Black Axe Mangal is a tiny kebab shop (sort of) on Highbury Corner. After a long stint at St John Bread and Wine and a successful pop up in Copenhagen, Lee Tiernan (chef and owner) creates dishes using often forgotten parts of the animal. They don’t take reservations and as it’s so small, the tightly packed tables, topped with brightly coloured PVC table cloths, soon … Continue reading Black Axe Mangal, Highbury Corner
Oldroyd is the first solo restaurant from Tom Oldroyd (ex chef director for the Polpo group) and it’s based on Islington’s Upper Street – not a road exactly known for its culinary delights. It’s a super cute restaurant; downstairs has an open kitchen and a cafe-vibe (available for walk ins) and upstairs the cosy dining room takes bookings – hoorah! It might be small (and … Continue reading Oldroyd, Islington
I’m a bit late to the Dishoom party, their casual Indian food at high street prices has seen them grow to three sites in a short space of time. We thought we’d pop our Dishoom cherry in the newest one, based in Granary Square in King’s Cross (home to Grain Store and Caravan). There was a lovely aroma of Indian food/incense in the air as … Continue reading Dishoom, King’s Cross
Restaurant 500? Don’t worry, I hadn’t heard of it either, but it’s an Italian restaurant in Archway (I know right) that always seems busy and as it’s in the ‘Bib Gourmand Recommends’ section of the Michelin guide we thought we’d give it a go. On our Sunday night visit the place certainly wasn’t busy however. It was an odd space; it had a touch of … Continue reading Restaurant 500, Archway
The website for Primeur gives very little away – the only bit of helpful information is that they only take ‘face to face reservations’. Even the map is so vague you’d need a degree in orienteering to find the place. But I somehow managed to end up there (it’s somewhere between Highbury and Islington and Canonbury) for a weeknight dinner and found it rather charming. … Continue reading Primeur
I’d never heard of Le Mercury (a French restaurant in Islington) until a friend suggested it for a cheap and cheerful dinner. It’s been going strong for nearly thirty years and it’s so popular they’ve even opened a second restaurant down the road, Le Mercury Deuxieme, which serves exactly the same menu. It was packed when we arrived so we were seated in the upstairs … Continue reading Le Mercury, Islington
Located on Chalk Farm Road in Camden, Q Grill is the latest venture from professional Jason Statham look-a-like, I mean restaurateur, Des McDonald – he also owns The Fish and Chip Shop and Holborn Dining Room, both of which I love. It was a large and beautifully done-out restaurant. There was a long bar with comfy stool seats to the right hand side, large semi-circular … Continue reading Q Grill, Camden
The Drapers Arms is a pub situated in a quiet residential street in Islington. As we pulled up outside it looked beautiful; the the sort of quintessentially British pub that you could only dream about having as your local. As I’d heard many a good thing about the food I decided to take my parents along for a spot of dinner. Inside was equally as … Continue reading The Drapers Arms, Islington
Des McDonald (Ex CEO of Caprice Holdings who own The Ivy, Scott’s and J.Sheekey, amongst many others) has opened The Fish and Chip Shop in Islington. It’s not your standard chippy however, as it’s done out rather beautifully inside. There were two petite dining rooms to choose from; the first had small tables tightly packed together and the second out the back, which is where … Continue reading The Fish and Chip Shop, Islington (now Vintage Salt)
I first tasted Neil Rankin’s food during his residency at John Salt in Islington and it was easy to fall in love with. He’s since opened up nearby Smokehouse which, as you might imagine from someone who used to be the head chef at Pitt Cue Co, specialises in roasting, grilling, smoking and barbecuing. The six of us thought it would be the perfect place … Continue reading Smokehouse, Islington
Karpo is an odd looking restaurant from the outside; sandwiched between a bureau de change and a Burger King in the hustle and polluted bustle of Kings Cross. It’s vibrantly painted to say the least. The inside however felt much less chaotic and almost tranquil. There was a long bar in the entrance area with seating out the back. We were taken to a table … Continue reading Karpo, Kings Cross
Gilgamesh is a “critically acclaimed pan Asian restaurant” which is sandwiched between the food stalls of Camden Market. Our visit on this occasion however wasn’t for their a la carte menu filled with bizarre flavour combinations (they serve a banana and prawn spring roll. Seriously). Instead it was for a very different kind of menu. For three weeks Gilgamesh will be serving an I’m a … Continue reading Gilgamesh: Bushtucker Trial Menu
Oslo Court has quite an unusual location; on the ground floor of a block of flats in St John’s Wood. It’s been in the Sanchez family for over thirty years now and they do things the old fashioned way – there’s no website and there’s certainly no Twitter. Things are similar inside too; if you like the 70’s you’d feel right at home here. The … Continue reading Oslo Court
After visiting Le Coq in Islington we fell in love with the area; it’s so busy and FULL of restaurants. We returned to try Trullo, an Italian restaurant which offers a simple and seasonal daily changing menu. Sadly we weren’t seated in the ground floor dining room which had a great atmosphere, instead we were seated downstairs which didn’t have quite the same buzz; it … Continue reading Trullo, Islington
Grain Store is the creation of chef Bruno Loubet and the people behind the Zetter Hotel and the Zetter Townhouse. It has a rather wonderful location in the beautifully redeveloped part of Kings Cross called Granary Square. It’s a brave venture for two reasons: firstly, it’s a massive restaurant seating around 120 covers in total and secondly, it doesn’t serve burgers or brasserie dishes like … Continue reading Grain Store, Kings Cross
