Berber & Q in Hackney

Had my birthday dinner here with some friends. They were very accommodating with me adding more and more people to the table even one day before my reservation was due. Staff is very friendly, atmosphere is nice and food is delicious. They allowed me to bring a cake and sing happy birthday. Highly recommend.

Tasty traditional ethnic food, fair prices

Beautiful middle eastern and North African inspired food - great sharing plates for a couple. We loved the ribs, they were excellent. Go big as the starters are all delicious - we skipped dessert!!

Honestly it's the most overrated, fake and unpleasant place overall. I haven't had such bad experience in a while and that's something. The food was ok, but there are no prices on the menu, no breakdowns of what you've ordered and the service is absolute garbage. You just end up paying blindly. I would highly recommend avoiding this place if you are considering going there with a group of people or alone.

Underneath the arches lurks this gem. Not cheap but worth every nickel. Food cooked with love care & flair. The mush. Is a bit loud for my taste but my 26 year old son says it’s fine ..so it’s fine. Tasty home made flatbreads with delicious tomato dip and the fried artichokes are a sensation. As is the new dish of large oyster mushrooms costed with a miso and tahini light sauce which is a Wurlitzer sensation in the mouth. And then there are the lamb ribs-possibly the best I’ve reten in all my 60 odd years. Impossible to describe-you have to go and try yourself. Excellent and friendly staff, outstanding chefs. Stop reading…and just go! Now!

The food was very good! I wasn’t that hungry going in but the food was so yummy that I couldn’t stop eating! We ordered the hummus, roasted chicken and potatoes, and they were all so good! The brick roasted chicken that that smoked charred flavour which I loved, and the potatoes had flavour whilst still being crunchy. Class food for what we had!

We visited on a Saturday evening in March for a 7pm family birthday gathering with eight guests. We were seated in a rather cramped location by the window which meant we had to squeeze into a tight space with virtually no room at all for circulation. Although no reference was made at the time of booking to any time restrictions, we were abruptly told at around 8.30pm that we needed to be out by 9pm, a measly two hours after our booked start time. Most members of the group were still eating their main courses at this time and were certainly in no mood to be rushed off the premises. I spoke to the duty manager who was initially quite rigid - he blamed the booking website for this blatant failure of hospitality on the restaurant's part. I book London restaurants for large groups on a regular basis and most in my experience offer a minimum of 2.5 hours and in practice usually more for similar sized groups. After a rather painful discussion, the young manager helpfully offered to do some 're-jigging' with other tables and eventually we were allowed to remain in situ for the remainder of the evening and, to his credit, he offered us free desserts as well. However, the situation should not have arisen in the first place and the whole exchange left a rather bitter feeling in my mouth during what should have been a fun family evening. The food we ate was very well received by the group - we all had the £45 set menu and it was really rather good and different. The lamb knuckle dish in particular was tasty and very generously proportioned and our vegetarian diners were also very happy with the cuisine. Even the basic house red and white wines (both Portuguese) went down well and were not too expensive (by London standards) at £35 a bottle. Overall, the food and drink was a positive but the controversy about our meal duration cast an unnecessary shadow over the evening. The only other comment I would add is that some of the servers could engage better with customers and an occasional smile would not go amiss, especially as I picked up a still hefty bill of £613 at the end of the evening with a 12.5% service charge included (no mention of it being discretionary!).

Amazing place! Very tasty food, interesting cocktails and great vibe! Open kitchen adds to the charm. Tahini ice cream was a treat, would highly recommend the place and will be back.

Highly recommend. Food was incredible and could not be faulted. Very vibey atmosphere under the arches in Haggerston. The sausage and butter bean as well as the duck leg were standout dishes. Great for a group or date night.

Ate really well. Particularly recommend the aubergine ghanoush and the cauliflower. But the star of the dinner was the bone marrow: otherworldly. I thought I was going to cry after the first bite, genuinely outstanding. We shared a bunch of smaller plates and the confit duck as a main, though in hindsight we probably should have gotten another 2/3 plates instead of the duck (which was tasty but nothing too special). Non alcoholic drinks very interesting as well

Always superb food and service. Highly recommend visiting here at least once if you can.

