Hackney Pearl

Hackney Pearl is a great little find in Hackney Wick, and after reading a lot about it through facebook time out blah, we decided to give it a go.

The decor is great and the staff were so friendly and lovely.

Although the food was tasty, my boyfriend and me left still feeling hungry. The portions were so small, and we really didnt want to stay for dessert as we didnt want to spend any more money!

If the portions were a little bit more hearty then it really would truly be amazing.

We visited the Hackney Pearl for dinner on a Thursday night at it was excellent. The staff were friendly and the place had a really nice chilled out feel to it - very inviting.

We had read about the place first so new to expect a limited but quality menu. We ordered a lovely chicken pie dish and a Greek salad, followed by Eaton mess for dessert and everything was delish! We will be back and have already recommended the Hackney Pearl to a friend.

I have to say this place was a disappointment. I went for the BBQ on Sundays. I had pork, it was tasty but it was a tiny portion, barely any salad and ended up going home hungry and cooked myself an omelette. I was charged a tenner, which i thought was a bit on the pricey side for hackney wick. Rubbish

i love the hackey pear this is a very friendly bar decor is fab, i am from the north east and when i visit family in hackney, i will be visiting again x

Hi Mel
Thanks for your valuable feedback. Good to hear you're a fan of the Tuesday night special. Please rest assured it will be back in January.
Throughout December, all main courses on the specials board were the same as those featured on our Christmas menu, which we wanted to feature some extra special things and has been hugely popular. As you know we have a small one person kitchen, so we don't have the space or capability to run 2 menus simultaneously. The seabass is the most expensive dish on the menu. We try to keep prices down, but every now and then we also want to feature something a bit special and sadly, fish is expensive. We insist on quality local produce and pay the same prices as any central London restaurant. I do believe it's a great dish with the carrot & cumin puree and quince dashi.
The reason we cannot provide chips as a side dish is also about the capacity of our kitchen. We don't have a deep fryer. Our chips are first par boiled, then sauteed and finally baked at a very high temperature to get them crispy. We can only make small batches at a time. If we offered them as a side dish, we'd constantly be running out or we'd never get anything else cooked. So we just -keep them as something special to go with our steaks. This should have been explained to you when you asked.
Our Christmas menu has been a great success this year with lot's of very happy customers. But we want everyone to be completely happy on every visit. I will certainly be thinking about your feedback when I plan for next December. I do hope that you don't give us up on the strength of one disappointment. We promise to make it up to you.

I used to come regularly for their fantastic Tuesday night deal of £10 for a main and a glass of wine. However they aren't doing the deal for December so we decided tried the specials menu and were VERY disappointed.

The portions were so small, I think they have got greedy as they used to be quite substantial. My seabass contained 1 fish fillet with some mashed carrots for the price of £16.50. You need to order a side dish to make it a complete meal so you're paying £20 for your dinner (and that's before you've had wine).....More like central London restaurant prices.

What I find very odd is they have chips on the menu (served with the steak) yet they point blank refuse to serve chips as a side dish. WHY?!

The staff are lovely, attentive and it has a good atmosphere. However we came away feeling ripped off and still hungry. It will no longer be my local.

Oh my goodness.... this is such a wonderful place. A really great atmosphere, full of artists working, talking, reading, writing, even on a cold, wet Monday lunch time, and the food was just amazing. We had 2 delicious pies and sweetcorn fritters, and perfect coffee..... but the carrot cake beat them all. Just don't tell anyone otherwise you'll never get a table. Well done to all you groovy, welcoming people, this is how cafes should be run! We loved you!

Dear Delores

I'm really sorry you've had two less than perfect experiences at The Hackney Pearl. And I'm sorry you didn't feel you were able to approach myself or another manager directly with your concerns.

It's true that for breakfast we only offer eggs scrambled. We have a small one-person kitchen. We decided to concentrate on doing a few things really well rather than many things less well.

Our scrambled eggs are a source of pride for us. People generally rave about them. Many come in for them 2-3 times per week. I've been told more than once that they are the best eggs the customer has ever tried. Clearly you didn't have this experience. While I certainly allow that mistakes are made from time to time, if we are to adhere to our principal of doing a few things exceptionally well, then we must do our best to ensure these dishes are exceptional every time. If the dish was not up to standard, the waiter could and should have resolved it for you at the time.

I'm very proud of my staff. They are as you observed friendly and welcoming. They are also usually well informed and helpful. It's hard to know exactly how the communication went awry on your visit without discussing it with you.

Thankyou for your feedback. We're working hard towards being London's best local. If you don;t tell us where we're going wrong we may never know. May I ask that you contact me so that we can arrange another visit and I can cook your eggs personally.

Kind regards
James Morgan
info@thehackneypearl.com

I am delighted with the arrival of civilised gastronomy in Hackney Wick and would really LOVE to love the Hackney Pearl. It looks great. The menu looks great. The staff are friendly. However, the service is very slow and have no experience or training in customer service.

On my first visit I had tea with a friend. The waitress didn't understand my order and I had to go back with it twice. It really wasn't that complicated: two pots of tea. One camomille. One jasmin.

On the second visit I decided to try the food and took my sister there for a quick brunch. The menu features scrambled egg on toast. I asked if I could have my eggs fried instead, and was told that that was not possible. I couldn't understand why (you have eggs, you have toast, you have frying pan) and was told 'we only have scrambled eggs'. The staff, though friendly, seemed like they were from a different planet!

Anyway, we both ordered the scrambled eggs. We waited 45 MINUTES for scrambled eggs on toast to arrive!!. It wasn't busy. There was only one other table that had ordered food.

The toast appeared to be prepared in one of those heavy iron sandwich toaster machines and was completely flat. 2mm thick if that and rock hard. You could not cut it with a knife, we had to break it into pieces with our hands. My sister suggested that perhaps it was supposed to be some kind of gourmet melba toast cracker but i don't think so. The scrambled egg had brown bits where the egg got fried like an omelette.

I asked the waiter if they have freshly squeezed orange juice. he replied: yes we have orange juice. i asked: but is it freshly squeezed? he said: yes it is squeezed? I asked: but is it freshly squeezed or from a packet? he seemed to be completely confused by my question and just repeated: it is squeezed juice, yes... The juice arrived. Acidic and very obviously from a pack.

I really wanted to try dinner at the Hackney Pearl, but after leaving in disbelief, I think I will wait a while in the hope that they sort themselves out. I really would like to see them do well, but as it currently stands I don't want to spend my money there and can not recommend it to my friends and neighbours.

I have recently moved to the area and this is now my local drinking and eating venue. The staff are excellent, very friendly and always happy to go that extra mile for you. The drinks list is large and varied and the food is delicious. It is unlike any other venue I have visited but more bars and restaurants would do well to follow their lead. Highly recommended.

Dear Andrew, I'm sorry to hear you had an unhappy experience at The Hackney Pearl. Being a warm and friendly local is what we're all about and I take pride in my lovely team. So to hear you left with a less than warm impression is very upsetting. Of course things don't always go according to plan and we're always trying to improve. I would be very grateful if you would contact me to talk about the specific problems on your visit so we can move closer to our goal of being the best (and friendliest) local in London.
Sincerely, James Morgan info@thehackneypearl.com

nice cafe, good food, pity about the shocking service on our visit. Not being willing to exchange basic pleasantries is a crime when there are only 3 patrons on a rainy wednesday afternoon. Enough to make me think twice about traipsing to hackney wick again, but i am sure locals are more forgiving.