Wander in Hackney

First visit. Just astonishing, delightful food with one person cooking and managing the whole operation. And none the worse for that- she works miracles of flavour, presentation and service.

Went here for a date night dinner. Food was amazing, great value for money. They have a set menu, so was nice to try a range of different foods. Outstanding food and a lovely atmosphere.

After the experience we had with the Owner/Manager/Chef/Waitress/Tyrant (she performs every role, presumably because no one wants to work with her) it was entirely unsurprising to come to Tripadvisor and find a sea of reviews pointing to the horrible way she treats her customers. Avoid.

As a fellow Australian, I can honestly say I am quite impressed of the levels of rudeness the chef / owner of the business possess . I have never quite encountered an experience before last nights. I was in the restaurant for a mere 5 minutes before being told by the chef / owner to leave, after I had politely asked her to not be so rude when we queried the set menu. Luckily, I had done my homework (reading previous Google reviews) and was well equipped once the brashness / abrasiveness was put upon us. Given the prevalence of previous customers alluding to the chef / owners rudeness, it appears that this will not be the last time this happens. Instead of being negative, I implore people to go to Wander for the experience I encountered last night , I can assure you will not be disappointed. It's rather special. I Wander why there was next to nobody in the restaurant for a Saturday night.

Went here with friends quite some time ago maybe 2019 or 2020 and it was definitely a memorable experience. Food was fairly random, jumping from cuisine to cuisine not really sure what they were trying to do? The staff seemed very stressed from when we arrived and we soon found out why, from where we were sat we could here the Chef (who I now gather is the owner based on other reviews here) abusing staff at every single opportunity. Nobody should be getting this kind of abuse at work and from what I’ve read this person seems to now be the only person working there (not surprising they can’t keep staff)

The food is delicious which made me return a second time within the last 6 weeks to give Alexis a second chance. The owner Alexis is performing the job of at least 3 people and this seems to impair her ability to engage with her guests. Not even a thank you for paying her a compliment on the food. We found the music much too loud and inappropriate with its heavy beat. We asked for it to be turned down which seemed to make her cross and the volume was barely reduced. It would have been nice to be moved to a different table away from the speaker - we had booked a 6 pm sitting and there were empty tables available. The vegetarian option remained a mystery until the plate arrived and we had to work it out ourselves. Please get some help! A considerate cheerful front of house person would make all the difference.

Whoever I spoke to on the phone was so rude and abrupt, automatically palming me off to email and then cutting me off to tell me they were closing in a few weeks like I was silly for not knowing... and then proceeded to hang up. All I can say is good riddance no one else will have to endure this horrific service much longer now you're closing!

The food here is ok but there’s something a bit odd going on - the owner / chef / sole waiter / dish washer / maitre d is clearly over worked and any restaurant needs more than one person working in it to ensure good service and food. So what’s going on? The tasting menu hugely varied in quality - a ravioli and split pea dish was delicious but the main dish - pork belly with yogurt was just weird and oddly cooked, and before that an odd salmon sashimi and tomato dish was so smothered in fish sauce as to be almost inedible and the whole time you’re looking at the sole proprietor doing 1000 things in the kitchen thinking “what the hell is going on, why doesn’t she get some help?” For a hefty £70-100 a head she could certainly afford it. There are 1000s of decent restaurants in London, this is not one currently worth wasting an evening on, I’m sorry to say. Maybe if some help was hired the owner could concentrate on the food, as she clearly has talent of some kind.

I just had my worst ever booking experience at this restaurant! When booking online, I was made aware the restaurant was running a special Aussie menu, I had to confirm that I was ok with ordering a la carte or set menu. I later received an email from the restaurant on Sat morning saying there was only a special menu (not a la carte) and they would not be offering alternative dishes, which was different to the info provided when I booked online. I then called the restaurant to understand my options, from the moment the call began I was met with rudeness and quite frankly hurtful service!! The woman told me that it was better I cancel my booking given she said she could tell by my accent I was not Australian and would not enjoy the evening, I not only found this discriminatory but also confusing given we are not even in Australia! The woman then ended the call by hanging up the phone abruptly - ridiculous!

Let me say this is not a review of the food or service, I tried to book and was told they needed a £40 per head deposit, that sounded steep but the terms and conditions stated that I would lose the deposit if cancelled within 72 hours . this is the longest period I have ever come across in years of eating out in London and in my opinion is not acceptable. I quite understand the need for restaurants to take a deposit to stop people making multiple bookings and cancelling at the last minute or not even bothering, but this is taking it too far.

I was really looking forward to trying the food here & I like to support local businesses. However, it was disappointing & upsetting to say the least The customer service and chef/ owner were so rude. I will never return & don’t recommend this place to anyone when there are so many other great restaurants run by people who care about giving you a great evening & food.

