The White Building, Unit 7 Queen's Yard, London E9 5EN

After building a cult following through pop-ups, Man Hon Luk opened his first permanent restaurant in Hackney Wick, bringing Texas barbecue together with East Asian flavours. Meat is smoked daily in a huge custom smoker, with highlights including beef short ribs, Taiwanese pork belly, duck pancakes and lamb breast, alongside sides like lap cheong mac and cheese. It's some of London's most exciting barbecue, and pre-ordering as much of the smoked meats as you can is highly recommended.

1 Geffrye Street, Hoxton E2 8JH

The team behind Farringdon bar Space Talk have given this long-changing corner site opposite Hoxton station a fresh start with Cremer. Split between a café and canteen, it serves pastries, sandwiches and coffee alongside breakfast and lunch, all from ex-Primeur and Polentina chefs.

1 Thomas Tower, Dalston Square, Greater London, E8 3GU

After a successful pop-up at The Langham, the late Dom Taylor took his Caribbean restaurant to Dalston as a permanent restaurant. Here, the menu showcases modern interpretations of Caribbean cuisine, which was also inspired by the memories of his childhood. That means dishes like a plantain and aubergine fritter or a crispy banana blossom coconut curry. And as for the drinks, the rum punch is a must.

51 Wilton Way, London E8 1BG

Ornella comes from the same team who had a success with Lupa in Highbury, restaurateur Ed Templeton, chef Naz Hassan and actor Theo James. Here, they've opened a second Italian restaurant, this time in Hackney, where the food has been inspired by Milan. So you'll find plenty of classic Milanese dishes from risotto to huge Veal Milanese chops, not to mention some excellent cocktails.