Hackney
Mezcal Cantina

Mezcal Cantina

127 Kingsland High Street, Hackney, United Kingdom, E8 2PB

Cafés • Pizza • Cheese • Mexican


"Decided to give this a place a go as we'd been to the Mexican next door and thought it was okay but not amazing (and despite the £2 tacos offer, actually turned out way more expensive than you'd imagine) We arrived at 5 in time...for happy (2) hour(s) and got stuck into two for one margaritas whilst waiting for a friend, who didn't show up til quarter to seven, so we were pretty trashed by the time we came to order food, but I stand by my conclusion that the food was cryworthy, easily the best mexican food I've had in London. Portions were great and I was particularly impressed by the use of (loads of) small local prawns in the tacos rather than a couple of large battered ones, which, though more likely to be used within spitting distance of the gulf of mexico, don't really turn up fresh here, so always end up being a bit disappointing cos it's not an american shrimp taco. Honestly, I'd take the lots of little shrimp' version over that any day. Super nice. My second favourite were the cactus tacos, which I guess used pickled cactus, they were a bit much for my girlfriend's taste but I loved em. The waitress was super nice, and noticed that it was my gf's birthday and brought us free shots and did the whole it's yr birthday so you get to wear these sombreros' thing, which was hilarious and excellent. Definitely going back! BTW this place has moved back to Kingsland Road, Dalston, but there doesn't seem to be a page yet."

Hoxtons

Hoxtons

311 Old St, EC1V 9LA, Hackney, United Kingdom

Diners • Coffee • Breakfast • Chocolate


"A lovely spot to sit down to lunch or nurse some coffees in the afternoon and watch the world go by.  There are only 5 or 6 tables arranged along floor length wrap around picture windows overlooking the intersection of hipster central at Old Street and Charlotte Road/Rufus Street.  We arrived at late at 14:00 when there were plenty of tables.  I imagine it could be busy here with office workers between 12:00 and 13:00. Hoxton's is a basic independent sandwich shop and breakfast bar, that also offers a couple of cantine style warm meals at lunchtime.  Today there was chilli con carne with rice, shepherd's pie, and a couple of pasta dishes.  The two daily sandwich specials were steak, onion and rocket as well as chorizo, grilled veg and rocket.  I requested a toasted ciabatta with prosciutto, grilled vegetables and mozzarella.  My companion ordered the chilli. The ingredients going into my sandwich were all of good quality.  However, the amount of filing used was quite modest.  A single layer of ham, a thin layer of mozarella, a scatter of good grilled veg consisting of mostly paprika and courgette and a bit of rocket.  it was tasty enough though.  My companion complained that his chilli was boring due to lack of spice.  There was no cumin and virtually no chilli powder.  It did taste predominantly of meat and beans. That said, lunch was cheap and I would be happy to return.  I'll stick to strongly flavored compound sandwich fillings given the modest amount used.  The daily sandwich specials did sound attractive."

Super Ocakbasi

Super Ocakbasi

107 Stoke Newington Road, N16 8BX, Hackney, United Kingdom

Pizza • Kebab • Sushi • Chicken


"I have to start by saying that the food here is really nice however the service was poor. We had to wait over 45 minutes for our food, during this time 2 families arrived, ordered, ate and left and yet our order still had not arrived. I questioned the waiter 3 times during this time, each time he stated that it is on its way and that we have to be patient if we expect good food. Eventually after a 45 minutes I went to the front to see what was taking them so long, to be told to wait once again. The waiter finally let us know that our order was dropped on the floor and was missed by the chef. Our food finally arrived with a sarcastic comment by the waiter to which I responded by politely stating that we expect to be compensated due to the wait, he ensured that a discount will be given. When it came to paying the bill, the cashier was extremely rude and was not willing to reduce our bill he stated that our drinks had been deducted (two cans of Zup). He than deducted a further £2, we were not impressed. In the end the waiter asked the cashier to meet us halfway and our total bill was reduced by £8 the cashier was not happy by this, he snatched our payment and rudely said that we will be charged double on our next visit; His sarcastic comments and attitude was not appreciated. Considering there are many other turkish restaurants in this area, I would recommend you to go elsewhere where there is a better level of customer service; such as Aziziye however it is popular and therefore reservations are needed to avoid disappointment."

Shutterbug

Shutterbug

1 Rivington Place, Hackney, United Kingdom, EC2A 3AY

Bbq • Coffee • Cheese • Breakfast


"A friend of mine had booked a table here for Pancake Day, for 5 of us. When she called that morning to check the booking, she was promptly told that a booking shouldn 't have been made as they weren 't taking bookings for Pancake Day. However, the staff member acknowledged that my friend had not been told this and so the booking would be honoured. When we arrived at 7pm, we were told that this conversation had not taken place and that we would have to get in the (30 people deep) queue. We asked to see their reservations book, as that would show that the booking was indeed made under my friend 's name. We were then passed from staff member to staff member as no one knew who was supposed to have dealt with this, all the while we were kept waiting. It eventually took half an hour and some very stern talking to get a table for us, even after they had acknowledged that we did indeed book a table and this booking was to be honoured. The bar was far too crowded, and the additional seating they had provided was a few picnic tables in a temporary marquee round the back. Once we were seated, it took a further 10 minutes for someone to tell us that we had to go back to the bar and get in the (still 30 people deep) queue to order. By this time we had been messed around for 45 minutes and so decided to leave and take our custom elsewhere. I have never experienced such a shocking display of customer service: being told repeatedly that the customer is wrong, and then when the manager acknowledges that we had made a booking (by mistake of one of *their* staff members), it still took 45 minutes for us to get anywhere. Abysmal. DO NOT VISIT."