Chaskaas - (Near Tower Hamlets, london)

Julius B as a local this is where we go as group and is our food spot. The food, the portion, the people, the interior just makes you feel like you’re eating home cooked food in grandparents kitchen with friends. Good for the soul. Highly recommend !

Lucia Great food, felt like home (i’m italian!) and authentic recipes - the meatballs tasted like the ones my family make, both the pizzas we had were delicious! Our server Sophie was friendly and really helpful. Will come back soon! x

Andrew Wilcox Fresh off the plane in London after two weeks in Italy, I came here with high expectations and was pleasantly surprised to have them met. Pizza was thin crust and delicious. Staff were friendly and sitting outside was lovely on a balmy summer evening.

Happy Buddha Lovely cosy shop. Best in the area. Everything we tried was homemade and delicious!

M H My friend recommended this restaurant and I think it was the best rice and peas I ever had. I had the veggie meal, and all the dishes were very tasty. Only the bammy wasn’t my favourite, it was very greasy and the grease had some taste to it. Nevertheless, I can’t wait to try other side dishes along the veggie meal.

Alice Gee Its a low key neighnbourhood Italian in Bethnal Green that probably mostly supplies locals with pizzas, but is a surprisingly terrific restaurant. Not living in the area, we were last here maybe eight years ago, but I still remember the pasta alla vongole I had on that occasion. Weve been to a lot of more expensive, and more famous Italians in London, but this place really reminds me of eating at trattorias on vacation in Italy. Simple menu, terrific ingredients cooked in a way you can taste the individual components, and everything homemade. They do serve dried pasta, which I actually prefer because its texture is more chewy. My companion had the bruschetta to start followed by the burrata served on a bed of grilled vegatables. Both of his starters came with a fantastic focaccia which had big airy bubbles toasted to a crisp. There was a tiny drizzle of pesto on the burrata that looked bright green and tasted homemade. I didnt taste the bruschetta, but my companion praised the sparing use of red onion in the tomato mix, making it perfectly balanced. I had the scialatelli alla vongole, of course, with a side of the grilled vegetable salad with goat cheese. I asked them to just bring both dishes as ready because I didnt want to eat them in sequence. Thats exactly how I got them, with the grilled veg first, and the pasta maybe 5 minutes later to eat along side. My partner got his two starters in non overlapping sequence, exactly as requested as well. The vongole was great. There were maybe 8 clams in shells decorating the dish but plenty more shelled clams stirred through the pasta. The clams were perfectly cooked and still tender and juicy. I liked the restrained use of fresh cherry tomato sauteed in olive oil, which didnt dominate. I could taste the good quality olive oil. The thick scialatelli was delightfully chewy. It wasnt quite as spectacular as the version I ate on my last visit eight years ago, which included an unorthodox quantity of garlic. Maybe next time I will ask if the current chef is willing to put in a little garlic for me. The grilled vegetable salad with a thin slice of toasted goat cheese was excellent. On top of the mixed green salad there were slices of grilled courgette, grilled eggplant and very sweet strips of peeled red pepper. I was happy to note that the roasted pepper was homemade, having no hint of the acidic preservatives that peeled roast peppers from a jar has. The cheapest bottles of wine are £29 and £30, and dinner including a bottle of red came to £78. Music and noise levels are low. There was an 80s pop soundtrack playing during our visit. We will definitely be back and wont wait eight years before our next visit.