Superb! Food was amazing (Whole roasted cauliflower, pickles with harissa and sought, merguez sausage with butter beans, artichoke, ther was more it was all great) service friendly and attentive. place was bouncing on a Saturday night. Very much looking forward to going back and trying the Shwarma bar.

Enjoyable meal, portion size quite minimal, so be prepared to order lots which adds up. Nevertheless the food was great, inspired dishes and decent cocktails

It was fancy, well priced and brilliant atmosphere. The smoked cauliflower ignited a part of my soul I didn’t know was there.

Amazing. Great food. Great staff. We’ll come back! ☺️

The food is amazing and the staff are such a delight. I would highly recommend. The setting is just stunning.

Amazing food, great atmosphere. We celebrated a birthday here and were super happy with the food as well as the service. Thank you

Not so good. The food was disappointing and over-priced. I regretted trying this place. The staff were perfectly nice, though.

Disappointed by the food, which was so-so and not great value. The staff were nice, though.

What a nice place! Thank you for the delicious food

Loved the layout of the restaurant. Menu is compact and portions are quite small but the food is good. Hummus was immense, would return just for that.

Great ambience and lovely service. Food was great and portions were fine - ideal for sharing as a group.

Absolutely delicious. Beautiful food. So well thought out and just a relaxed and chilled environment. Perfect night. Would come again

Amazing place! Amazing staff! Amazing good! Will be returning

A cool-looking restaurant in a converted railway arch. We had the set menu (£45 per head). Staff kindly modified the vegetarian menu for me to make it vegan. The vegan options are good but not outstanding, and overpriced in my view. At £45, I felt I had overpaid for some stuffed veg and dips.

I first came here a long time ago, when it first opened can’t remember what year. I always remembered how good the food was and decided to visit again with a couple of friends for a Christmas get together, all I can say is that it was even better than before! We ate so much; cauliflower, baba ghanoush, flat bread (x2), chicken with chermoula and then ended with the star of the show - the lamb neck. So so yummy will be coming back as soon as I can. I think the restaurant is underrated or maybe not well known enough, something different in London don’t miss out!

Food is delicious and the cocktails are interesting. Our service was quite slow as it seemed like there was only one waitress (who was great) on hand for the lunch trade which was clearly not enough. Our food came out before our drinks and we would have had many more drinks had it been easier to get them.

Food and vibe absolutely incredible. Cuddle and Slap cocktail was far too strong but only a minor wrinkle in an otherwise fantastic evening!

Insane food ! Greatly recommend!

Fantastic meal, Great ambience and atmosphere.

Worst meal I ever had, I literally threw up after eating it, don’t waste your money

Great food and good service, but unfortunately, another restaurant with service charges automatically added. At the prices you pay here, I would assume that there is enough of a margin to pay their staff a decent wage without guilt tripping their customers into doing it for them.

Really cool vibe under an arch. The place has a low lit atmosphere with really vibey music. We came on Thursday night and upon entering, the waitress offered to take our coats, served us tap water and gave menus. Orders came really quickly and the taste of the food was great. Really recommend the Attila ghanoush burnt aubergine and artichoke hearts, although everything we had was great.

Popped in here on the way to see a band next door. Food was amazing, had the houmous and lamb neck. Flavours were incredible

Dry food and tiny portions. Would not come back here, certainly not worth it for the price.

Lovely food and the music was great.

Absolutely fantastic! Jaw dropping plates of flavour, with lots of surprises along the way. Who knew creamed aubergine could taste so good. I had the Berber Souk cocktail (if you like margaritas then get this!). Also the lamb is a must try with your favourite friend! This place is 10/10 for any social friend or family gathering, but make sure you book to avoid disappointment.

This place is excellent! I've walked past it ignoring it for many years, thinking it's an American steak house vibe - based on the sign in the window. This couldn't be more wrong. When you enter you step into a different world with great atmosphere. I've had a great mescal cocktail and the food was mind blowing. Service was also very good. Very underrated place! Get the aubergine!

This place is unreal. The food is SO good.

Yum. Everything was delicious. Great margaritas too! Personal favs were the hummus, babaganoush, and chicken. I get the sense you can’t go wrong here!

One of the best spots for dinner. Great service and relatively quick for food to come out. Best suited to large groups so you can order more of the sharing dishes! The Lamb neck, the artichoke hearts and the hummus&labneh were standouts

Quality food in a cool restaurant beneath a railway arch. The steak and chicken was great, but I wasn’t a big fan of their drink options (eg no draught beers). Overall, a good dinner option though.

