The foundation dish of the whole restaurant. Max Rocha's Guinness bread — a dark, malty soda bread — appears across the menu in different forms and is the first thing most reviewers mention. It arrives warm with good butter. The Guinness flavour is subtle but distinct, providing a bittersweet depth. Multiple Michelin inspectors and food writers have singled this out as the dish that best represents the chef's Irish roots meeting London bistro cooking.
Tips from diners
Order this the moment you sit down. It comes warm and you will eat it all before your starters arrive. Consider asking for a second round — most tables do.
The signature dessert. A treacle tart with Guinness worked into the filling, adding a bitter, malty complexity to what is otherwise a very sweet British classic. Served with creme fraiche to cut through the richness. The Guinness bread ice cream occasionally appears as an alternative dessert, but the treacle tart is the one that appears most consistently on the menu and is the dessert most reviewers recommend.
Tips from diners
Do not skip dessert here. The Guinness in the treacle tart stops it from being one-dimensionally sweet. If the Guinness bread ice cream is on the specials board, get that too.
A Roman-inspired snack — sage leaves sandwiched around anchovy fillets and deep-fried in a light batter. Salty, herbal and crispy. At £5 it is one of the cheapest things on the menu and works well as a nibble with drinks while you wait for your main courses. Several reviewers recommend ordering these alongside the oysters as a two-starter opening.
Tips from diners
At £5 these are the cheapest way to start. Order them with the oysters while you read the rest of the menu — they come out quickly.
A pairing that makes complete sense once you try it — briny oysters with dense, malty Guinness soda bread. This is the classic Irish combination of stout and oysters, served in a form that is simple but very effective. At £7.50 it is one of the more affordable starters and reviewers consistently recommend it as the way to start a meal here.
Tips from diners
Oysters and stout is a traditional Irish combination. This is the best version of it — order these first with a pint of Guinness from the bar if they have it.
A soft burratina (smaller, more delicate than a standard burrata) served with marinated chard and crispy panisse — deep-fried planks of chickpea flour that add crunch and substance. The combination of the creamy cheese, the slightly bitter chard and the crunchy panisse creates genuine textural interest. This dish rotates seasonally in accompaniments but the burratina is a near-permanent fixture that reviewers keep coming back for.
Tips from diners
The panisse (chickpea fries) are the star alongside the burratina. Break them up and eat everything in one bite for the best textural contrast.
A classic River Cafe-influenced dish — pork braised slowly in milk until the milk curdles into a rich, savoury sauce. The lemon and sage cut through the richness of the pork and the milk. Served with pink fir potatoes. At £18 it is one of the better-value mains in the area. The technique is traditional Italian (maiale al latte) filtered through Max Rocha's training at the River Cafe.
Tips from diners
This is a River Cafe classic done very well. The curdled milk sauce looks unique and tastes rich and savoury. Do not leave it on the plate — use the bread to mop it up.
Opened in 2021 by Max Rocha (son of fashion designer John Rocha), who trained at St John, the River Cafe and Spring. His Irish background shows up across the menu, most famously in the Guinness bread that appears in various forms from treacle tart to ice cream. Located in a bright, industrial-style space beneath an apartment block on the Regent's Canal in Hackney, it earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand and became one of the hardest reservations in East London.
Reservations drop on a rolling basis and sell out within minutes. Set a reminder for when bookings open. Wednesday and Thursday dinners are slightly easier to get than Friday or Saturday.
The lunch service (Wed-Sun, 12-3pm) is the same kitchen and largely the same menu, but much easier to book than dinner. Sunday lunch is also excellent but book ahead as it fills up fast.
The restaurant is right on Regent's Canal, a short walk from Broadway Market and London Fields. Plan a canal walk before or after lunch — the setting is part of the appeal.
Expect to spend about £40-50 per person for dinner with wine. The menu changes frequently, but the Guinness bread and treacle tart are almost always available. Ask about the blackboard specials — they are often the best dishes.
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