Had heard fabulous things about the Hackney Pearl but was terribly disappointed. Went for a light lunch with my husband but unfortunately the menu was more like a gastro pub than a café. Fine if you want sea bass or steak but we wanted something lighter. My husband went for a salad (not on the starters list but on its own listing) and I had a bruschetta. The bruschetta was lovely and a good size but the Pepper Salad was tiny. We ordered bread as well so at least we could fill up on that. We then decided to have pudding and again the servings were very small. The chocolate nemesis cake was half the size of a normal cake slice. This we could forgive because it was very rich but the baked cheesecake was the same size. I think they have to realise that people are not stupid and know what size a cake slice should be. It’s obvious that they are trying to increase profits by decreasing the portion sizes. Needless to say we will not be going back.

This is the first bad restaurant review I have ever written. I have never felt so ripped off after a meal before, even in the West End. It’s a pity as the décor and atmosphere was great. Coffee is also very good.

I was extremely disappointed by the quality of my main course here given all the lauding that has been going on for this venue. Our starter was a really lovely smooth chicken liver pate with a lovely chutney, though for some reason they served an ice-cream scoop size of pate with four tiny bits of delicious toast. I don't understand why people do that kind of thing, how much do a couple of slices of toast cost in comparison to the pate?

For our mains we went for the roasts. My husbands belly pork was good with a for the most part crispy skin, my lamb was a pot roast with an unpleasant and inedible layer of jellied fat on it. The flavours were fine, but I was expecting a roast that was pink and, well, roasty. I was also expecting potatoes that were brown and cripsy but the ones we were served with were floury and like something I've not eaten since I was at school. The other veg were ok, but why would you serve parsnips with sweet potato and a roasted onion? that makes the whole thing really sweet. The kale was cold. It was disappointment on a plate.

The puddings were nice, the service was good but I would not go there for sunday roast again.