Formerly Mao Chao. Really tasty Dan Dan noodles, cucumber salad, and green beans, however the cauliflower was not as good as I remember…..tasted not cooked all the way and gummy! I hope they didn’t change the recipe. Aside from that, the prices are fair, love that’s it’s vegan, and cool vibes! Worth a visit :)

The moment you arrive at this little place on the corner you know they're located where they should be: it simply emanates East London hipster vibes in a charming sort of way. The clientele are mostly cool 20-30 somethings willing to sit on small stools in very cosy environs in order to get a hit of the unique vegan flavours on offer. Looking at the menu, Facing Heaven is an interesting proposition - all items are entirely plant-based. However, it might be a tad inauthentic to say they serve Chinese food as they're quite far along on the journey towards experimentation. There are certainly hints coming through in some of the flavours, of which the waitress kindly informed us mostly originate from the Szechuan region of China. However, when you read the modest menu of roughly 12 items, you'll be inclined to say 'fusion cuisine' of an Asian persuasion might be a better categorisation. Highlights included the worryingly named chicken-fried shrooms with their meaty texture and the wrap for which you'll need to drop the chopsticks and go all hands in - a good mix of soft and chewy textures and savoury flavours with a hit of umami. In all, the food tends toward being flavoursome but rich - absolutely do not come here with the expectation of eating healthily! Nearly all dishes were heaving in oil, and if you're unlucky, consumption will almost guarantee an excess of stomach acid. Thus, an alkali salad to balance is recommended amongst the tapas-sized plates available. Similarly, ensure you have at least one of those green bottles of tap water handy. Our waitress was too busy to bring us additional ones so we helped ourselves. Given the above, the food here is not the cheapest - expect to pay upwards of £20 to satiate a hungry belly with what is effectively fast food. The waitress recommended ordering 5 dishes to my dining partner and I, but between us we could've avoided over-indulging with just 4. The good thing is that if you under-order, the food arrives quick enough that you won't be left hungry for long. A booking is recommended as the restaurant was nearly full at 8pm on a Tuesday night. There was just one person serving nearly 25 patrons with the occasional chef stepping out of the open kitchen to lend a hand. We did wait nearly 15 minutes for the waitress to bring us a paper menu, but service improved somewhat thereafter. Overall, a good proposition but not high on the 'To Try' list. There are better restaurants in London if you're after more traditional Chinese fare. But for its experimental value and Hackney charm, this restaurant is worth a visit if you happen to be nearby.

Unfortunately we did not have a great experience whilst trying out Facing Heaven and it was rather disappointing in comparative to its hype and flaring social media. It was rather loud & packed on the evening with only two members of staff front of house which didn’t seem like much as we had very little attention and the waiting times between each plate were quite extent. Now I understand that this is a newer restaurant and is populating by the day but I feel that it needs a little work in improvement of service as it felt half hearted and almost like they didn’t want to be there. I can see that it has a lot of potential and hope it will only improve over time. All in all this left us rather sad walking out of the door after paying as we had built up much excitement over the last few weeks to eat some delicious vegan food.

Ate here last night and it was brilliant. The tofu skin was delicious and like nothing I’ve had before. We really enjoyed the sesame toast and those Dan Dan noodles are are perfect ratio of garlicky, nutty, spicy goodness.

Great new restaurant from the folks behind Mao Chow. Tiny but great ambiance and speed of service. Delicious, well seasoned food and love that the entire menu was vegan! Think they’re still getting through launch phase - we went in a group and weren’t able to split the bill. Music volume was a just a tad loud. Great addition to Mare Street dining options and would return.

Wow. I can’t get over how much of a great time I had here. Firstly the food: jaw dropping. Not only is it literally like eating meat (the whole restaurant is vegan) but the flavours are immense!! My personal favourite is the ‘prawn’ toast. To die for. Honestly it was so tasty. The steak n frites was just like a real steak n frites!! The fries were actually really really good too, I’m not sure why. They just were. The dessert was peanut butter French toast which was HUGE and SO YUM. But I was defeated , there was no way I was going to finish it. Then the atmosphere of this restaurant . I really loved it. It was so intimate and the decor was soooo cool. It was pretty warm because you’re right by the kitchen so I’m not sure what peak of summers like!! But I am so annoyed that I forgot to buy one of their T-shirts!!!!! Overall I really think you need to come here, there is no way you’ll regret it. I loved it so much, thank you Facing Heaven for creating the best vegan food.

