Shoreditch Lunch Spots: A Local’s Guide for Busy Professionals
Good lunch shouldn’t require a detour across East London. If you work around Shoreditch or Old Street, City Road has plenty within a few minutes’ walk, from quick pizza and healthy bowls to a proper pub lunch. And if you work from The Brew’s coworking space in Shoreditch, one of the best options is already in the building!
This isn’t an exhaustive list of everywhere to eat in Shoreditch. It’s a much more useful one: a handful of places around City Road that The Brew team and members genuinely use.
At the centre of it is Matcha Mochi, the independent café inside Eagle House. Around it, Pizza Union, Atis and The Eagle each earn their place for a different kind of working-day lunch.
Where do Shoreditch professionals actually eat near Old Street?
The problem with a lot of Shoreditch food guides is that they send you halfway across the neighbourhood.
That’s fine at the weekend. It’s less useful when your next call starts at 1.30 pm.
City Road is one of those stretches where you can choose lunch based on the kind of day you’re having. Need something fast? Pizza Union is a few doors away. Want something lighter? Atis is nearby. Have time to sit down with the team? Head to The Eagle. Working from Eagle House and really don’t want to go anywhere? Matcha Mochi has you covered.
Our four go-to options are:
- Matcha Mochi for hot lunches, matcha, coffee and something sweet without leaving Eagle House
- Pizza Union for quick, good-value pizza
- Atis for salads and bowls when you want something lighter
- The Eagle for a longer pub lunch, drinks or a relaxed team catch-up
| Lunch spot | Best for | Pace | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matcha Mochi | Everyday lunches and coffee | Quick | Asian and Western influences, hot food, matcha and bakes |
| Pizza Union | Busy days and informal team lunches | Very quick | Thin Roman-style pizza |
| Atis | Lighter lunches | Quick | Salads, bowls and plant-focused options |
| The Eagle | Longer lunches and team catch-ups | Relaxed | Pub food, drinks and courtyard seating |
Why is Matcha Mochi worth knowing about?
If you work at The Brew, Matcha Mochi isn’t so much a lunch recommendation as part of the daily routine.
The independent, family-run café sits inside Eagle House on City Road, which means members can grab lunch or coffee between calls without having to factor a walk across Shoreditch into the day.
It’s run by Raymond and his wife Angela, who are originally from China, and their background has shaped the way they approach food. Their menu brings Asian and Western influences together without making a big show of it. You’ll see it in the matcha, rice bowls and drinks, but perhaps most clearly in the product they’ve become particularly known for: Basque cheesecake.
A Spanish cheesecake, approached differently
Raymond describes balance as an important part of the way he and Angela develop their food.
Their Basque cheesecake starts with a Western dessert tradition, but their preference is for something creamy without being too heavy, and sweet without becoming overly sweet. It’s a small distinction, but an important one, and a good example of how their cultural influences come through in the menu.
It clearly struck a chord with the Great Taste judges too.
In 2026, Matcha Mochi’s Original Basque Cheesecake received a 3-Star Great Taste Award, the highest rating available. Its Matcha Basque Cheesecake also received a 1-Star Great Taste Award.
If you want the full story, including Raymond’s thoughts on the awards and the work behind them, read our earlier interview: From Passion to Prestige: How Matcha Mochi Earned One of Britain’s Highest Food Honours.
And yes, the cheesecakes are very good. One of the team’s favourite combinations is a slice alongside an iced white chocolate matcha latte.
What about an actual lunch?
There’s plenty beyond cake.
A favourite among The Brew members is the Korean beef rice bowl, particularly when you want something hot and substantial without disappearing for an hour.
Matcha is naturally a big part of the drinks menu. Matcha Mochi sources single-origin matcha from Japan and asks for certificates of origin for every batch, something Raymond feels strongly about. For him, knowing where the product comes from is part of maintaining its quality and authenticity.
Food and drinks can be enjoyed inside the café, taken out to the sun-facing City Road terrace or ordered to take away. Members can also order online and collect when it suits their schedule, including on the way into work.
They can cater for vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free requirements too, although it’s always worth checking individual dishes when ordering.
Matcha Mochi is currently open:
- Monday to Friday: 8.30am to 7pm
- Saturday: 12pm to 7pm
- Sunday: Closed
It’s difficult to argue with the convenience of having an independent café, proper lunch options and award-winning cheesecake in the same building as your desk.
Where can you get a quick lunch on City Road?
Some lunch breaks are leisurely. Others are a gap between two meetings that looked much longer when you first checked your calendar.
For those days, Pizza Union and Atis are two reliable options close to Eagle House.
Pizza Union
Pizza Union is just a few doors down from The Brew at 145 City Road and it’s somewhere we already know well. We regularly use it for member parties and events because it’s simple, fast and easy for groups.
