Bethnal Green Town Hall opened on 1 November 1910, Portland stone by Percy Robinson with W Alban Jones, and was extended east along Patriot Square between 1937 and 1939 by E. C. P. Monson. Historic England listed it Grade II in 1973: a marble stairwell under a glazed dome, committee rooms lined in Austrian oak, a Henry Poole sculpture over the door, a 1930s council chamber still holding its original benches and Australian walnut panelling. The borough moved out in 1993. The Singaporean hotelier Loh Lik Peng bought the empty building in 2007 for his Unlisted Collection, Rare Architecture ran the conversion and wrapped the rear in laser-cut aluminium, and the hotel opened in November 2010.
Ninety-eight rooms and suites is the figure on record, and the categories separate on two things: floor area, and how much of the old building comes with it. Double Rooms start at 23.7 sqm, Deluxe Doubles run 26.4 to 37.3 sqm, and from Junior Suite upward most have a kitchen and several a washer-dryer, which is why long stays and families end up here. The Signature categories keep elements of the original interiors, with glass partitions so the full ceiling height still reads and bespoke furniture built around the fireplaces and plasterwork. The public rooms are as good: the marble entrance hall, the Assembly Lounge where the council once convened, and the Council Chamber in oak, teak and leather.
Da Terra has held the ground floor since January 2019. Rafael Cagali took a first star within eight months and a second in 2021, and the 2026 guide keeps both. The tasting menu is £275, a shorter one £190 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, a three-course lunch £110 Thursday to Saturday, pairings £160, and allow three hours. Upstairs, in the room that used to be Corner Room, Cagali also runs Restaurant Elis, named after Elis Regina and his mother's São Paulo restaurant, doing sharing plates without a star. Breakfast is served there, for a charge. The basement holds a 14 metre heated pool under skylights and a gym with Peloton bikes, and there is no spa.
The catch is the calendar. Da Terra serves Wednesday to Saturday, Elis stops at Saturday night and the Assembly Lounge is closed on Sunday, so a Sunday arrival walks out for dinner. Location is the weakest line in guest feedback everywhere we looked, and that is fair. The Central line is five minutes away, the West End is not. Guests also report dated air conditioning and service that wobbles. Come for the kitchen and the building, pick the nights around Da Terra, and the rate looks very low for what sits underneath it. It suits anyone who plans a trip around a table rather than a postcode.
