Rita’s

Great place, great food, meat dishes are at Michelin star level, fish dishes are average. Service is attentive, relax environment.

Cute and comfortable, except for the corner spot apparently perfect for three guests (we moved). Friendly staff – all three who worked together to serve our table. Delicious cocktails. The food is good, but really rich and not someplace to go often, unless you want a heart attack. £6 for 5 small chicken wings – but quickly forgiven once you taste them. My friends and I said next time, we will get cocktails, lots of wings and a salad!

If you go you MUST get the Chicken Roll. Perfectly fried chicken in a bun with a nice spicy sauce. The cocktails are pretty decent and potent. The hot dogs were ok, different combos but way over priced compared to the Chicken Roll. I need to try some other bits on their menu. (Visit — 10/​01/​2015 Dinner)

Wow! Best. Restaurant. Ever.
Came here for Sunday bunch at 12:00. There were loads of tables at that time and the place looks great! The colour scheme is really cool. It’s like something out of a Wes Anderson film :)!
I had the chicken and waffles. D-​A-​Y-​N-​M! The flavour of the crust they put on the chicken literally made me die. But then the angelic waitress brought some mac’n’cheese and my resurrection was complete.
Basically I’m trying to say, if you don’t come here you’re seriously missing out on lyfe! Don’t say I didn’t warn you of this beautiful food when you’re stuck at home crying because you ordered some basic dominos #justsayin
Enjoy.

Did Rita’s for brunch a few weeks ago and it was pretty good. The blood orange mimosas were absolutely divine. The chicken & waffles were decent; preferred the chicken to the waffle which was a bit dry.

There seems to be a number of restaurants popping up in London who serve «American style _​_​_​_​». Being American, I like to roll the dice on these to see if I can’t quell a craving from back home.
Rita’s serves «American style diner fare», albeit a slightly more upscale take on this concept. Not too many diners have duck on the menu…
We went for brunch on a recent rainy weekend. The setup is nice enough, if a little scarce. It’s a narrow space, but they make it work. It’s simply decorated, and the service was prompt and friendly from start to finish. No complaints here. They even offer a brunch special of filter coffee and a mimosa with a main. Awesome.
Perhaps it’s because I’ve had too many amazing versions of what they are serving on the menu, but nothing seemed to hit the mark. My fiancée had the ham hock hash, and I went for the obvious: chicken and waffles. We also split the fried crushed potatoes.
The ham hock was fine, but the portion was pretty small. The crispy potatoes were delicious, but fried potatoes are rarely bad. The chicken and waffles just gave me the sads. Again, it wasn’t bad per say, but in my opinion what I had was sort of the bastard step child of true chicken and waffles. The chicken portion was quite small, and it wasn’t the crispy fried chicken traditionally served. It was breaded, but didn’t have that meltinyourmouth fried chicken effect. It was, however, moist, so that was a saving grace. The waffle wasn’t the «fluffy on the inside» «crisp on the outside» kind. It was more the «slim whole wheat» kind. Also, it was served with a mystery white gravy, and honey, rather than maple syrup. :/​
Perhaps they were going for a healthier chicken and waffles? Not sure. But if I’m about to knowingly order food that has no nutritional value whatsoever, don’t hold back. If I wanted healthy and organic I would have gone for the kale salad and the poached egg.
Anyways, pleasant enough of an atmosphere to draw me back, but I’ll probably stick to something a little harder to reinterpret, like the burger or patty melt.

Rita’s is a quiet decent restaurant. The quality is average but the staff is super nice. I had the duck and waffles and I was filled up. The other portions looked big as well. I recommend the ice cream sandwich.

