The English Restaurant in Tower Hamlets

Turned away a sad young gentleman today. In the cold. Service refused on basis unknown. Disappointed but not unexpected considering the times in which we now live.

Complete joke of a ribeye steak

Lovely food, great atmosphere, good service with a friendly face. The cafe & restaurant are a historic style. Piano often playing and a changing menu.

Prefer the small plates with a pint of porter .great friendly atmosphere

Always a lovely, friendly place to meet friends and share a wonderful meal. Fabulous atmosphere, great location and excellent food, wine and staff! See you again soon

Disappointing, the roast was sparse and not very warm.. Gravy good but two or three slices of carrots and some rock hard tiny roast potatoes.. Very poor and not good value

Dinner for 4. Starters were ok. My confit duck was dry and with potatoes which were over cooked. Should have been new potatoes and were not. Others were pleased with their meals. Ambience was good but service was less than optimum. Good value for money though.

Very good service the food was very good however I felt it was slightly overpriced for what it was nonetheless I recommended

I have been here many times. You always get a warm welcome and the food is laways good. The place has a great atmosphere. I love it

Fab little coffee shop just off spitalfields Market.Great value and lovely choice. Enjoyed a cafetiere for one. Friendly staff,cute decor.

Lovely place and lovely interior but, service been bit slow but overall, lovely place for drinks and to enjoy some delicious cheese board

Love this place a real English restaurant. Staff friendly

I had a really lovely Sunday lunch here. Very tasty and good portions. The premises are very convivial, a lovely old building with a "lived in" feel. We left feeling very satisfied. The cost of full roast dinner for two people was £43 which is very good value.

We came in a couple days ago around 3pm looking for the mulled wine on the suggestion of my friend. Liked the ambience, and the dining room was quiet, but the bar was busy. We were told to find a seat at the bar, but all seats were taken and while we walked towards the register to scout tables, the bar lady very impolitely told us we couldn’t be served there (obviously we knew that). We went back to the stand to request a table but without another word we were told if we’re drinking we need to sit at the bar otherwise we’d have to leave. Should be noted there were a couple tables drinking water/ not actively drinking, but there was a large party just drinking wine in the dining room. I don’t have a problem with their policies, but we were treated very poorly and felt really unwelcome by the staff based on the fact we just wanted a couple of drinks. I was really excited to try their wine, but left really agitated and embarrassed in front of my party because I insisted on going. Maybe the staff was just in a bad mood, but for a pub with a main appeal of drinks, horrible experience.

Prejudiced staff who were very unprofessional with their service. The lady at the bar was rude and unwelcoming the moment we walked in. There were multiple tables open around the restaurant and they restricted us only to one area where there were obviously no tables. What kind of restaurant is that? Do better

Great old school place that has been here for ages. Its a relaxed atmosphere and the staff are great. They leave you alone and there's been no pressure to leave or turn the table when I've eaten there at lunch. Rare find and normally has availability. Perfect hidden gem for a small side plate and a glass of Cremant when shopping in Spitalfields too.

Another fantastic meal! We had a wonderful booth that was very cosy, and Adam looked after us well the whole evening. The steak was amazing. We will definately be back.

Beautiful home made and well filled steak pies in traditional ambience - long time since last visit and will be back. Friendly staff and good atmosphere

Encontré esto como un accidente feliz, ya que donde queríamos ir estaba cerrado... no me decepcionó y me alegro de haberlo encontrado. Gran lugar, personal amable y un ambiente encantador. El desayuno era muy agradable. Volveríamos si estuviéramos más tiempo. Definitivamente vale la pena una visita.

Lovely historic coffee house restaurant with great staff.