Extremely rude and overpriced. We understand retail is new to a lot of restaurants in this time, but maybe try and be the slightest bit friendly to those customers who try and support local business while not being allowed to open as a restaurant. I see that you as a business do not recognise the reviews on tripadvisor to be accurate but rest assured we are actual customers and maybe the problem is not tripadvisor but your attitude to customers.

We booked online for our first night out without our kids in 7 months. When we arrived on time for our slot we were put on stools at the bar. There was no problem taking the £35 per head booking fee online. So why was it not possible to inform customers that they might have to eat a 7 course meal perched on stools unable to face each other? When we shared our disappointment with the arrangement with the waiter and asked why this was not explained at the point of booking, he said "Most people are very happy with sitting at the bar." He remained in close contact with us for the whole night as he had to keep pouring drinks and washing glasses - at the bar. There were 3 of us at dinner that night! The food was truly delicious. But who wants to eat such a special meal in the company of a brusque waiter who treated us as if were weird to question going out for a £100 meal balanced on a stool with him in constant eye-line and ear-shot.

I recently treated my girlfriend to the wander at home kit and as the title suggests was bitterly disappointed. After looking to try and give my girlfriend an experience of Australia at home,we were both left disappointed by a lack lustre selection of food and delayed delivery as well. Said it is for 2 people,didn't even touch the sides. Had to order a domino's to compensate. Not worth the price of £50. Tried to get in contact with no success. Would not recommend this service and would look elsewhere.

I never usually write reviews, however this experience left me so unimpressed I need to make sure others don't waste their time and money like we did. I went for a meal with my husband around early August and the food was substantially below the standards I would expect for paying £40 pp plus drinks. The Korean fried chicken was soggy and flavourless, the scallops were overcooked, with portion sizes being underwhelming and not even an okay pavlova could make up for the hostile service that we received during our visit. Not worth spending your time or money here, go elsewhere.

I’ve been coming here since it first opened. It is easily my favourite place in London. The wine list has evolved & educated me for years now. Always such fun new interesting producers from countries I’ve never even knew had such amazing wine! Really interesting flavours & quite often a lovely story regaled by the staff or guest somms that Wander have sometimes show casing their own tipples, including some wicked ciders & perrys from the infamous Tom Oliver. Such a treat. The food though. Oh. My. Days. I mean, I’ve said it once & I will forever repeat myself, that the owner/chef/manager/social media/building renovator/jack of many trades; is an evil genius. The flavours are always well balanced, sometimes bold combinations I wouldn’t even dream of, but always THE most TASTY food I’ve had the pleasure of eating. The menu changes so often depending on seasonal produce & what experiments are constantly going on behind the scenes. Some firm favourites I will always come straight in for including; any of the parpadelle, any ribs, any clams (from the outstanding responsibly sourced Henderson seafood), vegemite whipped butter, prawn/lobster toasts (I could go on!) Lovely causal service, relaxed atmosphere & well thought out play lists make it such a pleasure to visit. If I had the money, I’d come everyday!

We dined here in 2019 when visiting London and we were lucky enough to dine again this year. It was so lovely to see some of the same staff still working there. Full of energy and happy to help. We didn't want to miss out on anything so we tried everything on the menu. Every dish was exciting with refreshing and surprising bursts of flavour. We got the seats on the bar and really enjoyed this seating, because we could see all the action in the kitchen. The chef saw that we tried every dish on the menu and she sent us a beautiful sorbet which was off menu and was one of the most delicious things ever. Thank you for a amazing dining experience, cant wait to come back!!

I usually enjoy Australian cuisine. I do love a myself a Parma. But unfortunately this restaurant was a big let down. The service was poor and the food was disappointing. I was hoping for friendly and chirpy staff to talk me through the menu to...

As a fellow Australian, what a horrific experience. On the other side of the world in such uncertain times everyone should be lifting each other up and supporting one another. In this case I can say hand on heart this is not how this business...

I'm a bit confused by some of the negative reviews on here. Having been to Wander many times, I've always found the food to be amazing and the service to be lovely. Alexis (chef/owner) runs the whole kitchen herself. No other chefs, nobody washing dishes,...

I like to give my honest opinion when leaving feedback on restaurants/bars/places. This is honestly the worst place I’ve been too, staff are so very rude and food basic. If staff were polite and welcoming they could get away with food being average. Customers pay...

Not a very positive experience at all. Was spoken to really rudely by the staff on the phone and found the food to be really unimpressive. The overall customer service is very poor and I would not recommend going to this restaurant. Waste of time...

Worst place I have ever eaten in. Very rude staff. Food is very basic. Don’t waste your time going here

Went to their aussie bank holiday event on Monday 31st Aug- had booked a table for 5 but 2 people could not attend due to waking up with COVID symptoms and needing to isolate. The food was very basic and not what we were expecting...

