The Single
£9One patty, American, pickles, house sauce, toasted brioche.
128 g1 patty
Griddle-forged // Cut No.01
Smash// The Sear
Fresh-ground · Smashed · Seared
The cut // Smash No.01
Specifications// 02. The Cut
Grill temp
92°C
One fresh-ground patty hits the flat-top and is smashed thin — deep Maillard crust locked on the outside, juice still held in the core.
The smash //
03. TheSmash
Sear profile
Maillard
One patty, built to order. Brioche, shredded lettuce, dill pickles, melted American, single smash and the house sauce — smashed together.
The cut // Smash No.01
Specifications// 02. The Cut
Grill temp
230 °C
06The builds // Set-up 06
Six burgers,// Six Builds
The menu above is what they cost. This is what is actually in them — every layer, in the order it goes on the bun, cooked on the same griddle you just watched.
01The Single
£9
02Most orderedThe Double
£12
03The Stack
£15
04The Bacon
£14
05The Bird
£12
06VegetarianThe Field
£1107The deals // Set-up 07
Four ways// To Save
The same food for less at the quiet hours. No app, no points card, and nothing you have to sign up to — you just ask for it at the counter.
The Set
Any burger, fries and a drink
£14£16
All day, every day
Lunch Single
The Single and fries
£11£13
Wed–Fri · 12:00–15:00
For The Table
Two Singles, big fries, two drinks
£24£28
All day, every day
Small Plate
Mini burger, fries and a juice
£7
Under-10s, any time
08Order // Set-up 08
Ahead, or// At The Bar
Order on WhatsApp and it is on the griddle when you arrive. Walk-ups are always welcome — there is no queue we would rather you skipped.
Collection
15 minMessage the kitchen, pay at the counter, and it is handed over hot.
Fastest
Walk up
6 minOrder at the pass and watch it cook. This is what the room is for.
Delivery
20 minOur own rider, inside 2 km only. Past that it is not the same burger.
Large orders
24 hrsTen burgers or more, give us the day before and we will have it ready.
09The house // Set-up 09
One arch,// One Griddle
Ridley Road since 2019. Twenty-two seats, one flat-top, and a menu we have shortened twice and never once made longer.
There is one flat-top in this room and it has been on since we opened. Everything on the menu is cooked on it, in front of you, in the order you asked for it.
No freezer, no holding cabinet, no second kitchen. We grind for the day, and when the beef runs out at the end of a service, that is the end of the service.
Sear House — Ridley Road, since 2019
- 230°C
- Griddle temp
- 128g
- Every patty
- 6min
- Counter to hand
- 0
- Freezers
What is in it, and where it comes from
- Beef
- Chuck and brisket, ground twice daily
- Bun
- Brioche, baked on Ridley Road
- Cheese
- American, and only American
- Fat
- Beef dripping, clarified in-house
- Griddle
- Steel, seasoned since 2019
- Seats
- Twenty-two, counter and window
10Reviews // Set-up 10
What comes// Back
4.8/ 5
1,240 reviews
Google · Hackney
You watch the whole thing happen. Ball of beef, one press, and six minutes later it is in your hand still too hot to hold.
Dani R.
Local Guide · 41 reviews
The crust is the entire point. I have had a lot of smash burgers and most of them are steamed. This one is not.
Marcus O.
First visit · March
Six things on the menu and every one of them is right. I have stopped reading it.
Priya N.
Regular since 2021
Took eight of us on a Monday for a birthday. They shut the doors and cooked all night. Best £20 a head I have spent.
Tom A.
Private hire · January
11Groups // Set-up 11
The Arch,// To Yourself
We are closed to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays, which is when the room is available to book — and when the griddle can go somewhere else.
01Up to 22
The whole room
Mondays and Tuesdays. Burger, fries and a drink for everyone, and the counter stays open all night.
£20 a head
0240 and up
The griddle, at yours
We bring a flat-top and cook on site. Weddings, wrap parties, launches — anywhere with a bit of outside space.
From £24 a head
0310 and up
Boxes to collect
Ordered the day before, boxed at the pass, and out of the door in one trip.
Menu price
Everything above is arranged by message or by phone — there is no booking system and there is not going to be one. Tell us the date, the number of people and roughly what you want, and we will come back the same day.
Ask about a date12Visit // Set-up 12
Find Us// On Ridley
Counter service, no bookings. Walk up, order at the pass, and watch it cook while you wait.
- Address
- Arch 12, Ridley Road, London E8
- Nearest
- Dalston Kingsland · 2 min
- Service
- Counter only · no bookings
- Last order
- 30 minutes before close
Under the railway arches at the Dalston end of Ridley Road, next to the fruit stalls. Two minutes from Dalston Kingsland, five from Dalston Junction.
Opening hours
- Monday
- Private hire only
- Tuesday
- Private hire only
- Wednesday
- 12:00 – 23:00
- Thursday
- 12:00 – 23:00
- Friday
- 12:00 – 24:00
- Saturday
- 12:00 – 24:00
- Sunday
- 12:00 – 21:00
Send a note
For press, private hire, large orders, or anything the menu does not cover.
13Questions // Set-up 13
Before you// Queue
Can I book a table?
Not for a normal service — it is counter service and the room holds twenty-two. Mondays and Tuesdays the whole arch can be booked out, which is what the Groups section is for.
Do you deliver?
Inside two kilometres, with our own rider, about twenty minutes. We do not use the delivery apps: a smash burger is at its best ninety seconds off the griddle and nothing survives a longer trip.
Can I order ahead?
Yes. Message the kitchen on WhatsApp and it goes on the griddle so it is ready about fifteen minutes later. Ten burgers or more, give us the day before.
Can I change what is in it?
You can take something off. We will not add anything that is not on the menu — the sauce, the cheese and the pickles are the recipe, not options.
Is there anything for vegetarians?
The Field, and the milkshakes. The fries are cooked in beef dripping, so ask and we will do you a plain portion in oil instead.
Do you take cash?
Card and contactless only. There has never been a till drawer in the arch.
Is it accessible?
Step-free from the street, and there is room for a chair at the window counter. The toilet is accessible. Ring ahead and we will keep the window end clear for you.
What time do you run out?
Some nights nine, most nights eleven. We grind for the day, and when it is gone we close the shutter.