We have been to this restaurant several times over the years incl when it was called ‘The Old English Restaurant ‘ I believe/or similar. It’s perfect after a visit to the Denis Severs house as you still feel back in time. It’s got a great old patina/ atmosphere as it’s such a nice old building, with lovely booths and wood panelling in fun Spitalfields. Probably just a bit of bad luck for us staff at front of house were distracted & a bit grumpy at first no greeting etc (but warmed up) and service rather spacey (but nice) throughout most of the meal - even tho it was not ever busy - and all these things put a little damper on the good and fairly priced English / old French bistro food from the tiny but very interesting menu. Lovely wine and beer selection also fairly priced. We were there on a Friday evening and it was a little surprising that it wasn’t busy but I wonder maybe if that’s bc it feels a little cool when you arrive... We will be back though I am sure to try again. Very English dining inn feel in a way that is not so common anymore.

Mi esposa y yo estábamos en un viaje en autobús desde Suffolk para visitar la Biblioteca Bishopsgate y caminamos por la zona en busca de un lugar para almorzar. Escogimos el Market Coffee House casi al azar porque nos gustó el aspecto del exterior y lo contentos que estábamos. Nos llevaron a una cabina cómoda inmediatamente, el personal era atento, eficiente y amable y nuestro almuerzo era delicioso, muy bien cocinado con ingredientes de calidad. El acabado perfecto fue una taza de té de hojas adecuado. Si a eso le añadimos el ambiente relajado (¡y buen precio! ) y el hecho de que no fuéramos apresurados significaba que esto realmente nos alegraba el día. Gracias.

Salió a tomar una cerveza después del trabajo. Es un bonito pub tradicional con una buena selección de cervezas. Los precios eran razonables y nos quedamos afuera bajo el sol

We are coming from Istanbul, my friend and I stopped by on the way to rest. It was definitely one of the best coffees we have ever had in our lives. The staff were very friendly and smiling. We were extremely pleased with the warm and pleasant home environment. 🙏🏼💞

Lovely and delicious with pleasant piano music. 6☆ for atmosphere!

The staff where so friendly and accommodating, and also really good coffee. Definitely a good stop for a drink and a nibble.

I got the lamb with mint sauce on there Sunday roast menu and it was delicious. The roast potatoes we perfect, crisp and fluffy. The leeks were some of the best I have had and the lamb was delicious. Highly recommend. I’m gluten intolerant so I couldn’t have the Yorkshire pudding but was accommodated well by the staff. I sat in a booth and the atmosphere was very nice a good level of noise and cozy decor. I will definitely be here again.

Apareció aquí en la casualidad cuando estaba en la zona después de haber terminado una visita de negocios, y me quedé gratamente sorprendido. En primer lugar, me atrajo este lugar porque no tenía el ambiente ocupado, ruidoso y lleno de gente de algunos de los establecimientos vecinos. Este lugar tiene un ambiente bastante más relajado. Era de madrugada y el restaurante no estaba lleno, así que pensé en probarlo. Me gustó el encanto tradicional de la decoración, que sin duda da la sensación de una época pasada. Me senté pronto, y el servicio fue eficiente y cortés en todo momento. Hay una selección bastante extensa de vinos y cervezas con algunas cervecerías menos conocidas, que es interesante explorar. Tenía una cerveza pálida de cítricos bastante agradable. El menú de comida no es un arreglo sencillo de entrantes y platos principales, sino la serie más contemporánea de platos que varían en tamaño, lo que permite una mayor propensión a mezclar y combinar dependiendo de su apetito. Los precios van desde £ 4. 50 a £ 24. 50 . Esto siempre es algo así como una lotería, ya que puede ser difícil juzgar las cantidades al pedir varios platos. Opté por el plato de charcutería para comenzar - esto estaba simplemente bien. Nada excepcional pero perfectamente bueno. Seguí esto con la ensalada galesa de rarebit y perejil con un poco de papas fritas (ver fotos). Esto habría sido justo en términos de cantidad, pero el rarebit fue decepcionante. La cobertura de queso estaba completamente desbordada por un exceso de salsa Worcester. Viniendo de un entorno de catering yo mismo, entiendo el valor de la salsa Worcester en el queso a la parrilla, pero esto fue demasiado exagerado. En realidad enmascaró el sabor de cualquier queso y me arruinó el plato. Ciertamente no pude detectar qué tipo de queso era. Incluso si el chef es más bien parcial a la salsa Worcester, realmente creo que se equivocaron en esta ocasión. Es una pena porque la consistencia era la correcta, y la base de pan era espesa y crujiente. Huelga decir que me dejó la boca seca y las papilas gustativas abrumadas. Una gran idea, mal ejecutada. Sin embargo, eso no me dejaría fuera de visitar de nuevo - el menú merece una investigación más a fondo. Con la factura final llegando a poco más de £ 40 con bebidas (por no hablar de los 12 . 5 % de tasa de servicio - que aparentemente ya ni siquiera es 'discrecional') no es demasiado caro en comparación con otros establecimientos de la localidad. El ambiente no es demasiado bullicioso, tan bueno para amigos y familiares. Vale la pena comprobar si estás en la zona.

