Shutterbug

What’s better than crepes & cocktails? Nothing, right? And Shutterbug has them both. Perfect combo…
The place is a little bit hidden (like every gem) but it’s worth the journey. Amazing crepes and very unique cocktails. Who knew tequila, toffee and coffee work so well together? Well, I learned that tonight ! And did you know they’re doing a homemade salted caramel? It’s heaven. So obviously you have to try the salted caramel, vanilla ice cream and bretzel crêpe.
Trust me on this one.
And if it wasn’t enough, the staff is really lovely. You can feel that they care about the place and the clients.
Oh, and don’t forget to check the nice terrace with the DJ !

I love this place!
they sure have the best galettes from london and the pancakes are delicious!
they also have a red velvet crêpe! I must try it next time looks really nice!
the cocktails are zoo good, I recommend the bloody marry with bacon infusion! perfect for a brunch and hangover recovery

I have sort of a bi-​weekly running lunch with my boss, and we’re usually rocking it Shoreditch style. This happened to be the case the last time we were looking, and she suggested Shutterbug.
Cute name… Not really sure what it means though, since the place doesn’t look photography inspired in the least. But it’s not there to take your picture, it’s there to cook you food. And food it will cook.
This is another classic hipster Shoreditch café. Laid back, lovely little creperie (with more on the menu as well). You order at the counter and they bring you your food, either inside or out on their patio (where we sat, being there on one of London’s mysterious actually nice days.)
The crepes (which too many Europeans think of as pancakes) looked good, but I was in a heartier mood. I got a really nice open-​faced chicken sandwich with a ton of avocado. They did not scrimp here my friends, this was a true sandwich. My boss got a really fresh green salad that filled the bowl.
Is this place going to win any, «Wow» awards? Probably not. But if you’re looking for a simple meal tucked away from the craziness of the rest of the neighbourhood, let me point you this way.

Went at about 11pm on a Saturday night. They were still serving crepes so the place smelt quite strongly of butter, but not in an unpleasant way. It’s a small place but there was still room to dance — the music is current and classic RnB. There was a garden which looked nice but we didn’t explore because it’s winter. I’d recommend this place for late night dancing and a snack.

After a great street art walking tour around the area, I went with the small group to Shutterbug for a treat after running around East London streets for three hours or so. Shutterbug is a nice little place in a small side alley, easy to overlook. As it was a warm day in August we stayed outside.
Shutterbug specialises in two things that I have rarely seen in combination, but begin both with a c: cocktails and crepes. I was not sure if it works together, but somehow it does.
I had a nice and strong gin cocktail called Clover Club to wash down a delicious cookies and cream crêpe. They do savoury and sweet crepes, so you could also get something more filling than a sweet dessert.
Shutterbug seemed like a relaxed and quiet place, just right to round off a Thursday evening during a busy week.

The other day, I had a conversation with a co-​worker that went along the lines of this:
CW: What are you up to tonight?
Me: Oh, I’m going to try out the new Shutterbug Creperie in Shoreditch.
CW: Cool! What type of food do they serve?
Me: Um… crepes?
To be clear, a creperie serves crepes (or what too many Europeans think of as pancakes) that are wrapped around a sweet or savoury filling of your choice. Biased undoubtedly by my time in the States, pancakes should be thick fluffy circles of joy meant to absorb several times their volume in maple syrup and eaten in vast quantities for breakfast. Crepes, on the other hand, are more along the lines of crispy flatbreads that are just enough to act as a base layer for a host of toppings (or if really well done can be wrapped around said toppings to make a tasty on the go snack).
Shutterbug Creperie has a number of savoury options including a chorizo and egg, salmon and horseradish cream, and a pulled pork with bbq sauce creation. The sweet options are just as many in number but seem to concentrate in the fruit and chocolate range although they do have a salted caramel one that is epic.
Departing from my usual standard of meat, meat, and more meat, I opted for the goat cheese, caramelised onions and fig relish. Provided that you like goat cheese, this was a delicious choice with warm creamy cheese, fresh leaves, and the sweetness from the onions. The fig relish added a different texture to the sweet aftertaste as well as just the barest hint of chilli. The crêpe was crispy with just enough flexibility to be wrapped around the food. It was still a challenge to pick up a bit of everything in each forkful, but really that’s a minor problem in this situation. My companions’ mushroom mix crêpe and egg & chorizo crêpe were likewise very tasty but the pulled pork stole the show with tender juicy meat, tangy bbq sauce, and a sharp cheese combining to make a delicious meal. It’s definitely not a conventional filling, but Shutterbug makes it work.
Dessert crepes (because just one will never fill you up for dinner) were of course necessary and we selected strawberry and milk chocolate, salted caramel, and red velvet to try. The strawberries are sliced thinly and were both succulent and sweet while the milk chocolate had the right creamy ganache texture between sauce and fudge. It was tasty but not inspiring.
The red velvet was more pink than red and lacked that deep bitter chocolate taste but combined with the mascarpone cheese and more strawberries it turned out to be a decent option. I think a bit more red would have given a very vibrant presentation. The winner of this round was definitely the salted caramel with a great salty and sweet balance. Personally, I would have liked a bit more salt in the mix but given the cries of happiness from the others I think I just have higher salt tolerance.
Our waitress (the only one) was very friendly and happy to recommend dishes and drinks. She answered a number of questions with a smile even though it took us ages to order. The crêpe chef was more heavy metal than cordon blue but you can’t fault his work. The place was pretty empty for a Friday night, although I guess crepes are more a weekend brunch than pre-​drink concept so that could be why. It’s also off the main road so walk in business is pretty minimal I would assume.
Overall, I’ve had better crepes but not by much, and for London this is definitely the top joint in town (for now…).

This new café is a bit hidden, it’s towards the back of RIvington Place within Rivington Gallery. Luckily, they had someone out on the street handing out vouchers for free crepes. I don’t think there is any better way to my heart than a free crêpe. Inside, decisions were quick as both my colleague and I went for the first option on the menu — honey roast ham and cheese buckwheat crêpe (is this technically a galette?), which we both liked — perfect for a cold winter’s day. I also grabbed a decent milky hot chocolate which had pretty swirls at the top (I guess I was in an easy to please mood at this point) and my friend enjoyed his coffee, which I think was Climpson’s.
Their website is a tumblr! I couldn’t approve more! It has informed me that they will have a rotating photography exhibition which I’m ashamed to say I didn’t notice, so excited was I by my free lunch and the friendly (/​laughing at us?) staff. I will definitely go back and read the rest of their menu — there’s an option involving goats cheese and fig, another involving chorizo and egg, to say nothing of a salted caramel sweet crêpe. I also saw they do the classic lemon and sugar crêpe which is my absolute favourite (and also it’s awesome sister, the crêpe suzette). Writing this review has really highlighted my crêpe obsession actually — oops.
Only drawback is that this is on the expensive side — £5.50−6.00 for a savoury crêpe. I’m really a fan of sub £5 lunch options (which is why Atlantic is still my favourite Shoreditch lunch spot), but the crêpe is quite filling so I can totally justify this as a treat.