Lardo

My boyfriend and I decided to pop into Lardo for a late lunch yesterday and were welcome by extremely friendly and knowledgeable staff. I ordered the Mushroom, Thyme and Taleggio pizza on a gluten-​free base whilst my boyfriend ordered the Lardo pizza (Spinach, Egg and Lardo). The food was delicious although I did struggle to finish mine so my boyfriend gallantly stepped in. He said the pizzas were both delicious and different with mine being very rich. The restaurant does seem to try a bit to hard to be ‘cool’ but for a leisurely pizza lunch it was perfect.

We ordered one pizza with the cured lardo. It was ok. I would rather have wild mushrooms or cured ham instead of fat strips ;-)
The other pizza with mushrooms, taleggio and thyme was tastier I thought. But overall this is a great pizza place as the dough is perfectly thin, springy and crusty. Ingredients taste super fresh and high quality too.

I was slightly disappointed with the ham we ordered to start — lardy loin. I guess the clue is in the name, but it was way more fat than meat so I didn’t enjoy it very much. The pizza I ordered was great, so for the pizza alone I would give a solid 4 stars verging on 5. The rabbit was also good, but at £17 I would have expected it to come with some potatoes or carbs of some kind, which unfortunately it didn’t. The food was pleasant enough and service was ok (but not amazing), but I left feeling this place is a bit over priced for what you get.

If you’re looking for a hipster restaurant that is quite intimate and has tasty pizza then this is great for you.
I went there with a friend and we were led to our table which was connected to a table of four so it was like sharing our table with the other group while on the other side there was barely enough space to walk between us and table with a couple on a date. We could easily hear everyone’s discussions and I assume they could hear ours. I think I enjoy a bit more space between me and the other patrons of a restaurant as a general rule.
As far as the food was concerned, the pizza was delicious! We got the mushroom one and I really enjoyed it. The cheese starter was also yummy, however the cold leeks were not particularly impressive so I would not recommend them.
The service was a bit slow but it is to be expected with how busy the place is. The staff were very friendly to make up for it though so we did not particularly mind.
I think it would be much better to go there for lunch on a weekday when it should be more quiet but the food is definitely worth a visit.

If you are in DIRE NEED of a good pizza between London Fields and Hackney Central: search no more.
Although, that evening I didn’t actually have a pizza, but everyone who did absolutely loved them. Fine base, good balance with toppings. I was a bit jealous.
Instead of that, I went for a few Antipasti and cured meat: burrata (om nom nom), bresaola and duck egg with polenta. Because why not.
All of the above was really tasty and for antipasti: the portions were really generous.
The atmosphere is relatively cosy without being too hipstery/​snooty, service was good and with excellent value.
What more would you want?
Nothing. Just pizza.

As tourists we were hungry for pizza especially any gluten free pizza as my daughter has celiac disease. We took two tube lines and one over ground train to this little town. The restaurant was immaculately clean and welcoming. The wait staff was very friendly and assisted us with some terms we were not familiar with. The regular pizza and the gluten free pizza were excellent My daughter said it was the best tasting gluten free pizza she has ever had and she has eaten a lot if gluten free pizza. The crust was crisp, not chewy as gluten free crust tends to be. My pizza had arugula on it. Very nice wine. The pizzas are a good size yet we couldn’t stop eating. How I wish we had this restaurant in California. Highly recommend this restaurant. Great gluten free find in London. P

Love the décor, love the food, love the wine menu and love the staff. Book a table if you want to go at the weekend.

Went for lunch a couple of weekends ago. The online menu was slightly different to the one on offer when we arrived… nonetheless, they do make great pizzas! They also do a gluten free option!!!

Lovely place. Great Pizzas & starters as well as deserts. Staff was friendly and let us have a great time here. Can recommend this place.

This place is Devine. Came on a date and I think I impressed her. Awesome, unique and beautiful food. Simple menu and helpful staff. Gorgeous! Come on pay day…

It sounds like the menu changes often. When we went, it was different to what was on the website. But it just makes you want to come back and try their different menus I suppose? The menu was quite small, with only one offering of pasta and six of pizza.
So. Disclaimer. I’m not a huge fan of pizza. It all goes back to a very sad day when I met up with a friend named E. Coli and that day was unfortunately the day I ate lots of pizza. So while I can nibble on pizza, it’s not with the same voracious appetite I had BC, Before Coli.
But it all changed when I ordered the Olive pizza. Not a dollop of tomato sauce just a layer of olive and bits of ricotta, and it was an epiphany. I ate an entire half of the pizza, which is unprecedented for me. I also shared the mushroom tagliatelle which was cream with al dente green pasta and big slivers of mushroom; it complemented the olive pizza perfectly.
Be sure to try their homemade Chinotto, Italian soda kind of similar to root beer but citrusy, and their tiramisu, dotted with chunks of chocolate.

Excellent wait staff. Good food. Close quarters. Don’t take Amex. Love the wine glass mini tumblers.

Food is so tasty and good. The food more than warrants the price b/​c the ingredients taste fresh, can taste the quality, and portions are plenty. I’d say the price isn’t even so bad in comparison to other restaurants that serve fire oven pizza. The porchetta on the Porchetta, Peppers, Provolone pizza was so meaty, juicy, and tasty. The crab in the Spaghettini, Crab, Chilli pasta was actual crab meat and it was actually the star ingredient meaning it’s not like other places where they dabble a tiny spoonful of crab and name it a crab pasta when it’s so little in portion it is an afterthought.
The ambiance/​décor is great. Super casual and easy. Staff are very nice and friendly. I will come again.