Food wasn’t the best, fries were soggy and tastless, fish was so fried it was solid. The place its self is cozy and easy going. Service seemed unorganised but maybe someone is new in the team

Amazing food and wine, also a fantastic venue - historic and cosy. Server Adam was very attentive to our table and looked after us really well, will definately be coming back.

A little slow service for eggs which normally don't take too long to make but superb food!

Temprano por la mañana en Shoreditch y a la caza de un desayuno para empezar el día... 

 ¡Qué hallazgo! Market Coffee House es brillante... lleno de un sentido histórico de Londres y sabias cafeterías mundanas - juntas de una manera que te hace sentir que no quieres irte. 

 Nos encantó tanto que fuimos dos días seguidos y nos arropamos en la comida sabrosa y "los mejores" cafés que tuvimos durante la estancia de fin de semana - y tuvimos algunos. 

 Grandes opciones de amantes de la comida y gente amable que hizo el día empezar de la manera correcta. Encuentra el camino aquí y no te decepcionará.

Awful… Used to eat here when it was the English Restaurant, first time since it has changed owners. Was led to my table by a waiter who when showing me the table said “Here you go Mush” Ordered 2 Boiled eggs & Soldiers & Eggs Benedict food took around 30 mins to arrive, When it did: Boiled Eggs were Cold. Eggs Benedict also Cold. Pointed this out and the waiter sent both back to Kitchen. Expected both dishes to return at same time unfortunately not. Boiled eggs came back first without the Eggs Benedict.. By this time we decided to cut our losses & eat elsewhere. Poor Service, Cold Food = Avoid

Looks lovely from the outside, fab decor! Sadly service was TERRIBLE. The over priced food took 45 mins to arrive, - 2 boiled eggs and soldiers + poached eggs… unsure if they were waiting for the chicken to lay these? If so wasn’t informed. When food finally arrived it was stone cold. No care no apology, nothing. Avoid at all costs. Will Not be returning

Wonderful, as always. Great atmosphere, a terrific range of drinks and food - from small bites to full meals. We'll be back soon.

Very well located near Spittlefields market, but without the crowds of the main food outlets in the main market. Nice "old fashioned" feel to the coffee shop/restaurant, with friendly/helpful staff, make this a great place to spend time. Decent lunch menu, food looks nice. Coffee was excellent. Service charge, which (unfortunately) is close to universal in this type of establishment/location now.

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A perfect balance of great food and tasty beers, warm atmosphere and attentive staff. The manager (Catherine) was 10/10, extremely welcoming and knowledgeable. Scotch egg bar snack was delicious and the oysters, I don’t think I’ve ever had better! I’ll be bringing my family here for sure. A must visit if near Spitalfields.

We were really impressed and delighted when we ate at The Market Coffee House with some friends. The food was excellent and really good value, considering where it is. The whole experience was a really treat and we’ll definitely be back

Finally a good coffee after days of aguachirri on the street. It is worth sitting down for a while and having a good breakfast.

