Disappointingly, the food is actually served at a middling temperature! And I had this verified…read moretwice yesterday as I ate earlier and then later in the afternoon. The first round I had the aubergine and Dashi dumplings . Taste was fine, particularly for the two generous aubergines, but both dishes were marred by the fact they weren't served very warm. After my play at Arcola Theatre, I came back for the artichoke on crostini and the tenderstem broccoli. Plenty of good-sized portions all around but the lack of heat just ruined the flavour. I've had much better Mildred's experience taste-wise in Camden and Soho. Also whilst the waiters are pleasant when you are seated in the Dalston location, no one comes to check on how you are doing at any point in the meal. So not the greatest service.

Mildreds has consistently great food at all their locations. Being vegan and vegetarian focused…read moredoes not mean sacrificing on taste. The appetizers and mains are all amazing. The desserts and cocktails are wonderful too. Brilliant decor and friendly service makes this place a must visit.

Fantastic place with comfortable wooden seating benches, pillows along the windows seating,…read moreeclectic posters and decor and buzzy but not overtly loud or obnoxious convo happening. Although £12 for my lentil burger made me blanche, the generous sides of salad and housemade slaw (I asked for no fries nor burger bun) made it all worth it. There's so much on the plate I boxed half for home (I had drank a smoothie before I had arrived here). The slaw in particular is divine: it doesn't have that gross mayo gloppiness I usually despise. It's quite fresh. There's a lovely vinaigrette on the greens and the burger has a moreish artichoke sauce. The staff is friendly as are the customers; dog-friendly too!

I totally go out of my way for a good vegan cafe or restaurant - especially when it is called…read more"Black Cat" (I live with several black cats, so feel a kinship). My friend and I popped in for brunch on a Saturday and staff were very helpful and flexible with our orders. I got the big vegan breakfast (sans beans) and my friend got a gluten-free version that subbed a bunch of salads. Both of our meals were HUGE -- I ended up bringing home enough for breakfast the next morning! The restaurant also has a divine assortment of vegan cakes, cupcakes and desserts with MANY gluten-free options so of course we bought up about 4 items to bring for later. They also sell some packaged grocery items and have a lovely lefty/anarcho/vegan book selection. The t-shirts are 15 GBP and well worth grabbing one as a souvenir since you know the leftovers won't last the whole way home! Cafe is super cute inside with many small tables and lots of art (I especially adore the big cat mural in the bathroom). Keep in mind - they are closed on Tuesdays. :( Totally worth going out of your way -- it's not too bad of a walk from Hackney Central or Hackney Downs (check out Pemberton Pub on your way back if you have the time!).

Overall, a lovely subdued ambiance on a lazy Sunday. They have an extensive breakfast/brunch menu,…read moreincluding a lot of Turkish egg scrambles, as well as an English breakfast. And a selection of hot and cold meze dishes (sort of Turkish tapas), including mixed platters for people who want to sample everything! Great for groups. Bread is served with most dishes, and can be requested for free. Service was generally friendly and efficient. There's outdoor seating and big windows to observe the street action and have some Turkish coffee or tea. I think what distinguished this from the numerous other Turkish establishments nearby is the interior decor (dark woods, pleasing color palette, and artwork). In fact, when I first walked past it, I thought it was one of those hipster café joints serving organic fair trade blah blah, until I looked at the menu. Bathrooms: Clean and well-maintained.

Opposite my old flat on Kingsland High Street, this charming cafe has been the scene of many a…read morehungover breakfast and a refuge for the countless occasions on which I lost my house keys. They have wireless Internet, good coffee and a huge menu with a mixture of Turkish and English treats. The service here is quite variable ranging from bored to happy to forgetful but apologetic. It's one of those places where it doesn't really matter because in general staff are friendly and if they seem a bit vague, its probably because they too are watching the bizarre bustling of Dalston's high street through the huge front windows. The best time to come here is in the morning when two women sit at the front in the window of the cafe rolling Turkish flat breads and the smell of delicious baked goods fills the air. The food is good, not great but for around a fiver you can get a full English breakfast, fresh orange juice and a generally very pleasant experience.

Looking for a chill place to have a good conversation complemented with a satisfying meal? Then…read morelook no further...Sömine is what you are searching for! We were on our way to another restaurant up the street and we all decided we could no longer be bothered with walking, that's when Sömine appeared in the distance. We decided to gamble and eat here instead. This is when laziness actually is beneficial. The staff here is so friendly and funny. You were served with the complementary items and given recommendations based on our eating preferences. My fellow veg heads we can eat here! They have several items on the menu that cater to vegetarian boundaries (vegan I'm not so sure). I forget the name of what I ordered but it was almost like a meatless and pastaless lasagna. It was de-lish-us! The place is a bit small with the tables fairly close to each other, so be careful when moving around. Luckily for us, there was one other party there so we had room to stretch our limbs. I would definitely recommend this place