I love Rita’s. Last night the four of us started with blood orange margaritas, sake hi-​balls and the usual but always delicious frozen ritas. Their drinks are mixed perfectly. With a balance of booze, sweet, salty and tart that always hits the spot.
After a few drinks we shared some fried cheese, black sauce wings, buffalo wings, tostadas, a few chicken rolls, a patty melt, green chilli mac and cheese and greens. Then somehow finished with the salt chocolate pretzel mousse, dulce de leche beignets and Oreo pie.
If you haven’t tried Rita’s black sauce wings we can’t be friends, because I worry about your lack of good decision making skills. The new buffalo wings have the right amount of heat and a drizzle of dressing that cools them down a bit. The lamb tostadas were really tasty. The chicken roll has been a favourite of mine since Rita’s popped up at Birthdays and the addition of crispy fried crushed potatoes is intense and welcomed. Sadly, I didn’t get my hands on the patty melt, but it looked crazy good. The greens were super fresh and perfectly dressed and the mac and cheese was as overwhelmingly creamy as I remembered (in the best possible way) with a bit of spice that cuts through the cheese brilliantly. The chocolate mousse was seriously delicious but the beignets were the star. Airy, sweet, fresh from the fryer and sitting in sticky dulce de leche. I am not an Oreo fan, so I didn’t try the pie, but it was destroyed by the rest of the table.
The upstairs dining area isn’t huge but feels spacious. They don’t stack the tables on top of each other forcing you to make new friends. Tunes are always good and staff is always friendly and prompt.
Like I said, I love Rita’s.

Bookmarked Rita’s after reading about it. My husband brought me here on another recommendation. Winner!
We were both keen to try the fried chicken, so we worked from there. We’re were momentarily tempted by the specials slow cooked ox cheek and patty melt but we decided to stick with the chicken. We of course had to have some snacks — house pickles and chicharrones (pork scratchings), and we shared starters — soy and ginger wings and grilled corn. To accompany our fried chicken I really wanted the green chilli mac and cheese and we also got the fried crushed potatoes.
The chicharrones were super crispy, so crispy the sound was deafening as you ate them. I found them a bit bland, could have done with more seasoning or sauce? I love pickles, these tasted quite good, but they we’re let down by the random chopping. Pernickety I know but visually they didn’t look very appetising and eating them for reason the large chunks bothered me. Maybe it’s years of eating pickles in Chinese restaurants, who knows it bothered me. Then we had our wings and corn. The wings were super hot so we shared out corn. It was tasty, I definitely couldn’t do a whole one. The wings were delish. I spent the whole time I was eating them trying to figure out the marinade.
Then came the fried half chicken to share. I wasn’t expecting a large half chicken based on reviews on the portion sizes. If I had known how big the pieces were going to be I wouldn’t have wasted precious space on the extra chicken wings, or any of the starters and snacks. Didn’t help with the extra carbs. The mac and cheese was fab, the kick from the chillies slowly builds as you eat more. Goes really well the chicken. The potatoes were also a hit. The chicken itself was lush. I love fried chicken, the coating was light and super crispy. The honey and the gravy were a nice touch but I didn’t have much as I was slathering on the mac and cheese. I only managed one piece and James had 2. We doggie bagged the rest.
I really wanted to try a dessert but there was no way the evening would end well. So lessons learned for next time.
So why 3 stars… I wasn’t amazed by anything. The presentation of the food and restaurant is no frills which is fine but it lacks a bit of personality. This said I will come back.
(After the bus home, we were back for about 15 minutes then we ate the rest of the chicken which was still slightly warm YUM!)

Bookmarked Rita’s after reading about it. My husband brought me here on another recommendation. Winner!
We were both keen to try the fried chicken, so we worked from there. We’re were momentarily tempted by the specials slow cooked ox cheek and patty melt but we decided to stick with the chicken. We of course had to have some snacks — house pickles a

I wanted to give this place 4 stars as I’ve been meaning to come here for about a year.
I got taken here on a date as they have a new cocktail bar downstairs that he wanted to try.
good:
cool minimalist décor
not too small
friendly service
tasty food
unusual beers/​drinks
quirky food like fois gras beignets for desert!
the music was varied — so, e upbeat stuff and some chilled stuff. and just the right volume
Cons:
the cocktail bar was closed (it was Sunday evening — but still) It is a new feature and we would have liked to have tried it
The service was a little too eager and lingering– even glancing around the room meant the waiter leapt over
the portions were quite small and not cheap
I’d come back if it was a bit cheaper and the portions were a bit more generous. I know they are going for a gourmet quirky american style, but american food is traditionally in larger portions…
It’d be interesting to check out the atmosphere on a Saturday night. and it was quite busy even though it was a Sunday. it felt uptight in there and not very relaxed. I generally like somewhere you can feel at ease and pick at food lazily and the waiters leave you alone. So overall its 3 stars.

