesan; and quality rotating pastas. The tiramisù is deservedly legendary.