I have to admit, it's been ages since I last ventured out to Dalston...even though it is supposed…read moreto be the new hipster central! And given that I was practically a novice to this area, I whipped out my phone to consult the opinion of my fellow Yelpers as to where they suggest a starving bloke should find consolidation for his stomach. Sömine popped near the top of the list with overwhelmingly good reviews - amongst others, one by Lizzie G, whose reviews are generally superb! I walked along Kingsland Road, with its mixture of ethnic supermarkets, trashy clothing stores and fried-chicken shops. But the further North you go (towards Stoke Newington), the more the area seems to become "cool", as you can find hip restaurants and coffee shops for the yuppies and hipsters that slowly, but surely seem to "gentrify" this area. Sömine is as low-key as it gets - in fact, it resembles a cheap cafeteria of my long-gone university days. But let's turn to the food for a minute: they mostly offer stews, which are on display already from the outside. The guy behind the counter explained to me the various flavours/ingredients and in the end decided on a vegetarian stew and a stew with minced lamb and aubergine. He ladled them both on a soup-plate and on the side he served me some pickled vegetables and rice. (I specifically asked for the rice to be served on a separate plate.) What I liked best about my dining-experience here was watching the kitchen ladies making Turkish raviolis right there in the restaurant (see photo). For some reason, this act of making food right here and there, made me believe that all their food is made with a similar passion...

Two-year-old BP & WP is a funky, little resto offering up Spanish cuisine. Not being too…read morewell-versed in the food of Spain, I couldn't exactly tell you from which region(s) the food hails. Tapas, side dishes and larger shared plates make up the menu. Vegetarians and Pescatarians will not go hungry here. And, of course, meat eaters will be pleased with the selection. I was angling for the leg of lamb (meant for 2-3 persons), but my dining companions were not keen. The space is narrow, candle-lit and, on the night we dined, filled with patrons. There are two 2-tops out front and a short bar accommodating approx. four diners. 2-tops, four-tops and, at least, one larger table fill the floor. Behind the bar I spied beer, wine, port, and some spirits. Our fare was tasty & attractively arranged. We had anchovies (warning: the vinegar hit the back of our throats and made our eyes water), black rice with squid, tortilla with a ramekin of aioli, broad beans with ham and a sauteed spinach side. The last two dishes were garnished with roasted garlic clove. The service was friendly, informative and, considering how busy the resto was, not terribly slow. My tiny quibble would have been the shape of the wine glasses. They resembled a, sort of, wide-mouthed, stout cylinder, if that makes sense. It made for a bit of an awkward grip-n-sip when one drank. Raucous music reminiscent of Les Negres Vertes played over the loud speakers and made for a peppy, upbeat dining experience that I much enjoyed.

Stoke Newington has Turkish cafes, great Indian food, sushi, hot salt beef bagels, fish and chips,…read moreand a bunch of pubs. Now, thanks to Black Pig with White Pearls it also has Spanish tapas. I was a regular patron of the restaurant which used to inhabit the space so I was curious to see what the new owners had done with it. The decor is what you could call Spanish hipster; black walls and simple tables are embellished with candelabras and cardboard bull heads wearing pearls. It manages to be spare, striking, and yet homey at the same time. The people who run it are relaxed and friendly so the whole atmosphere is really pleasant. Yeah yeah, but how was the food? Delicious! We shared five plates and a dessert, all of which were tasty. The padron peppers with sea salt were perfectly done, the lamb dish was tender and flavourful, and the croquetas were light and rich at the same time. If you're interested in going, make a reservation! They were able to seat us at the bar, but you might not be so lucky. It's pricy enough so that I won't be going very often, but the next time I want to have a slightly more special meal, I'll be sure to call ahead. I might even wear pearls.

I'm still very confused when I see such new and exciting offerings in Dalston. Growing up here, my…read moreperception of the area was so fixed as grim and scary, that I seem to be stuck in that, despite being part and parcel of the gentrification myself! I was starvin like Marvin on the day in question when I tried this spot. After dithering around the new places for ages, I picked this one as it looked heathy and speedy (2 of my fail-safe concerns for food ordering these days ;) The new-ish staff were very kind when I got confused about what the mushroom option entailed and the care they took over creating my order was touching. I do hope that the enterprise succeeds as the salad in particular was super-fresh and of good quality :D

Arancini! So good when done right....and these guys get it right again and again…read more The set up inside is relaxed and the staff, always super friendly. There's several booths where you can eat in but they also do takeaway. But whether eating in or taking out, I love the food here. The salad boxes are £3.50 for any combination of apple slaw, bean salad, jalapeños and other freshly made veggie delights. And of course, the arancini. Crunchy on the outside soft and creamy on the inside. These little morsels are perfect with the garlic and tomato sauces that accompany them. Once you start you won't stop. Luckily they're sold in snack boxes of three, five and if you're feeling up for a challenge (or sharing), twelve. I keep coming back to this place and they never fail to fill my luchtimes with arancini perfection. Yay arancini!

So good! Every bite and part of the Japanika bowl is delicious. Great vegan spot with excellent…read morecustomer service and music.