The cook has changed and the food disappointed us. Good selection of beers and nice space but better eat somewhere else

Fantastic food and excellent service. Hannah was very attentive and had superb knowledge of the menu. We will be back soon.

really delicious food and really friendly service, would recommend this place to anyone : )

Wow. Fantastic experience, even for a jaded foodie who’s seen it all. Big, bold flavors. The pickled herring latkes and the scotch egg were perfect. Somehow both classic and just innovative enough to be interesting. World class culinary experience in a casual pub cafe. I will be back.

The team always makes for an amazing experience - we were 5 humans & 1 dog & had a fab table where the dog got a water bowl & the humans were all treated to a superb meal & service! Thank you!

Well executed, simple, but classic dishes. Friendly and non-intrusive service.

Had a great breakfast, very charming spot

Thoughtful, selected British fare with good wine and beer selection.

I love coming here it’s right by where I work so I don’t have to travel. The oysters are always a fab treat. Catherine, the manager, the day before had been meticulous in making sure I chose the best table for me and my two guests and then when I arrived the table we’d selected was taken. So this was annoying but we managed and the rest of the evening was fine.

Excellent service Food first class only grumble would be £ 3 each for half a slice of bread and butter

I had their bread and butter pudding with some coffee and banana bread - all of them were delightful. The pudding was creamy, not too heavy and had just the right amount of sweetness. The atmosphere is wonderful - had the nostalgia of an honest old English tavern. Lots of pictures and antiques. Would definitely visit again for dinner or supper.

Love the Market Coffee House. Great service, good ambience and perfect for a quick connect or a in depth meeting. Breakfast is excellent and coffee is great. Warm and friendly service really do make this my go to when I’m in town. One wish - that they opened an hour earlier.

This is a great spot for a coffee or tea, but the breakfast continues to disappoint. Scrambled was more of a very dry chopped up omlette. Not nice at all. That said, I love this place for the ambience and the friendliness.

First time here for lunch and absolutely loved it. Great lunchtime menu in terms of size and choice. Staff really friendly and helpful. Nice atmosphere and would definitely recommend/return.

This review is for breakfast. And I love coming here for it each time I’m in London. Food: Breakfast! Weekend breakfasts are tops as they do the Full English then, but weekday breakfasts tick the box too. I had the Eggs Benedict – eggs cooked to a runny perfection with the most delicious hollandaise on a lightly toasted English muffin. And a supporting flat white to wash it down with. Service: Friendly and attentive without hovering. Space: A great spot to work out of (quiet work, don’t do your calls here folks, please) and enjoy a beverage and a meal. I can’t say they’ll be OK with folks hogging a table at peak times but I’ve only ever been there pre-lunch. Cost: So very reasonable for central London, about £25 for breakfast and a coffee. Takes cards and cash. Give it a go!

Loved the coffee here, really good quality. Service is very friendly and great! Staff are happy with a chat and the place is very conveniently located for an after work beer. aas well.

A gastropub with old world ambience and relatively focused menu. The food and drink were freshly prepared and delicious, with British classics like pie. Friendly service.

Fabulous food. Lovely settings. Amazing wines. Loved everything.

Amazing meal, fabulous service, great price for size of dishes. Love!!

Nice lunch starters turned up with mains and appeared to be ‘normal’ Great atmosphere

Lovely food, great interior and atmosphere. Perfect place for a cosy get together with friends and family.

Great as always. Superb menu. My favourite place for dinner with friends

Always an amazing experience eating here… incredible food, amazing service - never misses

We had a rarebit cheese with pear, delicious. And the Christmas special, goose leg. They have a very original beer and cider menu. We loved the experience.

Lovely independent restaurant. Very friendly team and great atmosphere. A real gem .

had 4 small plates. to share with another person. Nice selection. smoked haddock croquettes a bit on the dry side, corn fritters a bit fatty. Puy lentils could have been seasoned more

Delicious dinner, charming ambiance; a delightful dining experience overall.

The Flank steak head the texture of my leather soles.