I’d been looking forward to coming here… drooling over their Instagram feed but having heard mixed reviews, I wanted to eat it for myself. We had the hot soya & ginger chicken, pork crackling & devilled eggs to start. Chicken was outstanding — I could’ve eaten them all night. For mains we had fried chicken, patty deluxe, porchetta with mushroom custard, creole prawns. Hard to pick a winner as they were all good but my favourites were the patty deluxe and the porchetta. We were celebrating my birthday and friends had brought cupcakes but we were told to put them away as they don’t allow food from other vendors. It was a shame to leave on such a sour note as the meal was really good. And they are better than their fried chicken.

Not really designed for sharing as they say. Tiny plates. The food isn’t that nice either. The flavours are a bit simple, you could do just as well at home.

If it is possible to throw stones at your home from the far end of Mare street then feel free to increase the score by one … Additionally if you have recently had a stomach band surgically implanted then add one to the score …
The food is tasty but given that it mainly consists of not even slightly authentic Americana and Korean it feels overwhelmingly ‘me too’ given a location associated with Shoreditch/​Dalston …
Price wise I have to admit some horror at eleven pounds for a small bowl of rice and meat … The burger patty in two slices of toast seemed similarly light on food to price ratio …
Oh and the coffee is dreadful …
But the cocktails are pretty good … But why travel to the back end of Dalston for cocktails?

came here with a whole ton of other Unilocalers for a UYE set up by the awesome Katie B.
The place is long and lean unlike their chicken and waffles dish. nom nom so space was a bit of an issue, but then again there was a dozen of us if not more. Tons of space here is what i’m trying to say.
Lets skip the foreplay and get right to the meat of things. The chicken and waffles. Thats what you want to hear about isn’t it? It was really good. The chicken batter was really nice, and had some kick to it but not too much. it was spot on and delicate and well cooked and just perfect. The waffles were meh… nice. I guess. They were plain. and then served with honey. Which really tripped me up. So if you do come here bring your own MAPLE SYRUP. I’m sorry, but you can’t have a proper chicken and waffle without maple syrup, thats like having Kool-​aid with no sugar. Its just not done east of the mississippi.
Order a side of bacon, it’ll be amazeballs with it. TRUST!
I should should mention that i’m a chicken and waffle snob raised on the KING of this dish, Roscoes Chicken And Waffles in LA.

I blame Katie B for getting me hooked on fried chicken. Over the past 2 months, I’ve probably had fried chicken 4 times. Goodbye, bikini body :(
Fried chicken + waffles — an American concept. I’ve had it a few times, it’s not bad but it prefer to eat them separately. If you haven’t tried it before, then give it a go. Sounds weird, but you might like it.
For £11, you get a deep fried chicken thigh, and wing on top of 2 thin (wheat??) waffles. I’m a fan of thick fluffy waffles, so this wasn’t for me. but the chicken on its own was pretty good! The batter was nice and crispy, and actually stayed on the chicken instead of crumbling off. I like thick fluffy waffles, so I wasn’t a fan of the ones served here. I think its a bit steep for what you get, another thigh would have been good.
That chicken at Devonshire Arms (also at Katie’s recommendation) has raised the bar completely, and I can’t stop comparing any fried chicken against that. It was love at first bite.

