Picture of Lyle's, E1 6JJ

Lyle's, E1 6JJ

Michelin-starred restaurant in Shoreditch. It's located in part of the old Tea Building, with its own entrance on Bethnal Green Road (don't be fooled by the address).

Inside it's very similar to St John (one of the owners was the head chef at St John Bread & Wine), with white tiled walls, a polished floor, simple wooden furniture and an open kitchen. The menu is similarly 'simple', leaving the curious diner to guess what might appear when given the names of 2 or 3 ingredients.

Kat and Rick visited for lunch in February 2018. The lunch menu is a small plates setup — our server recommended sharing 3 smaller dishes (around £10-£15 each) and 2 larger ones (around £25 each) between us. (Dinner is apparently very different, with no choice at all except the daily omnivorous/vegetarian tasting menus.)

All the dishes we chose were very enjoyable: my favourite though was an oxtail crumpet (£13), extremely rich and savoury, almost like marmite. The wine list had a good range of prices and styles — our server was knowledgeable and happy to discuss pairings with us. We opted to splash out on a bottle of Bedeau pinot noir (£75) and it complemented our dishes very well. Most importantly of all, they did us a proper cup of builder's tea (just as we'd requested) at the end of the meal.

Service was excellent — friendly, attentive but not intrusive. Sparkling water and bread were provided free of charge. The bill came to around £100/head including service (and expensive wine!) — I thought this was about right given the quality of both the ingredients and the cooking.

Kat's verdict: I loved it — great food and a casual atmosphere. I'd definitely come back.

Accessibility: A low, wide step to get in. Once inside it's flat throughout. Toilet cubicles were modern and spacious.

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Last visited by Kat and Rick, February 2018.
OS X co-ord: 533542 OS Y co-ord: 182287 (Latitude: 51.523719 Longitude: -0.076459)
Last edited 2023-09-05 13:07:38 (version 7; diff). List all versions.