Food here was amazing. Lamb was falling off the bone. Will be definitely coming back here as the food is up to the hype! Great food and greats service.

The ghanoush was the highlight. Everything else was sort of bland. Pretty sure seafood tagine gave one of us food poisoning. Portions are sort of stingy. Expected more really. Service was indifferent too.

First time trying Berber & Q and really enjoyed it! We ordered the hummus/pita, aubergine, brick chicken, and steak, all were very tasty. Our server was super friendly and attentive. The atmosphere was nice but the restaurant was playing spiritual music which didn’t seem congruent with a bbq themed restaurant.

Beautiful interior and atmosphere. Good cocktails. Ordered the seafood tajine and couscous both were quite underseasoned for my taste.

Possibly the best middle eastern restaurant in London. Cannot say enough for this place. Very cool atmosphere and quality of the food is outstanding. Strongly recommend.

Incredible atmosphere, amazing food and a top class dining experience. The lamb is a must have!!! The artichoke was also fab. Incredible

Fabulous cocktails - hibiscus margeurita.....! - and really good food, interesting selection of dishes and perfectly served by the team, as always!

Atmospheric, cosy, delicious place. Get the baba ganoush.

This was truly a memorable meal while on our trip to London. Starting with great cocktails (tobacco smoked old fashioned) and pisco sour) and the best baba ghanoush in my life and moving into the grilled meats....what a meal. The grilled ex-dairy onglet steak with smoked aubergine cream was one of the very finest dishes I have ever enjoyed. Awesome staff. A wonderful evening all the way around.

Excellent service and food. The lamb dish is phenomenal!

I came to this place years ago during my last visit to London and I was very much looking forward to coming back and enjoy the food I had such amazing memories of. I went out of my way to make it back to this place before I head back home and I am left with great disappointment. The reception was cold and rather distant, service was mediocre, as if nobody was really in the mood to be there that night. I arrived 10 minutes before my 6pm reservation time and I was turned away and told to come back later because they weren't open yet...They did let me use the bathroom at least on my request and they still had me leave the place even if by that time there was only 5 mins left for my reservation. I really didn't feel like going back after that, but I decided to honor my reservation out of respect for their organisation even if I felt very disrespected in that moment. The menu has changed completely which I was willing to give a chance. The portions were extremely small and the taste wasn’t impressive at all. I really wish I had more positive things to say about this dinner, but I have a hard time finding any + points. I felt so uncomfortable I couldn’t wait to finish the little food I had on my plate and get out of there. I will not be coming back on a next visit to London, I am sure there are better options in town when it comes to Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine and where customers are not turned away 5 mins before opening. But good luck to you, and I really hope you can make it back to the level it once was.

Great food, terrible service. The waiter was extremely rude and disinterested throughout.

Still a very good spot for nice Mediterranean food

The confit duck saved the meal. It tasted amazing when mixed with the slaw. Great balance of flavours. For the rest, it was very very disappointing. We had 4 starters. All meh. The berber salad was the least pleasurable, the croutons soaked in oil were a bit sickening. The pita bread and sauces tasted industrial and the pita was bland and undercooked. The artichoke hearts are greasy and bland at the same time... I don't think I'll return but if you go, definitely try the duck!!

The food was good but rather small portions, I recommend the stake, Hummus, Halloumi and the ghanoush. I am giving 3 stars because the tartare and seafood tajine were rather disappointing and the size of dishes. Service: I don’t want two be harsh on the staff they were in general terms ok, but two situations allow me to give this railing. We were 4 in our table and we ordered different dishes to share, none of which was presented when the waitress brought it to the table, so we didn’t know what we were having. Second is they us an app called Sunday for payments, the app charges a £2 fee per transaction and the staff never mentioned it, I would have rather be given the choice to use a regular POS than use that app for nothing.

Great vibes at Berber &Q. Good for large groups and has a quick service format. Seating is rustic and good for an early dinner before a night of drinking. Staff are friendly and super polite. Great range of middle eastern inspired food. Good to reserve as it gets quite busy. The open kitchen gives you a feeling of being one with the restaurant. Cash and cards are accepted. The restaurant has this original brick clad interior and the lighting takes the ambience to the next level. 4 stars for the food since the focus on drinks and food can be improved since not the best quality ingredients were used. The espresso martini tasted like a it was made the previous day

As always, food and service was excellent!