Honestly my favourite Restaurant right now for a lot of reasons. Food is incredibly good and addictive, full of flavour and spice. Amazing how it's all vegan too, your meat eater friends won't feel short changed! The music and the atmosphere is impeccable too and unlike their previous restaurant you can book a table...so do it!

Really delicious vegan Sichuan food. You can tell it is cooked and prepared with skill and care. It is quite expensive and not huge portions, but I didn't mind paying as an occasional treat, especially as there is no way I could make this stuff at home. I do wish the music was MUCH quieter (it's a restaurant not a club! I want to have a conversation over dinner!) and the seats were more comfortable - that would make it 5 stars.

Really enjoyed this - very impressed with the fact it is all vegan and I believe they make their own vegan meat in-house too. Our favourites which really stood out were the tiger skin cheeseburger (incredible) and the chop and rice. The dumplings were a tad hard but the chili oil delicious, the Dan Dan noodles were okay but not particularly as punchy in flavour as the cheeseburger and chop and rice. Dry fry beans were also tasty. We also enjoyed the novelty of the ice cream sundae which came with chili oil and soy sauce caramel! Would like to come back to try some other dishes, it sounds like the menu is updated regularly. It would be good if they had some additional non alcohol drinks and some tea on the menu though. Keep up the good work!

The food is super delicious! Yes London prices but the portions are not small. The only thing I did not enjoy was the super loud music - hard to talk to people I am having dinner with.

I definitely don't recommend this. Firstly, they leave the door open when it's lashing rain. I had to wear my wet jacket at my table! The portions are so small. 5 plates between 2 people was not enough food and yet cost £70! Sitting at little plastic stools in a really crammed corner made the whole experience really uncomfortable. The decor is tacky and everything is plastic. Take yourself to Tofu Vegan instead or something that has some comfort!

Delicious, great vibe, reasonably priced, friendly staff, however this menu is not for the faint of heart. Having visited twice I can confirm that every dish is exceptionally spicy. And I mean every dish. Even the ice cream sundae desert (albeit lovely) is laced with chili sauce. And as a small place with little ventilation you do tend to inhale the air of chill spice circulating around the restaurant, which can tickle the back of your throat. No mercy is given on or off the plate. I will return again once my tastebuds have recovered.

The flavour is on point. They managed to recreate the taste of 大排檔 (a type of Hong Kong street food), and nailed the seasoning. Will definitely be back soon!

Fun place and creative fusion food but the Dan Dan noodles were extremely spicy- I’m Chinese and can’t say I’ve had similar in any East Asian restaurants here in the UK. Had to down my beer to cope. My partner is good with spice but couldn’t speak he was sweating so much. Staff confirmed that the spice levels were intense and took my portion away then offered us an ice cream sundae to help but got charged for both which was a shame- ended up pretty expensive in the end (£30pp) and I was still a bit hungry but overall was a fun meal out Think ‘Chinese restaurant’ is a stretch, very much fusion food although some flavours are authentic

Well worth the hour it took us to get there - some of the best Dan Dan noodles we've eaten before, and the HK toast was absurdly big and delicious. Really great dumplings too. The vibe was chaotic and brilliant 🪩

Everything was delicious! I'm not even vegan but I do love Sichuan and this combo was sublime 👌 Would have loved a few non alcoholic drink options & room for dessert. It was pretty packed here for a Wednesday, so make a booking to ensure you can get a seat.

Had the most DELICIOUS meal (we basically ordered everything on the menu as it all sounded so good), the staff were so nice even though it was busy you felt really cared for! Would go back again in a heartbeat, thanks team!!!

Must visit for vegans and non-vegans alike! Loved the dan dan noodles. Nice wine selection. It's a bit busy so at times you need to grab the staff’s attention but it's fine, and the music is a little loud but again, for me, it's fine. Definitely the trendiest vegan Chinese around.

The staff were so accommodating and even though they were full they made us a little table outside in the sun to eat, it was such a great and friendly experience! The food was obviously incredible and I don’t think I’ve ever had anything as tasty as the French toast, do yourself a favour and ask them to put a bit of their chilli ice cream on top - you won’t regret it! :) 10/10

Food was delicious! Waitress was friendly too - my friend had a pram with her and was accommodated without any fuss. Only downside was the music - great selection but very loud, be warned!