Take a look at Fischer’s or Colbert and you’ll see Corbin and King know how to make a bloody good neighbourhood restaurant. The latest addition to this subtle empire is Soutine on St John’s Wood High Street, North London. Arguably their nicest looking yet, Giles Coren best sums it up in his Times review: “It has been magnificently overhauled to look just like the sexiest … Continue reading Soutine, St John’s Wood
London is full of exciting new hotel openings right now. You’ve got the Hoxton Southwark, Mama Shelter in Shoreditch, The Biltmore in Mayfair and The Stratford in, er, Stratford. Head over to King’s Cross and you’ll find the first UK outpost from The Standard. It takes over the old Camden Town Hall right opposite King’s Cross station. A little less glamorous than its Downtown LA, … Continue reading Isla at The Standard, London
Coal Drops Yard has really put King’s Cross on London’s culinary map. Whether it’s chocolates from Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse, croquetas from Barrafina, tacos at Plaza Pastor or a Vermouth or three at Anthony Demetre’s Vermuteria, go north and you’ll be well fed and watered. Inside CDY’s trendiest shop Wolf & Badger you’ll find Hicce, taking up the entire third floor. It’s from business partners … Continue reading Hicce, Coal Drops Yard
The clever Harts Brothers have taken on quite the challenge, opening a host of restaurants in the new Coal Drops Yard development in Kings Cross. There’s Plaza Pastor and Casa Pastor, serving tacos and rotisserie chicken, a new Barrafina and a wine bar-cum-restaurant called The Drop. Inside is a cosy spot; all exposed brick in low-ceiling arches. At one end there’s a counter to perch … Continue reading The Drop, Coal Drops Yard
Carle Clarke and David Wolanski, owners of Chick ‘n’ Sours in Dalston and Seven Dials, certainly have a hit on their hands with their latest opening Chik’N. You can best sum it up with the words free-range, fast-food and bloody-delicious. Essentially it’s more of what they do best: fried chicken. It sits on Baker Street, ironically right next to a KFC, and on our Sunday … Continue reading Chik’N, Baker Street
Oldoryd has been sitting handsomely on Islington’s Upper Street since 2015. I’ve been a few times now and owner, Tom Oldroyd (once of Polpo fame), and head chef, Louis Lingwood, always manage to create the sort of food you’d eat on a sunny holiday. Even more impressive: they make it all in one of London’s smallest kitchens. The dining room is tiny too. Upstairs the … Continue reading Oldroyd, Islington
MEATliquor. They’re the burger and cocktail guys who went from a burger van in a Peckham carpark to, now, 13 restaurants spanning London, Leeds, Brighton and Bristol. I blame them for my beef patty addiction. It was their first restaurant just off Oxford Street that got me into messy, drippy, sloppy burgers. But that was years ago. How good are they now? Their newest opening, … Continue reading MEATliquor King’s Cross
We first visited Prawn on the Lawn at their Padstow restaurant and fell a little bit in love with the place. But husband and wife team Rick and Katie first opened a fishmonger cum restaurant in Islington and they’ve since moved a few doors down the road to a bigger space – the old Le Coq site. One half is still dedicated to selling fresh … Continue reading Prawn on the Lawn, Islington
I’ve been a fan of Corbin and King restaurants for a while now – these are the two chaps who made the Ivy what it was in its heyday who then went on to open The Wolseley, Brasserie Zedél and The Delaunay to name but a few. Bellanger is their Islington outpost and it sits just off Upper Street opposite Islington Green. It’s a gorgeous, … Continue reading Bellanger, Islington
I’ve enjoyed The Cheese Truck’s cheese toasties on Maltby Street Market for some time now – the one with quesa chihuahua and chorizo is one of the best hangover cures in London. After a successful £130,000 Crowdfund, owner Mathew Carver has got himself a proper restaurant. It’s in the stables in Camden Market which isn’t the most glamorous of places late at night – I’d … Continue reading The Cheese Bar, Camden
The only downside to Perilla, a new restaurant from chef Ben Marks and FOH Matt Emmerson, who have run a host of successful pop ups, is it’s in Newington Green, which happens to be a right old faff to get to. [Full disclosure: I’m incredibly lazy]. Once in, it’s a beauty of a place. There’s wood galore with a ceiling reminiscent of an attic/garden centre, … Continue reading Perilla, Stoke Newington
Islington’s Upper Street is slowly starting to become more than just a giant stretch of chains. Thanks to Oldroyd and Corbin and King’s Bellanger, it’s actually difficult choosing where to eat. That choice is now likely to get trickier with the addition of Galley. It’s a beautifully kitted out space; the open kitchen with a counter (that’s the best place to sit) is reminiscent of … Continue reading Galley, Islington
It’s been a good few years since I last visited the original Modern Pantry in Farringdon, but I remember it certainly being pleasant. When I heard they were opening a second, in Finsbury Square, a rather lifeless part of the city, I was intrigued to say the least. It’s a beautiful spot; you walk in past a gorgeous bar where cocktails and tapas are served, … Continue reading The Modern Pantry, Finsbury Square
Bellanger is the new neighbourhood restaurant for the lucky folk of Islington from Corbin & King (the duo behind the Wolseley, Delaunay and Brasserie Zédel among others). It’s based in a former Browns, but what a transformation… It’s all dark wood panelled walls, white tablecloths and rattan chairs; glamorous yet not at all imposing. The bar area was reminiscent of a train carriage, the rest … Continue reading Bellanger, Islington
The German Gymnasium is D&D’s latest whopper of a restaurant which is housed in a former…. German gymnasium. The building is quite breathtaking with its huge, wooden beamed ceiling, but the addition of clubby music (a bit too ME Hotel for my liking) jarred a little. We booked the upstairs restaurant which, other than giving us a nice view of the place, lacked a bit … Continue reading The German Gymnasium, Kings Cross
