The Empress - Hackney

My negroni was delicious, but you could smell the downstairs gents loos while sitting at the bar upstairs.

The pub itself is in a great location, not near a tube but didnt bother most of us. I invited a group of mates for lunch and it was great, from the welcome, the service and the food. Nice bright room, casual but professional. We had selection of starters then had our own mains, all cooked as they should! Good drink selection, local beers and some off piste wines too. Still the best pub in East London!

This was supposed to be an enjoyable family meal but it was far from that.The girl serving was pleasant enough but didn’t have a clue.The pigs head croquettes at £9 was not a croquette at all but a single fried meat cake with tough dry meat inside.The flat iron steak at £24 was tough and tasteless and cold with a bland sauce which was a waste of time.This must be the worst place to eat in Bow Village and grossly overpriced.Avoid this establishment unless you just want a drink.

I often make reservations for the monthly Frugal Feasts at this restaurant, which always offer incredible value and delicious food (make sure to book early!). Last week, I brought my entire team here for our annual pre-Christmas dinner and I was impressed by how well they accommodated our large group in the main dining room, without having to be relegated to a boring function room. There were plenty of menu options to please everyone, the food was excellent, the service was top-notch, and the atmosphere was fantastic.

I went there with my work colleagues. I made the reservation about 3 months in advance, not knowing that The Empress will have the frugal feast that night. That meant a closed menu of 3 courses for a fixed price. There was no allergen information on the printed menu and we had to rely on our server's giving us information on food. Apparently they make their foccacia with butter?! I find it unacceptable that a pub like The Empress, in Hackney did not bother to mark allergen information on their set menu for the day! There was also no flexibility on the pricing given that members of our group could only have 1 main and 1 dessert out of the menu, due to food allergies. And one last thing (but just as annoying) is the messaging service to confirm and remind me of our booking- which was borderline harassing! I received 4 messages within 24h, the last one being 30 mins before we arrived! The food that we did manage to eat was fresh and good and perfectly seasoned. However, some of us did end up paying £35 for having a main only. So overall I would not go to The Empress again and would not recommend it to my friends and family.