Booked Wander and had their £40 a head menu. For the money we thought we'd get a table but ended up being put on stools on the bar, where we spent the night in the company of the busy waiter. If we had been warned...

Firstly let me start by saying I’d be wary of the small influx of negative reviews of this place... these are almost always self-entitled people who think the world revolves around them and demand that their every whim is catered to at the drop of...

This was my second time at Wander and it didn’t disappoint. Its such a lovely restaurant to have on the doorstep in Stokey, and you can tell the team here work really hard to make the dining experience special and the food exciting. We opted...

We’ve just come home from trying the 7 course menu at Wander, and it was tremendous. We live locally and have been planning to go for a while now, so we’re delighted that our expectations were more than met. The atmosphere in the restaurant is...

I respect and understand your policy of charging people for canceling their reservation. It is logical for me. I respect and understand your charge policy in case when none of the three people for whom a table was provided appear. However, I (the person who...

A group of us were really looking forward to trying Wander, but unfortunately the experience was overshadowed by rude customer service. The owner was very abrupt and shouted at my partner when they phoned in to amend our booking (as we read other reviews we...

They will judge you by the colour of your skin and ask you to leave... please dont eat here if you are not white enough. My god, plus they will call the police on you.

Went with high expectations given the reviews, I'm just surprised there are so many 5 stars. Had the chef's banquet and there wasn't much food and the food that did arrive just was not that good. The service could also not be described as friendly....

I have been to Wander a number of times with friends. There are so many good local residents and I am now dragging my friends away to try out Wander! None have been disappointed. The flavours of the food are amazing and the mixture of...

Wander is genuinely one of the best restaurants in London. As a resident of this city for over 20 years, Wander’s presence in Stoke Newington has been nothing short of a revelation. The cooking is sublime and the staff a complete joy. The chef’s brilliant...

I’ve been dining at wander for over a year now. The food and the service have always been phenomenal. But most recently I got married and had a bunch of friends and family in from out of town. I hired the private dining room and...

I think this is the 4th or 5th time I've been to Wander, maybe 6th. The intimate restaurant feels cosy and loved through and through from the beautiful ceramics, the incredible wine list, to the magnificent flavours and mouth watering combinations of the food that...

Tasting meal was delicious. Natural wines paired were amazing. Staff attentive and lovely. The homemade pasta was out of this world. The Pavlova reminded me of home.

One of my absolute FAVOURITE restaurants in London - and I'm lucky enough that it's just down the road from my house. I always recommend the chef's tasting menu - I've never had a bad dish. Fresh produce and modern takes on classics - the...

One of the few places I like to recommend, there’s so much to love here. It’s cozy, has incredible food, affordable, great wines, friendly. There’s even a pop up shop on the 1st Sunday of each month ‘WanderXCeramics’ if you like the crockery enough but...

A really wonderful little place, with an amazing chef, creating really good and unique food (no pretence or pomp) at amazing price for the quality. Have been a number of times and always look forward to another excuse, glad to have such a gem close...

Brilliant food, brilliant wine, brilliant atmosphere. LOVE LOVE LOVE this place. Can't wait to go back! Keep doing what you do. ALSO _ WHY WHY WHY is Tripadvisor posting a negative review from someone (see a couple of days ago), that DID NOT DINE HERE?????)...

Wander is an absolutely magical spot in Stokey. The team are absolutely incredible and work so hard that it almost looks effortless. My only warning is that if you have the chefs banquet you will leave absolutely stuffed as you won’t want to leave a...

This restaurant is one of a kind!!! Insanely good food, every dish is exciting and full of flavor. Atmosphere is relaxed and intimate (great Playlist) Staff were friendly and welcoming. They were very busy that night but still managed to make us feel like we...

I cannot rate Wander highly enough. This restaurant made me fall in love with food and flavours like no other place. The menu is full of great combinations of flavours and textures, you can tell the chef is talented and puts thought into the food....

My wife and I had been looking forward to trying out Wander and had booked well in advance. A few days before we were due to dine there I called to cancel as my wife’s father had been taken seriously ill and she had to...

My gazillenth visit to my favourite restaurant in London, excelled itself yet again. I absolutely love this place. The atmosphere is SO welcoming; from the decor, to the playlists, to the gorgeous ceramic plates & water cups. I always bring different friends here & it...

Delighted that my friend introduced me to Wander. We ordered every vegetarian item on the menu last night and each was delicious and unique. I was particularly impressed by the celeriac soup - absolutely perfect! And the marmite butter, even though I’m not a fan...

Went for my partners birthday meal here and thoroughly enjoyed the cosy feel to the place. My favourite dish was the clams, would highly recommend and she loved the pie (something she’s been missing from home). The guy that served us was very friendly and...

.... To this fine establishment in Stoke Newington. First time, decided to go after reading glowing Evening Standard review. Warm welcome, great menu, we decided on the Banquet which I highly recommend. All dishes were an absolute delight. We advised we were pescatarian and that...

