Shutterbug - Hackney

What an incredible venue to celebrate your bday! After exploring various venues in Shoreditch, I came across this unique and intriguing venue! I approached the staff who were very willing to ensure my night was unforgettable! Their cocktails are mesmerizing! Mama's cooking was awesome and to top it all up the atmosphere was incredible and buzzing! Thanks Tye the team!

I went there with some friends for a Sunday brunch. We had smoothies, pancakes and salmon. The prices are a bit expensive, and there are only few items on the menu, but the quality of the food is amazing. It's advisable to book at least the day before.

A friend of mine had booked a table here for Pancake Day, for 5 of us. When she called that morning to check the booking, she was promptly told that a booking shouldn 't have been made as they weren 't taking bookings for Pancake Day. However, the staff member acknowledged that my friend had not been told this and so the booking would be honoured. When we arrived at 7pm, we were told that this conversation had not taken place and that we would have to get in the (30 people deep) queue. We asked to see their reservations book, as that would show that the booking was indeed made under my friend 's name. We were then passed from staff member to staff member as no one knew who was supposed to have dealt with this, all the while we were kept waiting. It eventually took half an hour and some very stern talking to get a table for us, even after they had acknowledged that we did indeed book a table and this booking was to be honoured. The bar was far too crowded, and the additional seating they had provided was a few picnic tables in a temporary marquee round the back. Once we were seated, it took a further 10 minutes for someone to tell us that we had to go back to the bar and get in the (still 30 people deep) queue to order. By this time we had been messed around for 45 minutes and so decided to leave and take our custom elsewhere. I have never experienced such a shocking display of customer service: being told repeatedly that the customer is wrong, and then when the manager acknowledges that we had made a booking (by mistake of one of *their* staff members), it still took 45 minutes for us to get anywhere. Abysmal. DO NOT VISIT.

Just to say that they no longer do sweet crepes- I was really craving them and went here based on the reviews and they do American stacked pancakes with berry compote and savoury ones, so not the ones in the main photo. The American pancakes were great though.

We came into Shutterbug for brunch on a Sunday. Cool interior, really lovely menu, food was tasty and staff were friendly. The only downside was how long we had to wait for the food. It was not particularly busy there were only two other pairs of customers, but we waited over an hour for scrambled egg and an omelette (as yummy as it was in the end). I would go back and try something else from the menu as all the food sounded great, but I would hope to eat a bit quicker!