LDNReview
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Mambow
Included In
Clapton’s bonneted crowd is no stranger to juicy grapes and elbow-knocking spaces, and the memefication of this area feels like a cheap shot until you’re drinking wine next to a Carhartt-fitted greyhound. But Mambow shows that there’s more to east London than a crippling watermelon vape addiction. The modern Malaysian spot is 500 square feet of high-octane restaurant, mixing delicious displays of creativity with exhilarating whacks of chilli. It acts as a welcome reminder that Hackney can still be home to ingenuity.
Once through the front door, you’ll find that Mambow is fashionably unpolished. The candles are plentiful, the space is tight, and inadvertent eavesdropping is drowned out by occasionally pumping bass. Most people here—dates, friends, friends who sometimes date—start with the crunching lor bak. It’s one of the most irresistible small plates around. While it isn’t an airy, seamless experience—some starters tend to arrive later into the meal—it is a thrilling one thanks to the kitchen.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Mambow’s dozen-or-so dishes are defined by head chef and owner Abby Lee’s Singaporean and Malaysian upbringing, and the menu regularly changes. This place has had many guises—from street stall to food hall concession—but now it's firmly put, it can move in other ways. One month may see the ingenious otak-otak prawn toast—a beautiful handful of betel leaf and fish cake—while another will have sticky double-roasted pork that’s fiery with delicate slices of bird’s-eye chilli. Mambow’s on-the-go approach means that this is a restaurant you’ll want to return to as the seasons change.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Jake Missing
Everything is made for sharing, although things like plate-licking Sarawak black pepper chicken curry will be done so reluctantly. The handful of counter seats aren’t ideal for the kind of spread you should be ordering so dig your heels in and wait to book a proper table—it's worth it. With the right kind of greediness a group can easily dispatch most of the menu. Just know that anyone seeking a luxe east London experience should look elsewhere. But Hackney’s always been about more than that, and the same goes for Mambow.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Kay Pachok
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Lor Bak
photo credit: Jake Missing
Otak-Otak Prawn Toast
photo credit: Jake Missing
Double-Roasted Pork
photo credit: Jake Missing
Perut Ikan
photo credit: Jake Missing
Sarawak Black Pepper Chicken Curry