CODE Neighbourhoods: Oded Oren’s Hackney
Published 14 May 2026
Welcome to CODE Neighbourhoods, an essential guide to Hackney from the chefs and restaurateurs that know it best. First up, Tel Aviv-born Oded Oren, founder of beloved Middle Eastern spot Oren on Shacklewell Lane in Dalston, and Oren Delicatessen, off Broadway Market, home to Hackney’s silkiest hummus and fluffiest pita. Never one to stand still, Oded has just started doing lunch at Oren for the first time in its seven-year history – at £26 for two courses, £30 for three – and a new monthly series called OTTO (“off-menu Taster Tuesdays at Oren”) featuring new dishes and exclusive wines.
CODE members get 30% off their total bill at Oren on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 5pm to 10pm, and on Sundays from noon to 5pm. At lunchtimes, CODE members get a free glass of wine with their set menu lunch.
Oded Oren on launching his businesses in Hackney
“I think Hackney is really good for restaurant beginners in a way. First of all, it’s accessible; you don’t pay the rates you do elsewhere. Also, it’s a multicultural hub for all sorts of restaurants and restaurateurs and chefs working alongside you, trying to do their best. Everybody’s kind of helping each other to make it happen. It does feel like a community.
I came here 15 years ago. It took a while until I decided to open a place on Shacklewell Lane, an area that I didn’t know before, but it really felt like the right thing to do. That was six and a half years ago. I didn’t really have an investor, I didn’t really have any backers or big money behind me, so I needed to find something that was manageable with the little that we had. I always say ‘we’ because it sounds much better but it was just me; I don’t have a business partner.
COVID hit us five months after we opened and we were forced to change a lot of things. We decided to stay open and started doing a lot of takeaways and, like, care packages for delivery. People loved them. That really kept us afloat throughout the pandemic. That’s when I thought about doing the deli.
The deli opened three years ago, just around the corner from Broadway Market, offering the stuff that we were doing at Oren during COVID – dips, hummus, some hot food. We’re very known for our hummus; we also make zhoug, a Yemenite condiment and tirshi, a Libyan condiment made out of pumpkin and spices, also two aubergine dips, a baba ganoush and one with roast aubergine and burnt peppers. Everything is very homey and nourishing, all made from scratch, obviously. We also kind of became a bakery, which I didn’t expect. We bake traditional challa bread and pitas and people are coming for them especially every week.
At Oren, the Jerusalem mix grill has always been a people pleaser. People travel here for it. I never thought [people] would be so receptive. It’s a dish that originated in Jerusalem in the market when people didn’t really have a lot of meat, so they’d use the chicken offals, whether it’s spleen, liver, hearts, and put it on a plancha with some onions. The original dish wasn’t in a pita; we tucked it into a pita, with lots of tahini and amba which is a pickled mango chutney. People absolutely love it.”
Where to Eat
Koya
I love the Japanese udon noodle bar Koya. I think they do a great job in Hackney as well. It’s a bit different than their other locations in Soho and the City.
10 Broadway Market Mews, London, E8 4TS, koya.co.uk
Leo’s
I have a few favourite places but in Hackney, my go-to would be Leo’s. I love Pepe’s cooking. I love the room, I love the ambiance. I love going on Sundays, having a spread on the table.
59 Chatsworth Road, London, E5 0LH, leosrestaurant.bar
Bistrotheque
A place I think sums up the neighbourhood quite well is Bistrotheque in Bethnal Green. It’s one of those places I used to go to since moving to London. You have the pianist on Sundays and you have their famous Peruvian chicken which is absolutely amazing and great Bloody Marys.
23-27 Wadeson Street, E2 9DR, bistrotheque.com
Papo’s Bagels
We are neighbours. They’ve moved down the road a little bit, but we’re still our neighbours. We’ve just started to supply Papo’s with our babka. I live just over the road from them so I just bring it to them.
Amhurst Road, London, E8, paposbagels.com
The Macbeth
Jamie Allan’s new pub in Hoxton serves Portuguese-style small plates, bifanas, and Sunday roasts.
70 Hoxton Street, London, N1 6LP, the-macbeth.co.uk
Brawn
Ed Wilson’s a customer; he comes to the deli a lot. I really like what they’re doing at Brawn; I like the wine, I like the food.
49 Columbia Road, London, E2 7RG, brawn.co
Where to Shop
Fin and Flounder
Fin and Flounder on Broadway Market is one of the best fish and seafood shops around. They are one of our suppliers.
71 Broadway Market, E8 4PH, finandflounder.com
Cubitt’s
Cubitt’s on Broadway Market is really special because it’s located in a pie and mash shop. It’s where I did my first pop-up when I came to London in that shop.
9 Broadway Market, London, E8 4PH, cubitts.com
Things to Do
The Castle Cinema
I love going to the cinema, in Clapton. It’s a cool independent cinema and I go quite a lot.
64-66 Brooksby’s Walk, London, E9 6DA, thecastlecinema.com
V&A Storehouse
A new branch of the V&A in Hackney Wick. Different from other museums, it’s a working storage facility that’s open to the public. Visitors can request objects they want to see.
Parkes Street, London, E20 3AX, www.vam.ac.uk
CODE members get 30% off their total bill at Oren on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 5pm to 10pm, and on Sundays from noon to 5pm. At lunchtimes, CODE members get a free glass of wine with their set menu lunch.
Oren Delicatessen, 6c Ada Street, London, E8 4QU, orendeli.com
Oren, 89 Shacklewell Lane, London, E8 2EB, orenlondon.com
