Berber & Q is a Middle Eastern/North African restaurant where locals hang and eat things from the grill. You want those things.

Bad Sports is a fun neighbourhood sports bar in Haggerston. They also serve the best tacos in London.

Hill & Szrok on Broadway Market is a butchers by day, but at night they fire up the grill to cook some pretty good steaks and chops.

The Haggerston branch of Chick ‘n’ Sours is the original, and still the best. Come here for cocktails and disco wings, and leave happy.

The Barge House is an all-day spot on the canal in Haggerston with extensive outdoor and indoor seating.

Towpath Café is a seasonal café on the Regent’s Canal that has a strong case for being one of London’s most dopamine-inducing spots.

Sager and Wilde is a kind of serious but still fun wine bar on Hackney Road serving wine from a huge list, and cheese toasties.

Campania is a pretty and atmospheric Italian restaurant on Columbia Road that you’ll have to plan ahead to get a table at.

Cub is a restaurant from the same guys behind cocktail bars Dandelyan and Super Lyan, serving a short four-course dinner of creative small plates.

Set up in a Haggerston cafe, TATA Eatery’s high end Chinese small plates sound mad, but they’re actually really good. Hit it for dinner or brunch.