Neighbourhood restaurant in Hackney, London

Café Cecilia

Bacon Roll Before Skate

3.5 of 5

Max Rocha cooked at The River Café, at St John Bread and Wine, and at Spring before he opened a room of his own at Canal Place in Hackney. You can taste all three lineages. The cooking is simple. The ingredients are fresh. Nobody is trying to make a point. The dining room was designed by his father, John Rocha, and the staff uniforms by his sister, Simone Rocha, which makes this the most stylish family business on the canal.

Lunch and dinner run Wednesday to Saturday, with breakfast on weekends. The bacon sandwich at breakfast is the sleeper hit. At dinner, look for the sage and anchovy fritti, the pork and apricot terrine and the skate with brown butter and capers. Close with the deep-fried bread and butter pudding, a dessert so unashamed it makes the rest of the menu look modest. Natural wine fills the glasses, in case you wondered.

Hackney has a reputation for places that care too much about the look. Cecilia has the look, and it also has the plates. The room is bright, understated and has some good art on the walls. Go for a weekend morning when you have time to sit. Go for dinner when you want to remember why simple food is hard. Order too much of the fried things. You will not regret a single crumb.

Order this

Bacon sandwich at weekend breakfast, Skate with brown butter and capers, Pork and apricot terrine, Deep-fried bread and butter pudding

The damage

$$$

Go

Weekend breakfast, or a Wednesday to Saturday dinner

Find it

Canal Place, 32 Andrews Road, London E8 4FX

Website

cafececilia.com