London
Hackney on a shoestring
Good food, small bill
Updated
East London’s best cheap dinners are spread along its roads, markets and canals. Kingsland Road has its run of Vietnamese canteens, with Sông Quê and Mien Tay among the busiest. Upmarket in the old Truman Brewery and Old Spitalfields Market both put dozens of street-food stalls under one roof, so they work in any weather. Further east, Netil Market is a small yard of food huts off Broadway Market, Arepa & Co sits right on the Regent’s Canal in Haggerston, and in Hackney Wick there’s Hackney Bridge and Crate Brewery, both by the water.
Our picks
Sông Quê Café
Kingsland Road, Shoreditch
Address: Sông Quê Café, 134 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DY- Restaurant
- Rain-proof ☔
- Cheap and cheerful
- Foodie
Share bowls of Vietnamese noodle soup and grilled dishes at the busiest canteen on Kingsland Road's run of Vietnamese restaurants.
Why it's a good date: It's no-frills and always buzzing, and the cooking is the reason people have kept coming back for years. Go early in the evening at weekends, as tables fill fast.
Mien Tay
Kingsland Road, Shoreditch
Address: Mien Tay, 106-108 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DP- Restaurant
- Rain-proof ☔
- Cheap and cheerful
- Foodie
Order a spread of southern Vietnamese grilled meats, noodles and herby salads to share at a family-run spot on Kingsland Road.
Why it's a good date: It's casual and friendly, with a long menu that's made for sharing between two. A good, easy dinner before a drink in Shoreditch or Hoxton.
Upmarket Brick Lane Food Hall
Brick Lane, Spitalfields
Address: Upmarket, 83 Brick Lane, London E1 6QR- Restaurant
- Rain-proof ☔
- Cheap and cheerful
- Foodie
Graze your way round dozens of street food stalls in the old Truman Brewery, picking something different each and swapping halfway.
Why it's a good date: It's a fun, low-stakes date with food from all over the world under one roof, and it's dry when the weather isn't. Weekends are the liveliest, when craft and vintage stalls join the food.
Old Spitalfields Market
Commercial Street, Spitalfields
Address: Old Spitalfields Market, 16 Horner Square, London E1 6EW- Restaurant
- Rain-proof ☔
- Cheap and cheerful
- Foodie
Wander the covered Victorian market and share plates from its street food kitchens, then browse the stalls together.
Why it's a good date: There's a huge choice of cuisines under a glass roof, so it works in any weather and suits fussy and adventurous eaters alike. Most traders are card only.
Netil Market
Westgate Street, London Fields
Address: Netil Market, 13-23 Westgate Street, London E8 3RL- Restaurant
- Outdoors
- Cheap and cheerful
- Best in Spring, Summer, Autumn
- Foodie
Pick up lunch from the small huts and containers of independent food traders just off Broadway Market and eat it in the yard.
Why it's a good date: It's small and properly local, and it pairs well with a wander along Broadway Market and a sit in London Fields. Saturdays are the busiest; traders keep their own hours.
Hackney Bridge
East Bay Lane, Hackney Wick
Address: Hackney Bridge, East Bay Lane, London E15 2SJ- Restaurant
- Cheap and cheerful
- Foodie
Choose from a row of international street food kitchens at a big canalside hub in Hackney Wick and eat by the water.
Why it's a good date: There's room to spread out, a terrace over the canal and something for everyone, plus regular events and DJ nights. Walk along the towpath from Victoria Park to get there.
Crate Brewery
White Post Lane, Hackney Wick
Address: Crate Brewery, The White Building, Unit 7 Queen's Yard, White Post Lane, London E9 5EN- Restaurant
- Cheap and cheerful
- Foodie
Share stone-baked pizzas and beer brewed on site at a canalside brewery in a former print factory in Hackney Wick.
Why it's a good date: On a warm evening the waterside tables are the place to be, and inside it's cosy and loud in the best way. It gets very busy on sunny weekends, so go early.
Arepa & Co
De Beauvoir Crescent, Haggerston
Address: Arepa & Co, 58a De Beauvoir Crescent, London N1 5SB- Restaurant
- Rain-proof ☔
- Cheap and cheerful
- Foodie
Eat Venezuelan arepas and other home-style dishes in a bright room right on the Regent's Canal in Haggerston.
Why it's a good date: Big windows look straight onto the canal, and the food is generous and full of flavour without costing much. Make a towpath walk of it before or after.
Quick answers
Where's the Vietnamese strip in Shoreditch?
Kingsland Road, running north from Shoreditch towards Haggerston, has a long run of Vietnamese restaurants. Sông Quê and Mien Tay are two of the best known, and both are good for sharing.
Where can we eat by the canal in Hackney Wick?
Hackney Bridge has street-food kitchens and a terrace over the canal, and Crate Brewery has waterside tables and pizza. Both get busy on sunny weekends, so go early.
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