E5 Roasthouse in Tower Hamlets - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Visited on a Sunday for brunch, only to find they weren’t serving anything but pizza instead. Great little neighborhood cafe, lovely bread from e5 Bakehouse but really need to improve their website so you know what they have on to eat & when!

We were out for a walk from Hackney Wick along the Lea Navigation Canal, the Greenway, round the back of Three Mills Studios, past Bow Locks (ha ha) and on the way down to Limehouse Basin and in need of some lunch when we happened past the E5 Roasthouse and cafe. Flat white and cappuccino were excellent - proper flavours of the actual berry, fruity and smooth. They sell the coffee of course and I left with a bag of Norma Orellana Honduran beans - my new favourite weekend brew. I had a Black Bomber cheddar and kimchi toastie on great wedges of their own-baked rye country style bread - I am craving another one even now, thinking about it! My partner had an equally delicious vegetable bake - a lasagne style delight with squash, cabbage, and other veggies layered with tomato sauce and rich cheesy bechemel. The space is bright and airy and the staff were proficient, polite and smiling. We visited on a Friday and it was calmly busy and with a good atmosphere.

Come on E5, this cafe needs your help. Lovely location and in a much needed part of east London but it’s not a scratch on its partner cafe - E5 in Hackney. Limited pastries, food rating 4 (on the door), needs a bit of a clean and struggles when busy. Great staff and I welcome the new signs about dogs - not everyone wants dogs sniffing your ankles as you eat - but perhaps a secondment from Hackney to bring it up to scratch would help.

I visited The Poplar Union to see a film at this community centre on a dark autumnal evening. However, on requesting a hot drink when I arrived I was abruptly told the machine was switched off. I then asked about what food was available and the same server pointed to one dish marked on a blackboard for £5. I chose to order the vegetarian dish and waited ten minutes for it without being told where to sit or stand. In the meantime, have taken my money, the same staff member proceeded to sing along to the music over the P.A. with an air of indifference for me as a paying customer. Having waited at the counter, another server enthusiastically asked if anyone had ordered food while walking past me! Thankfully, I enjoyed my meal when I ordered it. I also could not help noticing that eggs on toast coast £6, pricing out poorer established members of the community. I visited at the end of a festival for people aimed at people with mental ill health and/or autism spectrum conditions. The attitude of the cafe staff could have a negative affect on customers with these conditions. To this end there seems to me a major training need around customer care and equality for the staff at the cafe. Until this happens, I will be be reluctant to use it again. The 309 bus runs nearby.