London Restaurants - East London

YY Building, 30 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HX

Barbarella is the Canary Wharf restaurant by the Big Mamma group, known for places like Gloria and Circolo Popolare. Like those restaurants, this is a flamboyant affair, not least on the first floor where the ceiling and tabletops are all mirrored, giving quite the impressive overall effect. The food is Italian but with a few luxe Big Mamma touches, with plenty of caviar and truffle on offer, but at a price which doesn't break the bank.

6 Frobisher Passage, London E14 5HA

This is the Canary Wharf outpost for modern Indian restaurant group Kricket. The food here combines British ingredients with Indian cuisine with signature dishes including their samphire pakoras and Keralan fried chicken. You'll also find grills, curries and Tandoor-cooked dishes as well as a special Sunday lunch with specials on the grill. They also have a separate cocktail bar next door, Soma, that's well worth a look.

Wood Wharf, 10 Water St, London E14 5GX

Taking a big floating space just beside the Canary Wharf Hawksmoor, Maeceline is a grand French brasserie which also happens to be very good value. Dishes run from the very French (escargots) to the more standard (steak frites) with standout dishes like their uncut sheets of ravioli. That good spread on the menu means it's a great place to take the more fussy of eaters but still get a great meal out. Plus - there's unlimited bread.

Five Park Drive, Wood Wharf, London E14 9GG

After success in St James, the Fallow team have gone much bigger with this huge restaurant in Canary Wharf's Wood Wharf. It sticks to the seasonal, local and no-waste ethos that they started with Fallow, which adding completely different dishes to the menu. Here, skewers and mixed grills are the signatures and there's a much larger outdoor space as well as multiple private hire spaces.

5 Water St, London E14 5GX

Originally in Soho, this is the main outpost of the Aegean-inspired restaurant Hovarda. It's on one of the huge floating buildings on Wood Wharf, underneath French restaurant Marceline. As well as serving up a menu of Greek and Turkish food from the kitchen, it's also one of the few late-night bars in the area, open until 2am with DJs and artists on all night (and a great cocktail list).

Unit CR32, 1 Crossrail Pl, London E14 5AR

Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese restaurant that's hugely successful all over the world, mainly for their xiao long bao (aka soup dumplings) which are always made on-site (from a small kitchen that you can see in all their restaurants). There's much more to the menu than that, with lots of dishes beyond the dumplings, including some must-have lava buns for dessert.

25 N Colonnade, London E14 5HD

This is the Canary Wharf outpost of the popular series of London food halls. As with the others, it gathers together some of London's best food operators with 10 kitchens operating in the hall, all backed up by a central bar. Extremely handy for the Elizabeth Line station. You'll find burgers, kebabs, tacos, bagels and lots more besides. If you're meeting friends and forgot to book somewhere, this is a great option.

1 Water Street, London E14

Hawksmoor really made a splash with their Canary Wharf restaurant - it is actually floating on the river and looks amazing as a result. The same excellent steaks and cocktails that you've come to expect from them are here, as well as their biggest bar yet, The Lowback. 

5 Frobisher Passage, London, E14 4PA

Blacklock's Canary Wharf restaurant continues to do what the group does best. So you can expect a great selection of chops (have them on top of grilled bread, ideally) alongside steak, snacks and great cocktails. Keep room for their white chocolate cheesecake dessert and there's a great Sunday lunch on offer here too.

25 Harbour Wy., London E14 9YN

The compact Deun Deun in Canary Wharf is all about Korean cuisine, with a traditional menu and a particularly great reputation for its Korean fried chicken, made with everything from soy garlic to cheddar cheese powder. You'll also find bibimbap rice dishes, sharing pots, dumplings and more.

255 Paradise Row, London E2 9LE

The people behind bars Dram and Oranj have teamed up for this Bethnal Green opening, which is part cocktail bar, part residency. On the drinks side, you'll find great cocktails and a wine list which celebrates female winemakers. On the food side, that comes from long-term residency Tasca which combines both Spanish and Portuguese influences from an ex Sager & Wild chef. Expect dishes like shellfish escabeche on the menu.

1 Rufus St, London N1 6PE

Italian restaurant Senza Fondo has one key selling point - its bottomless lasagna. That comes in traditional or artichoke varieties (and even in a sandwich) but there is more to the restaurant than layered pasta. You'll also find pizzette, pasta and snacks like deep-fried mozzarella sticks, as well as tiramisu for dessert. All that's assuming you don't overdo it on the lasagna, of course.

5 Dalston Ln, London E8 3DF

One of the earliest interesting wine bars to hit this part of East London, Newcomer Wines started life as a wine shop and bar focusing solely on Austrian wines. They've now expanded to feature natural wines from further afield in Europe. Come the summer, their hidden walled garden is a superb place to enjoy a glass or two.

2-4 Tottenham Rd, London N1 4BZ

Supported by its own natural wine-importing business, Dan’s is one of those wine bars that’s always packed with East Londoners working their way through the impressive catalogue. There’s plenty on by the glass too and it’s always worth seeing what’s on the board that day.

480 Kingsland Rd, London E8 4AE

The team behind Bar Lotus also run several award-winning bars in Shanghai and Chengdu. Here in London, they've gone ultra minimalist with their space. Drinks have a distinct Asian bent - there might be a yuzu margarita or salted plum and shiso highball on offer.