Coming from the states and spending time on the border of the south, I’m a big fan of chicken and waffles. Easy my top five comfort food of all time. The combination of sweet and savoury, all before 10am? Bring it on.
So when an Unconventional Breakfast event was set up to go try this American eatery, I was all in. A little taste of home? Yes please.
We got to the spot about 10 minutes before it opened. It was pouring rain outside and the gate was half shut but we could see into Rita’s. There were two people setting up. We knocked on the window and the woman glared at me and gave my the «10 minutes» sign with her hands. Really? We can’t even stand in the doorway to get out of the rain? Ok,
Ten minutes later we were let in. My friend had booked a giant table for the group and it was ready for us in the back. We filled it and then some. They were great about that, dealing with a large group, and I’d recommend them for that in a heartbeat,
The food? Not so much… Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, but as chicken and waffles go. Eh. The waffles were flat, wheat brown waffles when I was big fluffy golden brown waffles. The chicken was one small piece of thigh and a tiny wing. The syrup was bland store bought and overly-​sugary. This would all have been fine, mind you, if it also didn’t come with a price of £11. Damn. Too expensive for too little and disappointing food.
The space is rather bland. The walls are white, the table are white, the have an open kitchen in the back. That’s about it.
Overall, it was a pleasant morning and they really did deal with a giant group well. But I’m not sure I’d be back, especially for the chicken and waffles.

Thanks to Katie B and her Unconventional Breakfast UYEs, I headed up to London Fields one Sunday morning. Thanks to her excellent skills, she had managed to negotiate a couple of extra tables as a bunch of late joiners realised the allure of fried chicken and waffles and turned up at the last minute.
This should be no surprise, but our focus was the chicken & waffle for £11. For that you get two thin crunchy waffles, a boned chicken thigh fried in a more traditional batter, and a small wing accompanied by a side of honey and one of cheesy grits. The waffles themselves were tasty on their own and spectacular with the honey drizzled over it. While I tend to life a fluffier waffle for breakfast, in this case the thinner waffle was better suited to being speared along with a chunk of tender chicken.
The use of chicken thigh gives you a juicer, more flavourful bit of bird but it falls short in size to really fill you up. Given that thigh is also a cheaper cut, I’m a bit surprised Rita’s doesn’t double up on the meat and up the price by a quid or two. I’d happy pay £12−13 if I felt full at the end and its damn tasty stuff

I came here for the UYE brunch all excited — Sunday brunch sounds like the sweetest melody to my ears. I really wanted to love the place, but somehow Rita’s didn’t quite deliver what promised.
Although we came as a big group and there was several tables booked for us, our table was separated from the rest. The manager’s words: «You can’t take up the whole restaurant!» Well, I am still unsure what my reaction should have been… I mean, I am sorry we were even there, bringing them business. Besides we were already using the table, so why it couldn’t be moved 30 cm left? Like it would take more space.
The interior looked so amateur. I usually like the whole low budget/​super simple style, however Rita’s somehow just couldn’t make it right…
Another thing that bothered me was a bearded chef in the open kitchen. I don’t want to discriminate any fashion/​hipster conscious employees, but primarily I don’t like fearing facial hair in my food…
Then the food… The lemonades my friends had were like super powered sugar/​lemon liquid. It was kinda hilarious seeing their grins while drinking it though. They had to concentrate the lemonade with pure water… When trying it I almost choke; it was one of those flavours that kind of stinks at the back of your throat. Another drink to come was my green juice — pear, coconut water, avocado and kale was the avocado too much. The creamy texture was something absolutely unnecessary, almost sickening. Yet, a little glass (not even 200ml) for £4 was a little too much to my taste.
Food wise, I ordered a potato, bacon dash/​mash thing with a duck egg on top.
Although, the egg looked absolutely amazing, I just couldn’t help but wonder — Where are those individual flavours? Literally, it was a salty mash. I could make this dish so much better myself, so why did I pay £9 for that?! God knows… In overall, everything tasted so universal — sugar, dough, salt… So if you like fresh, vibrant food, please go elsewhere…
Apart of the inflexible manager, the service was really nice!

