Stoke Newington

As part of £5m spent on its restoration, Abney Park in Stoke Newington now has a modern new cafe. The pair behind it are Hackney locals Toby Williams and Lianna Jewell, a husband and wife team. They also run local catering company Sabel Food which has worked on festival food for Lost Village and Wilderness as well as doing events like a birthday bash for Ottolenghi and TV and film shoots.

The cafe they say

Victory Mansion in Stoke Newington has been a neighbourhood restaurant and bar in Stoke Newington for a few years now, an Asian/Mexican fusion affair with their "ta-kos" being the biggest draw. Now they've just had a big revamp and with that a name change - they're now TA-KO. 

They've brought in a new menu which, as you might expect, goes big on their titular Asian-inspired tacos

Mezcal bar Doña has found the perfect pairing for its cocktails - it's launched a restaurant. The new restaurant marks the bar's move from pop-up to permanent on this part of Stoke Newington High Street. Serving up Latin American fusion dishes, the key thing is that everything is made in-house, from the dough for the empanadas to the salsa roja.

Running the kitchen is Honduran-born chef Karla Zuniga who was also part

We've seen a sudden influx of new taco restaurants of late. Two have been from footballers and another incoming taco joint is from a Hollywood star. So it's actually something of a change to see one of London's OG taco restaurants open a second location - and that's what we have

Last year Sonora Taqueria beat their crowdfunding target and got on with getting their first taqueria off the ground - and now it's time to officially open. 

Sonora has been touted as serving up some of London's best tacos, ever since their days in Netil Market. After that closed they popped up at Arcade Food Hall in the meantime, and even fought off legal action that would have prevented them using

With all the news of closures, it's particularly good to hear about a restaurant that was thought to be closed forever actually returning. Wander, one of Stoke Newington's most well-renowned restaurants originally announced its closure when owner Alexis Noble said she was returning to Australia. But now she's back and reopening the restaurant. 

In ...

The powerhouse duo behind Fink's are at it again. This week they've opened their fourth spot, in Clissold Park. Their latest place is literally down the road from the OG Fink's on Mountgrove Road and sees them taking over the historic pump house in the Stoke Newington park.

"Fink's Pumphouse is our newest baby," Mat and Jess announced on Instagram, adding that it will be "filled with our usual favorite suppliers,

Updated 20/9/22 with opening date

N16 residents may have noticed the hoardings going up on Stoke Newington Church Street for a promising-sounding bagel shop. Turns out Good Things is going to be a standalone bagel and deli counter from the folk behind The Good Egg.

As they explained to Hot Dinners, their own love affair with bagels grew during lockdown when their delivery kits kept the business afloat.

Bring two wine importers, a charcuterie genius and a chef trained up at London's hottest restaurants together and you have the team behind this hit wine bar on Newington Green.

Zia Lucia have been tearing around London, opening pizzerias and their latest is in the adjoining neighbourhood of the original on Holloway Road - they're opening in Stoke Newington. 

They're taking over the site that was once Il Bacio, so it's not a complete departure for the area. If you're unfamiliar with Zia Lucia, the pizzeria's main feature is their 48-hour fermented dough, available

They've been going strong on Broadway Market and now Hill and Szrok are stretching their wings with a second location called Stella's on Newington Green (The new place isn't called Hill & Szrok as original chef Alex Szrok has moved on).

If you're unaware of them, at their current location they're butcher by day, restaurant by night. This new place has launched

Until now they've been popping up across town, including their current residency at Gunmakers in Clerkenwell, but now Tigre Tacos have found a permanent home. They'll be settling in upstairs at Stoke Newington bar, Doña. 

As before, the

Starting life as a delivery-only place during lockdown, this new venture is getting ready to open as a bricks and mortar restaurant in Stoke Newington.

We have two pieces of Trivet-related news today.

First, their pastry chef Arran Schaffer has moved on to create a new project with ex-Ritz pastry chef de partie Derya Adema, called London Loaves. It's a micro-bakery in Stoke Newington, currently popping up at the Flowers N16 Garden centre on Church Street. Derya tells us that they set up London Loaves as a passion

When Wander in Stoke Newington closed at the beginning of the lockdown, there was some worry that it wouldn't return. But now it's back in its new delivery-only guise, with two new meal kits that look well worth your time.

The first is the Wander Banquet. That's five dishes of the kind previously served in Wander, with just a little finishing at home. To give you an idea, this week's meal