I stumbled across this place with a friend on my birthday, and it was simply fantastic.
Great fresh food, we sat at the bar and watched the chef make it, and very very friendly staff, almost like I’ve never seen in London before.
Try the broad bean salad and ball of brutta (?) cheese.
Five stars.

Food was generally great, and the menu was interesting. The pizza were very popular and really tasty.
However:
— drinks are extortionate: £5.25 for a small bottle of beer
— there was an unfortunate incident where we were told a particular pizza was dairy-​free, but actually came smothered in cheese
— the toilets are shared with some sort of apartment complex and were mouldy, smelly and the urinals were out of order

I feel as though I have some great things to say about Lardo (décor, design, pizza) and some less great things to say about Lardo (weird service, long wait).
But good pizza makes me forgiving, so I would absolutely give it several more chances to get it right.
The tough-​to-​pinpoint «vibe» of a place counts a lot for me, and Lardo has industrial-​charm in spades. One big pizza oven, and open seating space, and a hot pink neon light beckoning people in.
When my friend and I sat down she said, «oh…what a minimalist menu». This is true — there were about 6 pizzas on offer and the menu as a whole was a single-​sided print out — but don’t let this throw you off. One: who wants to be contemplating a lot of decisions when you have a dinner-​date to talk to? Two: why worry about choices when all pizzas are good? Three: small menu, but one that changes is a-​ok by me (my stomach approves this message).
We had a clam and samphire pizza, a veggie option (smoked cheese, zucchini, olives) and — the surprise table favourite — aniseed pepperoni. The pepperoni had a slight sweetness thanks to the anise and it was fatty and salty and perfect atop pizza. Generally, the pizzas are thin and not heavy and pack a crispy crust. Lardo gives you chili oil if you request it, but I found it really lacking in heat (0.5 off my Unilocal rating: I like my pizza with a side of spice).
The desserts were also lovely: yogurt-​rhubarb gelato, the classic affogado and a lemon polenta tart.
We had no reservation but easily snagged a Saturday table for two. We didn’t feel rushed, and our service was slow, but friendly.
One compliment accompanied by a nit-​picky detail: I love that Lardo offers local brews. However, the server had no clue what they were or any characteristics of them. Also: bottled beer? They were delicious with pizza, no doubt, but I would love to see Lardo with some local beers on tap.
Unilocal note: coffee beans and really awesomely (quirkily) Bethnal Green-​bottled olive oil (and other things) for sale here, too.

It gets better. I’ve been back to Lardo a couple of times recently (it’s on my walk home from my favourite cinema so it’s kinda hard not to drop in when hungry).
First tip, if you’ve just watched a movie finishing around ⁸⁄₉. Get out of that cinema quick as there will be plenty of other people who have the same idea as you. Even if you haven’t booked, as long as you beat that post movie rush, you should get a seat at the bar for the two of you (you may wait longer if there are more).
Service was definitely better the last couple of times, in fact it was pretty goddamn speedy, including the pizza. We weren’t really there for a relaxed dinner but more of a ‘get food as there’s nothing at home and we can’t wait’ thing, so we were happy that we could order, eat & pay in 30 mins — this doesn’t mean they rush you, we just wanted things to be quick and they obliged.
The pizza is great, even though the menu is small, and by the looks of it, it’s what most people seem to be ordering anyway and they all seem happy enough.

We were really looking forward to eating at Lardo ever since it opened in E8 and we were not disappointed. The centre piece disco wood oven is a work of art and the whole vibe is perfect for relaxed, sociable small plate eating.
We ate burrata (amazing), arancini, broad beans with mint and pecorino and the show stopping salami with fennel pollen. All delicious. We followed up by sharing a couple of the amazing pizzas, black anise pepperoni stuck as the winner. The pizzas are worthy of that amazing oven, perfect bases.
We’ll be back to see what’s new on the autumn menu very soon. Momma!

Great food, shame about the service.
I was really excited to eat at Lardo, it’s hip, it’s Hackney — it supposedly has delicious pizzas. They started off really well, even holding our table when we were 15 minutes late.
You can actually order a ball of burrata. A ball of the most delicous cheese in the whole world! Accompanied by salty tasty foccacia. The only question I had was why was I sharing it? I’m not sure about the Lardo Loin, it’s too fatty for me, order its more slimline friend, the coppa.
And the pizzas, oh how I could rhapsodise on these. Courgette and anchovy, gorgonzola and walnut — oh how I love thee. Again, why am I sharing? My advice: scorn your friends and go by yourself. Nom nom nom.
The tart of the day was a beautiful pistachio delight with a vanilla cream. Again, I shared. Dammit, if I don’t curse my generous nature. Foolish!
The service, alas, was a bit woeful. We nearly had to knock them down to pay at the end of the night. Get in gear, folks, you’re better than this.

Looks really nice inside and out but service and food lacking polish.
All drinks, meals and starters were on the small side and not well presented which was a shame because the food is actually good.
Food is expensive at around £10 per pizza and I assume service is included on the bill because you wouldn’t leave a tip otherwise.