Terrible food, met up with large group of friends for Sunday lunch. Roast beef was overcooked and looked like shoe leather. No horseradish available. Tiny Yorkshire puddings. Skins still on the roast potatoes. Fish and chips poor. The veggie option of gnocchi was weird and slimy. Wine massively overpriced. Luckily spending time with friends was lovely. Shame about the food.

Staff where very helpful and very friendly.Would recommend to eat here Food was delicious.

Slow service, food was not good, cold eggs on untoasted bread, weak coffee, compulsory service charge.

Simply disgusting. Need a new chef. We had good hopes in this warm and welcoming atmosphere combined by seeing good looking plates passing around us. Sadly we ordered scrambled eggs on toast, and fried mushrooms on toast with side bacon. Both were tasteless. Mushrooms were not fried and watery, eggs were flavourless and bacon undercooked. A huge disappointment for a simple dish

Really lovely atmosphere, gorgeous place and friendly service. However the food we had as Sunday lunch was unfortunately poor. For the price we expected more but the quality was even below average sadly. Our fish and chips had no salt at all, felt very greasy rather than high quality and the chips were horribly soggy. Was a real disappointment sadly

Old world atmosphere yet relaxed and informal. Great lunch menu with choices for vegetarian as well. Hogget chop was very good, roast gnocchi delicious too.

Breakfast for 5 of us took an hour. The poached eggs were solid. The scrambled eggs stone cold. We sent them back took another 20 minutes to get that sorted. The English Breakfast tea is like gnats p*** so avoid that at all costs. Other than that the interior is pleasant old worldly and staff apologetic.

Good welcome. Nice ambiance - not echo-y. No stainless steel. Coffee was excellent (and I’m fussy about my coffee). Breakfast menu (till 12:00) was good. But, if you’re going to serve bacon in a brioche bun then why not put it on the menu? This fad about brioche needs to go away. I mentioned this to the waiter and he promised to mention it to the owner.

After a long day of walking we ended up in this neighborhood and around 8 in the afternoon it was not very open but it disappointed us a lot First we ordered shandy and the habit of bringing you the giant glass (for God's sake!) and since we didn't like the menu at all for dinner we ordered a cheese board... I'm sorry I didn't take the photo... a complete joke 4 “leftovers” of cheese the size of a fingernail and some crackers with some grapes. Totally ridiculous!! These people should come to our city and see what a cheese board is. Recommended 0%!!!!!

Service was extremely slow, waited almost an hour for our breakfast order to be served with no updates on waiting times/apologies from the staff. Paid £13 for French toast with maple syrup and crispy bacon which turned out to be one piece of toast with a drizzle of maple syrup and limp bacon. Couldn't believe the standard of the food and small portion size for the price so refused to pay the service charge which the waiter was understanding about. Really disappointing breakfast.

First time visiting this restaurant, took friends from out of town. God food, excellent service, super friendly and a great location.

Called in here for quick coffee and cake. Excellent service and delicious cake.

Such an amazing place to dine in the East End. Atmospheric and great food and service. A real treat.

The food was good, if slightly on the small side portion wise, however, the reason the score is so low is because at the end of the meal, when it came time to pay, my friends and I opted to not pay all of the service charge that had been added to the bill as we felt the service hadn't been stand-out amazing (to be clear, we were still leaving a tip, just not as high as the service charge had calculated). However, when the waiter came over he insisted that we had to pay the full tip, when I pointed out that UK law leaves service charge to the customers discretion, he very rudely suggested that I wasn't from this country and insisted that we legally had to pay the service charge and that he and the other wait staff wouldn't make a wage without it. My friends and I had been having a really nice day and didn't want to ruin it by arguing as we felt the waiter was beginning to draw attention, so my friend paid and we got out of there as quickly as we could. I understand that (as of May just gone) by law the business has to pay staff the full tips received, but it's not compulsory for customers to have to tip, nor was it made known to us before we sat down that the business runs the service charge as compulsory. It's a shame, as we'd had a rather nice time up until then!

