Facing Heaven

"Facing Heaven serves high camp from the moment you walk in the door, with its neon nail shop signs and kitsch fake roses on the tables. ​​Embrace the slightly-chaotic-but-fun atmosphere and cosy setup—it’s part of its charm. Everything on the Chinese-inspired menu is vegan and dripping is Sichuan pepper, so be prepared for a bit of a kick. They’ve also opened Easy 8, a charming little dive bar next door, which serves bar snacks and cocktails with moody red lighting that will make you feel like you're in Twin Peaks while sipping on your Pabst beer. " - rachel rumbol

"Facing Heaven in Hackney is a cosy spot serving lip-tingling Chinese-inspired dishes: plump mock-pork dumplings drenched in chilli flake-infused oil, garlic-heavy stir-fried chrysanthemum and chunks of black pudding (tofu-based but you’ll second-guess it’s not meat), and bouncy cold XO noodles. The red and green lighting, single fake roses on tables, and disco ball in the bathroom add to the slightly chaotic but fun charm. Head here for date night, mates night, or just a solo bowl of noodles. " - Jake Oliver, Rianne Shlebak, Daisy Meager, Sinead Cranna

"A dining room bathed in red and green light. A single fake red or white rose on every table. Black and white chequered flooring. A disco ball and life-sized mannequin in the bathroom. No, this isn’t a Twin Peaks-esque fever dream. It’s Facing Heaven. The reincarnation of tiny vegan Chinese spot Mao Chow is just around the corner from the original Hackney location, with the same slightly-chaotic-but-fun charm as its predecessor. And it’s still cosy. If you don’t want to bump elbows or backs with your neighbour, nab one of the few ‘proper’ tables and chairs. But sitting on a low stool at the formica table that runs the length of the front, people-watching out of the big windows, has its advantages. And when chilli oil inevitably splatters everywhere while you’re enthusiastically eating mock-pork dumplings drenched in kicking chilli flake-infused oil, garlic-heavy stir-fried chrysanthemum and black pudding (actually tofu), and scooping up bouncy, cold XO noodles, this is the kind of spot where a messy table doesn't really matter." - Daisy Meager

"Julian Denis’s bigger space for the popular Mao Chow has lost none of the technicolour frenzy of the original. An early example of its expansion from the Sichuan repertoire to more regional dishes is a rendition of Macau baked pork chop rice, most expertly served in London at Cafe TPT in Chinatown, and here incorporating Puerto Rican coconut rice; melted vegan cheese; and fried oyster mushrooms acting as “chops.” This and more like sizzling aubergine; numbing twice-fried artichokes; and a vegan blood sausage prove that things are on the up." - Angela Hui, Jonathan Nunn, James Hansen