"I'll be back" Arnold voice and everything. The food was spot on, the old fashioned I had was one of the best ever. The lamb was on a different level. I cannot rate this place enough!

Mediterranean-themed grill focused restaurant of average quality. Starters were somewhat disappointing in terms of quality of ingredients and portion sizes. Meat was nice but nothing special but everything seemed overpriced. Atmosphere was ok but a bit worse than I expected. My rating: 3.3

Not having been for 7 plus yeas, I was delighted to find they were still serving delicious food! There were only another couple of tables in use when we visited at the weekend, which was surprising. Cocktails are ace!

We went as a group of 5, turned up 35 minutes late, but they made no problem of it, we were amicably sat down. The food as always was amazing, delicious and creative. Yes, as other reviews have suggested, the portion sizes were a bit smaller than they used to be, but that’s just the way it is at the moment. Everyone’s trying to survive in the current climate. Understandable! Had almost everything on the menu and the bill was very very reasonable. The Greek/Albanian waiter is an asset, made the visit special. Thank you! Please bring back the cauliflower 🙏🏻

We had really high expectations for this place but we left after 48 minutes completely disappointed and we will for sure not return. It all started with a foul cocktail (a type of spritz) that tasted like liquid sriracha. We immediately ordered something else but they still charged us for the cocktails. I ordered a glass of wine instead which was sour and undrinkable. The food was next, the chicken tasted undercooked, the seafood tagine was mediocre and the broccoli was also undercooked. The only good thing was the appetiser, the artichokes and the hummus are very tasty, but the portions small for the price. We left with unfinished drinks and plates and no sympathy or questions about the experience from the staff. The atmosphere is also uncomfortable, the music is too loud and too techno for a restaurant. We will definitely not return, we spent £100+ for a disappointment.

Really delicious food, lovely service

The place is cosy always busy. The friendly waiters always make feel welcome. The food is truly amazing but I wish they could more a wider wine selection and gluten free options.

I was in heaven - highly recommended 👏👏👏

Really unfortunately this place has taken a downward turn. The food portions have become very small- we have noted pictures of even the £8 hummus from a review a year ago and the plate is easily half the size it used to be. The sea bass, although tasty, was extremely small for close to £20. The squid, also very nice, was 4 measly pieces that looked to be bulked up on a plate of tomatoes. The broccoli was lovely as was the aubergine and thankfully one server took our concern and he added an extra portion of sea bass. The other server did not interact in any nice way, including her mumbling at us, banging the plates together when stacking and not even offering to take our payment at the end- only pointing to the £2 extra quick pay qr code.

Great food, service a bit slow. Overall a good experience

Our favourite restaurant by a mile in London. Absolutely fantastic. You have to come here.

So good - everything tastes smokey from the grill and just delicious. They’ve got plenty vegetarian dishes but also for meat fans. Love the environment- great and laid back time

Incredible vibe, incredible food

Cannot get enough of Josh Katz. Always insanely delicious and never the same menu.

Amazing. The smoked mackerel dish was a work of art

Came here for dinner with 3 friends tonight. The place was busy and I'm pretty sure it was short staffed. The food was good and came out quick. We had a good time. However, I would not call it mind blowing that I want to come back next weekend type place. The grilled halloumi, hummus, bricked chicken and pita were more of my favourite fish.

Excellent service. Lamb sharer was lovely. Deffo worth going there and getting that

Amazing menu and great cooking. Great for both sit in and take away. I even have their cook book now. I high recommend

Suchhhhh a good spot. This is the partner restaurant to Shawarma Bar which is great, so when we couldn't get a table there, we checked out Berger & Q and are glad we did. Cool, chilled and well lit restaurant in the arches of the railway station. The menu has a good mix of middle eastern vegetarian and meat dishes. The favourite by far for me was the Attila ghanoush and the chicken with chermoula but truly everything was great. Great for dinner with friends or a perfect cosy date spot.

The most amazing service and the most unbelievable food! Thank you!

Fantastic middle eastern/ mediternian food with reasoable prices. All mezes were decent but my favs were ganoush and artichoke. Slow cooked lamb neck also great as a main.