Really disappointing. Coffee good, service awful and toilets dirty. Ordered french toast with maple and bacon. Hardly any maple syrup and had to ask for more which arrived in a tiny ramekin dish between 2 of us. Waiter was surely and grumpy. By the time it arrived are food was almost cold. £13 for one slice of toast and 2 rashers of bacon with barely any syrup and nothing else was very expensive. We were never asked if our food was ok and did not even get a smile from the waiter who seemed to be rudely staring at one of us. The dryer in the toilet was dirty and the light for the cubicle did not work either, To add insult to injury they added 12.5% service charge and did not even say thank you for coming or goodbye when we left. Atrocious customer service, over priced food and small portions. This place relies on its vintage decor and looks attractive. Much better places close by in Spitalfields market itself. Alarm bells should have sounded as it was not that busy, if it carries on at this rate it will go out of business,

Always a treat to have a meal at the English. Food was exceptional, the beer choice is superb and the staff are attentive, but not overbearing. Highly recommended.

This is one of my favourite restaurants in London - generally an oasis of calm in the mad bustle that is Liverpool Street/Spitalfields, with friendly, attentive staff. The night we went there was live jazz, which was fantastic, but the big brass sound of a saxophone did mean we have to fight a little to hear each other.

Great place for breakfast and lunch also. Just across from Spitalfields Market. I also had a beer here once or twice. Staff are very welcoming and helpful.

Superb setting and very excellent service. Food delicious. Will come again!

amazing place. I loved it, already made another reservation

Really enjoyable evening. Staff very welcoming, friendly and efficient. Food was lovely - really fresh and a mixture of plates to share worked really well. The chocolate fondant pudding was fantastic too. Good quality and good value. Highly recommended

Great food, friendly attentive staff. Reasonable priced for central London.

We stopped here for breakfast as the menu looked inviting. My partner ordered eggs benedict. When our food arrived his eggs benedict was missing the hollandaise sauce. When one of the staff was questioned about this he was not really sure but said he would go and check. After a couple of minutes we stopped another member of staff who said that the kitchen had also sent out another order lacking the sauce. He took the plate away and promised to replace it. The original guy brought out a ramakin of something cold and horrible which he said was hollandaise but tasted like a nasty mayonnaise. It most likely came out of a jar. I had by now finished my breakfast when some fresh eggs benedict arrived minus the sauce. My partner put some of the cold orange gloop over the top but it sort of just melted into a fatty puddle on the plate. He ate it as he was hungry but it was nothing like the eggs benedict he was expecting. We mentioned this to the second member of staff and he said it would not be added to the billed. When we came to pay it was on the bill which we then had to ask to be removed. A disappointing 1 star for the kitchen who send out eggs benedict missing a key ingredient and then sending out something nasty which was not proper hollandaise. 1 star also for the staff who should know how to rectify things efficiently when they do go wrong.

Lovely food and good service. Limited main menu and one choice requested unavailable but what we had was delicious.

Buono il cibo e carino l’ambiente, gli mancava però un po’ la magia che cercavo. Non so bene perché ma sembrava che tutte le energie fossero dirette alla attività di birreria.

Great food- a jazz band was playing. Lovey little booths to hide away in. A gem.

As always staff are friendly polite and efficient. Food was lovely and atmosphere great. My favourite place and very dog friendly. Nothing is too much trouble and the dog gets a bike if fresh water as soon as we sit down 👍

only went for takeaway coffee because the place looks so nice - dont bother coffee as weak as dishwater yet it looked lovely for the patrons sitting down - I guess takeaway is not what they are looking for

Fabulous spot for dinner. Food, service, ambiance were all just perfect. Our international guests really enjoyed the experience. Great quality food and friendly and helpful staff always a good recipe for a really lovely evening. Highly recommended!

Good food and drink, and wonderful friendly service. Great place to spend an evening

Gav vores bestilling på kaffe og 2 gange morgenmad. Kaffen kom efter en halv time, morgenmaden blev leveret til et andet bord….🤔

Food was pretty good. Waiters pleasant but service on the slow side. Lovely setting.