The pizzas are thin, crispy and Roman-style, made to order without turning lunch into an event in itself. Pizza Union says orders at its Hoxton restaurant typically take around five to ten minutes, and Click & Collect is available if you want to make things even quicker. You can check the latest details on the Pizza Union Hoxton page.
It’s particularly good when you need something filling, reasonably priced and uncomplicated.
It also works well for an informal team lunch. Nobody needs to study the menu for 20 minutes; there’s plenty of communal seating, and everyone can get back to work without sacrificing the afternoon.
Atis
Atis is a favourite with both The Brew team and members when the brief is something fresh, filling and a little lighter. Think bowls, salads and plenty of vegetable-led options rather than the kind of lunch that leaves you wondering whether a 2 pm meeting was a terrible idea.
It’s particularly useful for mixed dietary preferences, and it’s an easy option when a few people from the team want to grab lunch together without everyone having to order the same thing.
If you’re choosing between the two, the decision is fairly easy: Pizza Union for fast pizza and value, Atis for bowls, salads and a lighter lunch.
Which Shoreditch lunch spots work best for team and client catch-ups?
Not every lunch needs to be eaten at your desk.
For a relaxed team meal or somewhere you can actually sit and talk for a while, The Eagle gives you a very different option from the quicker stops around City Road.
The Eagle
The Eagle has been part of City Road for long enough to earn the description “local institution”.
It’s a good choice when there’s time for a proper sit-down lunch, an informal catch-up or a drink after work. The courtyard is particularly good in warmer weather, when eating lunch outside feels much more appealing than staying under office lighting for another hour.
It also comes with a nice piece of local history.
The Eagle is referenced in the traditional Pop Goes the Weasel rhyme:
“Up and down the City Road, in and out The Eagle”
There’s an extra connection for us, of course. The Brew is based at Eagle House just down the road.
For a quick decision, this is how we’d choose:
- A 30-minute lunch: Matcha Mochi or Pizza Union
- Something lighter: Atis
- An informal team lunch: Pizza Union or The Eagle
- Coffee and a quick catch-up: Matcha Mochi
- A longer sit-down lunch: The Eagle
- Lunch without leaving Eagle House: Matcha Mochi
If you’re planning lunch around a client visit, workshop or team session, The Brew also has meeting rooms in Shoreditch, so you can keep the meeting and lunch within the same part of Old Street.
What should you know before choosing somewhere for lunch?
Where can I get a quick lunch near Old Street?
If you’re working from The Brew, Matcha Mochi is the simplest option because it’s inside Eagle House itself. You can order hot food, coffee or matcha and eat in or take it away. Pizza Union is another strong option when time’s tight, with pizzas typically made in around five to ten minutes.
Where’s good for a healthy lunch near Old Street?
Atis is one of the favourites among The Brew team and members for salads, bowls and lighter lunches. Matcha Mochi also caters for vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free requirements, so it’s a useful option when different people in the team have different dietary needs.
Where can a team have lunch near The Brew?
Pizza Union works well for a casual team lunch when you want something quick and easy. For a longer meal, The Eagle is better suited to sitting down and catching up properly. Smaller groups working from Eagle House can also stay put and eat at Matcha Mochi.
What’s a good affordable lunch around City Road?
Pizza Union is a useful choice when you want to keep lunch straightforward and reasonably priced. For people working from The Brew, Matcha Mochi can also be a practical everyday option because you can choose anything from a drink and something small to a more substantial rice bowl without going elsewhere.
What’s the easiest lunch option if I work at The Brew?
Matcha Mochi wins this one by some distance. It’s inside Eagle House, so you can order between meetings, collect food on your way in or sit outside on the City Road terrace when the weather cooperates. There’s no need to sacrifice half your lunch break just getting somewhere.
City Road in four lunch stops
One of the nice things about working around Shoreditch is how quickly the area changes from one doorway to the next.
Even along this relatively short part of City Road, you’ll find an independent Chinese-owned café working with Japanese matcha and Basque cheesecake, Roman-style pizza, fresh bowls and salads, and a pub woven into London folklore.
That mix feels very familiar to us at The Brew. Eagle House brings together freelancers, small teams, charities and growing businesses from different backgrounds, without trying to manufacture a “community” around them. People work, meet, eat and get to know each other naturally.
Matcha Mochi is a particularly good example of that. It’s an independent business with its own story and identity, but it’s also become part of everyday life in the building.
And sometimes that’s the best thing about a good local lunch spot: it isn’t somewhere you need to make plans to visit. It’s simply there when you need it.
If you’re looking for a flexible place to work around Old Street, with City Road on the doorstep and lunch already sorted downstairs, explore The Brew’s coworking space in Shoreditch.
