We’re huge fans of east London’s Café Cecilia . So much so that in 2023 it topped Time Out’s list of the 50 Best Restaurants in London , and remains on our current ranking of this city’s best places to eat. Opening in 2021 and named in honour of his grandmother, Cecilia’s chef-founder Max Rocha is now releasing his first ever book, the Café Cecilia Cookbook, with 100 recipes from the restaurant, including our personal fave: mussels and Datterini tomatoes on toast.
‘That one’s quite easy but quite special, and gets everyone excited,’ says Max. As well as the food, one of the best things about Café Cecilia is its primo spot on the canal just by Broadway Market and London Fields in Hackney . ‘I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else – I love it by the water,’ adds Max.
‘It kind of feels like a mini River Café, sometimes.’ So who better than Max to give us a personalised guide to the other best restaurants in the area? Check out his recommendations below. 1.
Koya Ko Max: ‘It’s primarily a Japanese udon noodle-based restaurant, with some donburi rice bowls as well. It’s great for a really accessible Japanese lunch: the perfect place to have a really simple and clean meal. They do a cold sesame udon, which is the best thing in the summer.
They’ve hit the nail on the head with that place. It’s super casual – you order and get a buzzer and then you pick up your noodles.’ 10 Broadway Market Mews, E8 4TS A post shared by e5 Bakehouse (@e5bak.