510b Kingsland Rd, London E8 4AB

They now have bars in Crouch End and Soho, but this was the original opening for the Three Sheets team, bringing their eclectic take on cocktail-making to Dalston. Riffing off the name, the drinks list is divided into one, two and three sheets moving from light to strong in terms of alcoholic content. Regardless of the ABV, whatever you end up ordering is going to taste great.

23A Englefield Rd, London N1 4JX

A couple of interesting chefs (ex-Big Jo and Noble Rot) are behind this self-styled cafe with 'quite good grub' on the Dalston/De Beauvoir borders. It may look like a cafe from the outside but the quality of the food and wine offering here is definitely a cut above the usual neighbourhood space. Expect a tight menu, singing from the season's songsheet.

Stamford Works, 3 Gillett St, London N16 8JH

Seasonality and provenance are the foundation of the menu at Jones & Sons. So you know they'll have the best day boat fish, amazing English meat and a strong vegetarian offering. Set in a former factory, they're probably best known for the weekend brunches and Sunday roasts. If you're getting a sense of deja vu when you come, it's probably because this is where the Stephen Graham movie Boiling Point was filmed.

Unit 8 Gillett St, London N16 8AZ

Head off Kingsland Road into buzzy Gillett Square and let your nose lead you to Ewart Drysdale's amazing jerk bbq spot. The big oil drum barbecues show you that this place means business - your only dilemma will be whether to opt for the jerk pork or chicken. Barbecue isn't the only thing on the menu here - if you fancy an ackee and saltfish patty or macaroni pie, that's on offer as well.

470 Kingsland Rd, London E8 4AE

Anywhere that survives in Dalston for more than a decade has to be celebrated and Brilliant Corners' winning mix of Japanese-inspired dishes and DJ sessions continues to draw people in. For the food, think izakaya-style drinking food, so sushi and sashimi take centre stage with a wider than expected plant-forward selection of dishes too. The cocktail list is similarly Japanese-inspired with a short classics offering.

89 Shacklewell Ln, London E8 2EB

Chef-owner Oded Oren's Shacklewell Lane restaurant features a menu of Middle Eastern-inspired dishes, served with an eye to seasonality and great local produce. So there might be West Country mussels with Moroccan chraime and pumpkin salad given a Tunisian twist. The hummus is unmissable.

10 Arcola St, London E8 2DN

The OG of the many Mangal spin-offs in Dalston, this ocakbasi started life as a teeny spot with a handful of tables and a charcoal grill. It's now expanded but the classic offering remains the same. Owner Ercan Cuce and his team serve up amazing kebabs and the best bread in an unassuming dining room that to this day doesn't have a booze licence, so bring your own.

70-74 Stoke Newington Rd, London N16 7XB

Former basement dive turned fully fledged restaurant and bar, Corrochio's is named after Guadalajara-born chef Daniel Corrochio who serves up an authentic day into night menu channelling Mexico's city's best taquerias. They also do a very popular Mexican take on brunch at the weekends and if you're just popping in for a drink, there's a separate CINCO agave bar downstairs.

52 Wilton Way, London E8 1BG

Once home to Pidgin, Sesta is a Neighbourhood-focused restaurant in Hackney from an ex-Pidgin duo - chef Drew Snaith and GM Hannah Kowalski. Here, the emphasis is on a seasonal menu but one that has a focus on comfort food that should attract both locals and people who loved Pidgin. Expect a strong natural wine list here too.

1 Mare St, London E8 4RP

Miga is a "modern Korean kitchen" and it's a family affair coming from two brothers and their chef father. Originally starting in New Malden, their mother currently has a takeaway in Morden while their father runs the kitchen at this restaurant in Hackney, with a modern approach to Korean cooking.

13 Rookwood Way, Fish Island, London E3 2XT

Neighbourhood restaurant Inis is part of Fish Island's The Trampery campus and its menu focuses both on British and Irish cuisine. Expect produce and dishes from both sides of the Irish Sea with dishes like whiskey smoked salmon as well as a proper Irish breakfast (which means both black and white pudding).

374 Helmsley Pl, London E8 3SB

This is the second space for Tomos Parry's hit restaurant Brat, taking over the (covered) courtyard of the Climpson's Arch roastery. Expect a similar menu to the Shoreditch original - plenty of Galician steaks, grilled fish and lots of Basque influence throughout.

254 Hackney Road, London, E2 7SJ

This is a revamped pub from two St John veterans, Tom Harris and Jon Rotheram is both one of Hackney's best pub and best restaurants. Downstairs in the pub, make sure to get one of their excellent beef and barley buns, while upstairs it's an actual crime to leave without trying their brown butter & honey tart, one of London's best desserts. Their Sunday roasts are exceptional too.

13 Water Street, Canary Wharf, London E14 5GX

Dishoom is based on Bombay cafe culture and their restaurants are always incredibly popular (so be prepared to queue at busy times). Their Canary Wharf restaurant has a standalone bar if you're popping in for a drink and a terrace overlooking the water too. As for the menu, all the hits are in place, including their amazing bacon naans.

6 Chancellor Passage, London E14 5EA

It’s all in the name with this restaurant, which features a six course tasting menu that changes every six weeks - so you're always sure of getting something completely new on a return visit. There's a special theme each time (Fish & Chip Shop and Hollywood have been past themes). It's run by Scottish chef Nico Simeone and this outpost has a separate bar and a terrace too.