We planned to come here long before Fay Maschler gave it her thumbs up. It sounded like clever food, and it is. Fusion has been done to death (and kind of died a death) but this is different. Delicate flavours, well balanced. The vegemite brown...

What a treat this place is. Unbelievably delicious and considered cooking at very good value for the quality. Friendly and helpful service. Highly highly recommended!

We had the best meal on the saturday night we went. The gorgeous 'Wander Women' feasting menu. Every dish was delicious and really well crafted. The mix of flavours and courses was interesting, different and was a great opportunity to try new trendy ingredients too...

As a relatively new restaurant my partner and I were keen to visit. The food wasn't for-filling the plate was tiny and Alex was unpleasant and rude not a single smile on her face. If you want your business to exceed in the future you...

Although I don’t usually write reviews, my partner and I are wannabe foodies and usually get to a Michelin star wherever we travel in the world; hence like to think we’re qualified to comment, so please take from it what you will. First and foremost...

Seriously good food.... go for the taster menu if this is your first time... also.. great service! You 'll need to book for this on a Thursday to Saturday to be sure of a table... but they will always try to help... sitting at bar...

What a lovely place! The atmosphere was so friendly and warm. We tried the Chef’s Banquet which I couldn’t recommend more. The plates kept arriving- we couldn’t believe the value for money. Every single plate was delicious and unique. This was possibly the nicest meal...

I’ve been here twice, my first visit was excellent and I was raving about it to everyone. I had a friend coming to visit last Friday so thought I’d treat him to a great meal, my girlfriend and her sister were going to come too...

We had not been to Wander before but our daughter suggested we might like to give it a go (having been on a couple of occasions) ...... we were not disappointed, it was a terrific experience. The service was charming, the food very unusual and...

We booked a table for 6 and took the tasting menu. We were warned that the table was for 2 hours which we fully understood, however, on the night it was clear that the kitchen couldn't turn around dishes fast enough in this time frame....

Highly recommended. We had the tasting menu- so much food! But it was so delicious we ate it all. 10 courses I think. Service was also excellent and wine choices were perfect. I didn't know Australian cuisine was even a thing- will definitely be back

I have NEVER in London dined anywhere that came close to capturing what is truly wonderful about Australian cuisine. The fusion of cultures, the focus on insanely tasty food in a casual relaxed setting. Unfortunately its already getting tough to get a booking though.

The menu here changes weekly, but you'd find that hard to believe with the confident dishes. The flavours and combinations are bold and exceptional (Seabass ceviche with gooseberry and fresh pasta with jalapeno were highlights). Cosy atmosphere. Not many tables though, so I'd recommend booking;...

Second visit here, Once again, great informal service and truly inspiring delicious food. Right on our doorstep. Highly recommended.

Felt almost guilty paying so little for such a fantastic meal... My partner and I didn't know what to expect from Wander after booking for dinner based largely on the incredibly low prices, but this small, inconspicuous restaurant really surprised us both. We ordered the...

Had one of the best dinners ever here for my birthday in June. There were three of us and we went for the banquet menu. It really is a banquet, insanely good value and you get to try almost everything on the menu! Each dish...

We cannot keep away from this wonderful restaurant! Each dish on the menu is incredibly creative, using local and in season produce. Each is a burst of interesting flavours that compliment each other. New dishes are added to the menu on a regular basis, making...

Three of us had dinner here last night, and went for the Chef's Banquet (£30) and Wine Pairing (£20), which is ridiculously good value. There were about 12 dishes overall including desserts, and everything was clearly made on the premises, from the bread to the...

I came here for a friend's birthday and was totally blown away. When reading the menu I was a little skeptical of some of the combinations of flavours but there wasn't a single one that didn't work. Not only was the food perfect, but the...

I've been to Wander twice since it opened and have never failed to be astounded by Alexis' attention to detail and ability to pair such incredible flavours together. From the whipped vegemite butter and the mussels and seasonal pasta to the pav -- everything is...

This place opened quietly and I'm so glad I took the chance to visit. The food was absolutely delicious, such a range of flavours and presented beautifully. The staff are friendly and make you feel welcome. I thought (unfairly) that it might be pretentious, but...

I rarely write reviews but this was such an excellent meal that I want to say something about it and support the great chef. Part of me doesn't want everyone to know about it so that next time i want to go i have difficulty...

Had been looking forward to eating here for weeks prior to the date of our actual booking after seeing amazing photos and hearing good things from other friends who live in the area. I love that a tiny independent restaurant has opened and is using...

Italian style food changing daily, cooked by an Aussie chef. You can see how fresh it is as it’s prepared and cooked before your eyes in an open kitchen. Service friendly, warm and helpful. A perfect neighbourhood restaurant. We need more of these!