I love fried chicken. I love waffle. I love bacon. I love maple syrup. Basically, Rita’s chicken and Waffle is everything I love eating all on a single plate (+Josy let me steal some of her bacon). WOOP!
This fried chicken and waffle business is totally new to me, thus not sure how authentic a «soul food» experience brunch was. However, it was delicious and super filling. The fried chicken was super moist and crunchy on the outside and the streaky bacon beautifully crisp. Staff were super friendly and nice; not batting an eyebrow by our raucous Unilocalers group (which were also 5+ above our reservation number).
Only things that stopped it from being a 5 star review was the waffle. I’m more used to a butter milk/​airy waffle mixture and this one tastes like one of my failed experiments at home to make healthier wholemeal buttermilk pancakes– a.k.a dense and slightly chewy (so glad it’s a common problem, but I don’t really want to pay for someone else’s baking mistakes).
Still delicious and I would definitely come back for more– especially since Rita’s is right next door to the dolphin!

Chicken and Waffles. What a great idea.
Rita’s is a fried food coffee place. It’s strange because it feels neither american themed, nor very british. And the fact it’s in and around Hackney adds another dimension, as this place is something I’d imagine to be cemented right in Shoreditch. It’s like the breakfast club without the extremely personable staff with more tailored portions.
Upon entering it’s very sparsely decorated and pretty narrow. Katie B nicely booked us a bunch of tables at the back of the restaurant and these were very nicely situated between the kitchen and the bar/​till.
The food here is excellent. I had the chicken and waffles (which is a no-​brainer) and this was stunning. I’m not normally a fan of waffles, but these were super tasty. The chicken similarly was extremely crisp on the outside but nice and moist inside. I’m pretty sure they used a buttermilk batter to fry the chicken but can’t be sure. Also on the plate was a quite lonely single half of a chicken wing. And that’s where it falls a little.
The dish is £11 and whilst the food was exceptional quality, the chicken thigh piece can be variable in size. Some people had a large piece, others a smaller. On average, it should be a little larger than that shown in my picture, particularly cause it’s so good and you’ll definitely be wanting more. Additionally the pancake is super cheap to make, thus the dish can afford to be a little larger. Plus what’s the half wing about? A full chicken wing please? The savoury dip for the chicken was great, despite myself and some others having no idea what this was.
The coffee is only black or white really. Myself, it was pretty strong and very bitter. Like a more watery espresso. I wish they had something like a flat white, as I wasn’t a fan.
Would I go back? Definitely. Do I want more chicken? Definitely. Can’t this concept be improved upon? Definitely. If I were Rita’s I would capitalise on making the portions and quality unbeatable. As at present, it’s real strength is that nobody else I’m aware of has combined chicken and waffles in a delicious package. If they do it bigger however, this might swing it for some people and the breakfast club aren’t known for sitting on their laurels, and their portions are nothing to sniff at.

Om nom nom.
Unilocal has quite a lot of American reviewers, but I’m not one of them, so I must confess I have never eaten a combination of fried chicken and sweet waffles. The idea would probably have never even come into my head if I didn’t have Unilocal friends to tell me about it. Therefore I have absolutely no idea if this tastes like it should in the American South… but I know I like it.
It sounds loopy. It is a little loopy, but it tastes really good in an I-don’t-mind-if-my-arteries-end up-​slightly-​clogged kind of way. I tried the chicken and waffles with a extra side of bacon. The waffles were a little dense, (compared to my grandma’s waffles) but tasted lovely covered in chicken, bacon, maple syrup and the mystery white sauce.
Other good things:
— The portions were huge! I’m still stuffed a few hours later.
— Rita’s is huge! There’s a whole section downstairs that they weren’t even using!
— The staff are stars! They managed a massive group of Unilocalers sweetly and efficiently.
— The pink lemonade is gorgeous
— The hand dryer outside the loos is a little terrifying
Thank you Katie B for letting me join you all. ‘Twas a brilliant idea for a lazy, rainy sunday.