Bright

"Two words: lasagna fritta. Wavy layers of baked pasta and rich sauce are deep-fried into crispy nuggets — it’s no surprise the dish has become a regular fixture on Bright’s always intriguing and peripatetic menu. But the east London neighbourhood restaurant’s best pasta dishes are more nuanced and less Instagrammed: cime di rapa and anchovies whizzed into a green sauce with orecchiette. There’s also decadently beige tagliatelle with crumbly chicken offal ragu, and clever not-too-sweet desserts from the new-school, alongside a superb and extensive wine list. One of the city’s most interesting modern dining rooms." - Adam Coghlan

"Bright opened in 2018. In the last 18 months, it has been so many things — bottle shop, traiteur, al fresco terrazza, hypebeast squid sando maven — that it is easy to forget that for the year and half before that it was quietly ploughing its own furrow as one of London’s most low-key clever and high-key delicious restaurants. Headed up by Will Gleave, the kitchen is not without an eye for the theatrical, especially when it comes to frying things (for that pre-pandemic lasagna fritta, see this summer’s courgette and anchovy number) but below the gorgeous surface has undeniably robust fundamentals. For all the eyecatching Gabrio Binis decorating the shelves, the list is likewise a case study in strength in depth, as well as a rebuke to anyone claiming natural wine is always overpriced." - George Reynolds

"Neighbourhood Restaurant & Wine Bar in London Fields from the team behind @noblefineliquor @pfranco_e5 & @peg.london" - PRINT_COLLECTIVE

"Lasagna fritta, with its wavy layers of baked pasta and rich sauce deep-fried into crispy nuggets, is probably Bright’s most lauded pasta dish. But the East London neighbourhood restaurant’s best pasta dishes are more nuanced and less Instagrammed: currently sporting a borage, wild garlic, and fontina cannelloni; fregola with cuttlefish; and a duck agnolotti served in juices from the filling." - Daisy Meager

"Phil Bracey, Will Gleave and Peppe Belvedere’s unassumingly brilliant restaurant in London Fields uses ice cream to great effect in playful desserts. Early days saw a sour, cold cream tumbled with strawberries and frozen shortbread dough that melted into caramac; now, there’s likely to be a milk ice, with whey caramel and more of that dough, classic but still delivered with wit." - Emma Hughes, James Hansen