“A top place for a special dinner” – this old Islington favourite is a notably “enjoyable” destination, with a “beautiful” and “spacious” interior; its “traditional” cooking is “pleasant” too, though critics do query whether it’s worth the prices.
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Fresh from a visit to Sadler’s Well, Mr Gill reviews “an Islington institution”, a place where “the menu has no coherent theme”: “it’s the sort of compilation that comes from kitchen caprice, customer preference and regular deliveries”. A prawn cocktail “had been given an Islington makeover” – and “the worst thing you can do with a prawn cocktail is try to refine her gob appeal”. Haddock fishcakes were “large, dull lumps of fish-style blob” – “like talking to a taxi driver stuck in traffic” [How is that, exactly? ed] Beef “was memorable – sadly, because I’d much rather forget it”. The fishcake was taken off the bill, but a tarte Tatin, and side orders of beetroot and potatoes were “all a straightforward write-off”.
AA Gill (2nd July 2007)
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