Sadly disappointed. Not at the level it should be for the price and positioning. The beef kebab tajine was entirely lacking depth and seasoning. The house red Rioja was so flat I had to send it back, normally a fail safe wine! The onglet was stand out but sadly because everything else we tried didn’t deliver. Menu and flavours need work, staff were delightful however thank you.

We came for a mid week dinner and as there were 7 of us, our server was patient with our requests and was honestly able to tell us if we had ordered enough or too much and make good recommendations. The portion sizes are on the smaller side for the price so that is one drawback. We shared the marinated olives, harissa and zhug (ok, can be skipped), grilled zaatar flatbread (good), hummus (so good!), crispy artichoke hearts, scorched mackerel (not to my taste), attila ganoush (good texture and flavour), squid with aubergine zaalouk (loved this), grilled halloumi with pumpkin (really nice), tajine with beef kefta (good), smoked pork neck with gherkins (meat fell off the bone and was tasty). For dessert, we had the cheesecake and tahini ice cream which I thought could be missed.

Une tres bonne adresse, les serveurs sont charmants et attentionnés, les plats savoureux. Atmosphère feutrée et sympathique. Nous y sommes allés pour un repas de groupe (10 personnes) et ils nous ont proposé une formule. J'enlève juste une étoile car d'une part on nous a imposé de prendre 3 menus végétarien alors qu'une seule personne à table etait concernée, et d'autre part le menu m'a semblé cher (45 pounds /pers hors boisson et sans aucune note sucrée) pour la quantité. Le rapport qualité/prix pourrait être amélioré je pense pour les groupes surtout que tous les plats sont partagés donc le restaurateur s'yretrouve par rapport àdes plats individuelsplus consistants. Je ne peux pas me prononcer en revanche sur les prix à la carte car je ne l'ai pas vue.

Great atmosphere, delicious food and friendly service from our Greek waiter and French guy with dreadlocks.

The food is always insanely delicious one of my favourite places in London. Try the Blanc Negroni also - seriously great cocktail 🍸

Lovely atmosphere, attentive staff who know their stuff and delicious food.

The menu has been changed and the atmosphere too. Food portions are very small, overprice and not the same food quality. It’s a shame used to be one of my favourites places but not anymore. For two glasses of wine, hummus dip, aubergine and chicken £60 😟

Great unknown gem. Food is fantastic, the steak is to die for and the cocktails are a great match. Staff is incredibly helpful, 100% will go back.

crispy artichoke appetizer was fantastic

Good Food, terrific staff, but crowded and not good at Social Distancing 🙄

Super cute and cosy place! The food is delicious and the atmosphere is amazing 🤩

Really yum food. My favorite was the halloumi, crazy good. The portions are quite small and the price is quite high. However worth it for the taste. There were 3 of us and the bill came to £160. We orders 4 small plates, 2 big plates, a bottle of wine and dessert

Incredible food!! Ambience and service are 5 stars!!

Banging tunes and even more banging food.

Been a few times when I lived north of the river. First visit since moving south and gutted there was no cauliflower on the menu. 😭 Regardless the food was exceptional as always and service was spot on. Keep it up guys!

This is one of me and my partners favourite restaurants. The vibe is great, it's cosy and intimate with curated music with great speakers with warm bass in a way that is not too loud but gives a nice energy. The food is amazing - lots of delicious small plates and some bigger sharing options. I always want to try everything on the menu. I was doing dry jan and got a tonic and berry thing (sorry for lack of detail) too which was very nice and not too sweet so you sip it slow with your meal. I just love their whole style it feels like everything is considered down to the smallest thing. We have been to their sister restaurant shwarma bar too which was also amazing - sort of shares the same DNA but is also a different vibe. Just do yourself a favour and go - there's some nice cocktail bars nearby to finish off the evening too.

Amazing place, Food, music and people. Since 2018 I always visit this place when I am in London.

I believe the menu has changed a bit recently but it might be even better! Cannot recommend highly enough

Wonderful 🤩 restaurant 🍽 been going for years, amazing food. Staff always looked after me well. Only negative is you've taken the Israeli breakfast off the menu 😥 , please please please bring it back.

Always a good vibe and great food. My partner's favorite restaurant for a reason