Wow! This place is insanely good! Thank goodness there's a GF, vegan place where you can trust what…read moreyou're getting. The space lends itself to groups of people who can't seem to agree on what to eat, so your non-dietary restricted friends will be just as happy. Get yourself a combo to enjoy all their delicious delights! (Visited Feb 2020)

We had arrived in London early on a Sunday morning and were unable to get into our Airbnb, so we…read morestopped here via Yelp recommendations! We both got the full English breakfast. It was so cheap and SO good. It was exactly what we needed. We had good service and also good coffee! I would definitely come again if staying in the same area. What we didn't catch in any of the reviews or until we were done eating was that this is cash only. Since we had just arrived in the country we had zero cash on us. We got acquainted with an ATM very quickly (right down the street)!

I am not a massive fan of Mess Cafe. I can't seem to establish what makes it different to the rake…read moreof similarly stodgey but cheaper greasy spoons around here. Yes the staff are friendly. Yes they do stock the Observer to read with your vegan breakfast. But you may have to fight someone called Crispin for the Review section. And that's before you've been forced to shoulder charge his civil partner Jem for a space at a table. I am very cynical. The weekend crowds do not lie. I will admit that Mess has successfully positioned itself a notch above your average 'egg and chips' van in the comptetive greasy Hackney hangover market. Its just that that notch doesn't seem significantly large enought to warrant queuing for 15 minutes to eat the same old muck. But that'sjust my opinion, and stuff....

A fancy vegan café/ restaurant in Hackney. (I'm not a vegan. I'm mostly a pescatarian)…read moreIt's very LOUD though. I believe it's do with how they treated the walls and the ceiling. Poor acoustic treatment leading everyone to speak loudly, which compels people around them to speak even louder to get heard. And it's not that they were playing loud music either. At least the staff members were pleasant and helpful. The (vegan) croissant was suspiciously oval. I was suspicious at first, but I was pleasantly surprised; flaky on the outside and moist on the inside. It's not the same thing as real croissant, but if you think of it as a different kind of bread, it is very good. The main dish, brekkie bowl was pleasant enough but nothing mind-blowing. From scrambled tofu to stir-fried kale, they are all things I can make myself. The 'hummus' had a very weird, runny texture, and didn't really taste much like hummus. Which is weird, because hummus is supposed to be vegan!

I can't rightly write a full review as I didn't order food, though I don't see anything to complain…read moreabout except the prices, which are generally £1-2 more than I'd like. Given that this is London though... And given that it's a cafe with the word "vegan" in the name... I guess £1-2 more per item is a given? The sandwiches sitting in their glass case near the register did look delicious. A friend ordered the bagel and "lox" (£6), as Sarah J. mentioned in her review, and I tried a bite. It was definitely delicious, and fantastically seasoned to resemble smoked salmon in flavour, while the texture of the "salmon" (made of very thinly sliced carrot) even resembled lox somehow. I had a flat white made with oat milk, and that drink is the reason why I'm giving three instead of four stars. For £3, it was tiny, served in a chode of a glass (wider than it was tall) with a taste that just didn't bring the richness, uniqueness, nerve, and talent I want in my coffee. It is definitely a lovely-looking space, however, with nice indoor and outdoor seating that will be fantastic come summer. The ambience is a bit Bali-beach chic, a bit Topanga Canyon. Music is definitely chill and good to chat or work to. And who doesn't like hanging swing chairs and lots of plants? As mentioned above, the food did look good, and smelled great as it came out to various tables too. So oddly enough, though I'm giving three stars only, I may be back. I'd like to try the noms, and drink something other than a coffee. Beetroot? Turmeric? Peanut butter? Yes for the price of one I could be halfway to a full breakfast, but they might be wins.

One thing I can say about this place is that the portions are great. I got the option for all three…read moreseasonal dishes and it was hard to finish because there was just so much food there. Nothing bad about this place at all!

Took a Gujarati friend here for dinner last night. I figured, what better way to benchmark Gujarati…read morefood than with a Gujarati foodie? Gujarati Rasoi has a cool vibe, Dalston hipster style. The kitchen is open, and the smell of the food permeates everywhere, which is a good thing when you're inside, but beware; your clothes will need some aerating after dinner ;) The menu is simple and short. You can tell that this is going to be home cooking style. As we were 2, and we wanted to sample most of the menu, we agreed to take all 3 starters and have 3 small plates from the mains, along with rice and raita. The Papri chaat was authentic, but needed a bit more kick according to my friend. Still, we very much enjoyed it and wolfed it down ravenously. The Ringan Burthu Ne Rotla was also very delicious. The Millet bread was a bit on the dry side, but the aubergine topping with caramelised onions was addictive. We washed those down with some nice house cocktails that is recommend. The palak paneer was different than want I'm used to. The spinach was served wilted, and it felt like a nice, earthy, healthy dish for once. The sukaria was delicious and I highly recommend it. We couldn't get enough of it. The sweet potatoes were perfectly stewed. The methi (flat bread) was more disappointing, as it was a bit dry and bland. The rice was tasty and the raita was beautifully presented (reminded me of Bircher muesli). For dessert, we shared a chai kulfi and it was absolutely delicious. I have high hopes for the pista kulfi which I fully intend to order next time I'm here. All in all very good food, all vegetarian, and reasonably priced (~32£ per head with a cocktail each). I'll definitely be back.