Darlings Eatery - (Near Tower Hamlets, South East)

5 /5 Yasuke B: Came for dinner and drinks with some colleaguesb just before Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed the food and atmosphere from start to finish. Staff were attentive the moment we stepped in and it was a good level of busy to add to the vibe at the time. Im not normally keen on pasta (not wise going to an Italian I know!), but I really was blown away by what we received. Starters were delicious as well. Can imagine this would be a great date night spot as well. Would strongly recommend.

3 /5 Lydia: This restaurant I was super looking forward to trying. I live in the area and it’s nice to see somewhere like this spring up now and then. I would say the whole experience was unexpectedly very average. I think with the over saturation of small plates restaurants, you’ve kinda got to be really good to stand out. We arrived and there were tons of empty tables (which remained empty the whole time we were there) but they sat us at the wall, like on a bench and stalls with a 2cm table space for food. It feels like they’ve crammed as many tables in as possible. It just *gave* overpriced small plate restaurant immediately. The staff were nice, but felt like they were really shocked we were even there lol, like they didn’t know what to do with us. Seen a few reviews saying the same thing. Food was tasty, but genuinely just… fine. I love pasta restaurants so much and this one just hasn’t hit that level I don’t think. I’m up for visiting in the future to see if it’s improved because some of the sides were nice.

5 /5 Hana Volic: Darlings is an absolute must. A true hidden gem in Hackney. Charming little restaurant with gorgeous interiors, very relaxed and chic vibe. Service was incredibly attentive and didn’t skip a beat.The food was perfect. Best focaccia I’ve had in a long time. Don’t miss the tuna melon dish. The truffle burrata and the sausage leek and fennel mafaldine was heaven, finished with the tiramisu with their house amaro. This spot is so fab for any occasion. Looking forward to coming again!

3 /5 Iris Attil: Went there for Valentine’s day was really looking forward to it but overall got quite disappointed. First off we got seated at a very uncomfortable bar by the window, which we knew was a possibility as it was mentioned when reserving, however there were three completely free tables for 2 when we arrived so we were quite confused as to why we were not given these. They ended up giving those tables to other couples that came after us. After that we waited for quite some time for our menus, and for the appetizers (they kept serving people who had arrived after us which was very frustrating as we were obviously waiting for them to come). The burrata was amazing which made us feel better but the pasta was a little disappointing… We waited again extremely long for the dessert, so much that we were not even hungry by the time it came, and waited even longer for the bill even though we kept trying to get the attention of the waiter. We ended up going to the front of the house ourselves. This could’ve been a bit more okay if the restaurant hadn’t made a strong point upon reservation that we were only allowed 1h20 of dining. We tried to rush and eat quite fast and we understood since it was valentines. But each meal took so long to come that we ended up staying over two hours… I wouldn’t say the experience was a total bust, but we expected more considering the price of the set menus (we only had the choice to order set menus because it was valentines). As the interior is pretty and some menus really good, I feel that this place has so much potential if the service was good. The waiter could’ve also used some help as he was alone on such a busy night.