Our selection of private dining in Hackney

The canals of London may not be as famous as those of Venice but Ombra brings a little piece of Venice to Hackney’s Regent’s Canal all the same. The canal-side restaurant, located on Vyner Street, about a 5-minute walk from Broadway Market, is on the intimate side, rustic, with a nice little outdoor space for al fresco dining.

The menu showcases quality ingredients made into simple Italian dishes that are best shared but nobody will judge you if you want a plate of pasta or burrata to yourself. Ombra is all about seasonality and recreating a piece of Venetian atmosphere through the bacaro–a place where you drink to eat and eat to drink.

With a capacity of 50 and a lovely outdoor area that really shines on summer days and glows by evening light, this Hackney private dining experience is made complete with a fantastic menu of organic wines and those oh-so-Italian spritzes.

From 6pm Wednesday through Saturday the Pophams bakery becomes a quaint nieghbourhood spot for handmade pasta and Italian small plates showcasing the best of both Italian and British seasonal ingredients.

This London Fields restaurant occupies a transformed railway arch creating an atmosphere that is unpretentious and completely laid-back. With a cosy capacity of 25, Pophams is the kind of place that’s great for an exclusive bookout for a Hackney private dining experience.

About a 5-minute walk from Hoxton Overground, Rapsa at 100 Hoxton is a popular little neighbourhood restaurant and bar known for its Filipino fusion menus for brunch, lunch, and dinner.

The private lounge at Rapsa is in a room next to the main restaurant and comes with its own bar. It’s decked out in an industrial chic aesthetic with some quirky and colourful little pieces of decor.

We can only speak for the brunch menu but if Rapsa’s menu offerings for private dining are anything like what we had for brunch then we feel justified in putting it on our list of Hackney private dining experiences. There are options for vegans but if you’re of the carnivore variety we highly recommend ordering any dish that features Rapsa’s pork belly, and be sure to add an extra order of the atchara pickle!

Located near both Hackney Central and London Fields, the private Salon at Lardo restaurant has a capacity of 45 people for a standing reception or 28 for a seated meal. Its top-notch menu, rustic industrial decor, and relaxed ambience all make the Salon an ideal location for a Hackney private dining experience.

Daily changing specials, organic wines, a top-class cocktail menu, and small plates served alongside quality pizzas. Lardo aims to be the favourite neighbourhood Italian restaurant in Hackney and with its laidback atmosphere, you can see why. Expect comfortable throw cushions and plenty of tealight candles.

You can’t miss the Cat & Mutton, the traditional two-storey pub on the corner of London Fields and Broadway Market. Naturally, it’s a mighty popular spot with the weekend market crowd, Sunday Roast crowd, and the mid-week post-work pint/glass of wine crowd. In other words, it’s pretty popular with everybody.

Upstairs from the main bar Cat & Mutton offers the ‘Other Bar’, a private events space with a capacity of 80 people standing. It’s ideal for parties and receptions if you’re looking for something relaxed, and traditional, but with just enough East End quirk for it to feel like a Hackney private dining experience. The Cat & Mutton offers classic Britsh pub fare that’s the epitome of hearty and filling, and when arranging a private party the pub is on board to create a bespoke menu for your event with everything from canapés and small plates and more.

Apothecary East, equidistant to Old Street and Shoreditch High Street, is a Japanese tavern and bar occupying the former site of an old East End apothecary. The place is known for its menu which takes inspiration from Japanese cuisine as well as from izakaya dishes, or small plates served at equally small Japanese bars where patrons eat to drink and vice versa.

The private dining room in Apothecary East exemplifies the cool, chic, slightly upscale industrial renovation so popular in the East End and beyond with its exposed brick, and mood lighting, but with added touches of Japanese aesthetics. It also features a vintage turntable and analogue sound system for the audiophiles among you.

The private dining room can accommodate 22 seated or 35 for a standing reception. It’s not quite the same izakaya experience you would have in Japan, but we appreciate Apothecary East creating a menu inspired by something like it. Expect top-notch dishes, saké cocktails, and top tunes with curated playlists and DJ sets.

Opened in 2015, Pidgin is a 5-minute walk from Hackney Central and is famous for its ethos of a weekly changing set menu–no dish is ever repeated. The intimate restaurant has been helmed by chefs like Elizabeth Haigh (when the restaurant was awarded a Michelin Star), Drew Snaith, Adolfo De Cecco, and Naz Hassan.

Fine ingredients with menus that take influence from all over the world with fine dining presentation. The restaurant doesn’t have a private dining room but it is small enough for exclusive private hire which can be arranged directly with Pidgin and is a unique choice for a Hackney private dining experience.

The Marksman public house and dining room is located near Hoxton Overground on Hackney Road. The minimal, understated, and simply elegant interior was designed by Martino Gamper, creating a space that feels refined yet still relaxed–much like its Michelin-acknowledged menu and presentation showcasing the finest British ingredients.

The Marksman takes bookings for private dining events in the restaurant, terrace, pub, or private dining room situated in the cellar, and all of these rooms can be hired exclusively. The private dining room in the cellar can accommodate 12 people, and the restaurant can accommodate 40 seated or 60 standing. The food is reason enough to go and the relaxed atmosphere is the icing on the cake as they say.

Chances are you may have already heard of Behind. It holds a Michelin Star and offers outstanding seasonal tasting menus that celebrate all things seafood. There are 18 kitchen table seats in the most intimate of spaces heavily decorated with wooden furniture and set pieces. It’s minimal and refined leaving you the chance to appreciate the beauty of the colours on the plate and the flavours of the dishes.

There is no private dining room on offer but with only 18 seats available, Behind can be booked for an exclusive Hackney private dining experience by contacting the restaurant directly. Behind is possibly the epitome of the cool and casual fine dining experiences you can find in Hackney.