Restaurant Closed
This restaurant is closed.
Please contact us if this is incorrect.
Breaking news
Closure will take effect 21-12-2025
After two beautiful years, we’re sad to announce we’re closing Saltine. It hasn’t been an easy decision but it’s the right time for us and the team. We’re so proud of what we’ve built in that former chicken shop, and we hope you’ve loved it as much as we’ve loved making it. What a wild ride!
The climate for small restaurants is a tough one — tougher than Covid — and though we would love for the Saltine story to be a longer one, this was not our time. We’ll be keeping the space open for events and parties for the time being, while getting stuck into some other exciting projects within the business. However, Saltine as we know it, is coming to an end.
Our last day of service will be lunch on 21st December. We’d love to have you for a few plates, and many more glasses, before then.
Thank you for everything,
Mat, Jess, Phil and Jenna
Harden's says
This new Highbury spot is the latest from Mat Appleton and Jess Blackstone, who have opened a trio of cafés under the Fink’s name in the area over the past dozen years. There's coffee, pastries and grab-and-go bites by day, with a seasonal dinner menu from chef Phil Wood (ex-St John and Spring) in the evening, along with cocktails and low-intervention wines.
Harden's survey result
Summary
This “beautifully designed and comfortable” two-year-old from Mat Appleton & Jess Blackstone (of nearby café trio Fink’s) makes “a brilliant addition to Highbury Barn, which has strangely always been lacking decent restaurants and pubs”. The modern bistro menu is short, but all reports rate the cooking good or better.
Summary
This cool-looking, new Highbury haunt is the latest from Mat Appleton & Jess Blackstone, who have opened a trio of cafés under the Fink’s name in the area over the past dozen years. There’s coffee, pastries and grab-and-go bites by day, with a short, seasonal dinner menu from chef Phil Wood (ex-St John and Spring) in the evening, along with cocktails and low-intervention wines. In his November 2023 review, The Evening Standard’s Jimi Famurewa hailed “a wonderfully-composed, sneak-attack of a neighbourhood hit”. Our reporters are a bit more cautious: “recently opened to a wave of social media posts, Saltine is trying hard but still finding its feet”, with “food that’s good but possibly not quite up to the hype around its opening? One or two dishes were exceptional but others were just ‘nice’”.
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Saltine?
11 Highbury Park, London, N5 1QJ
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £36.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 12.50% |
11 Highbury Park, London, N5 1QJ
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | 5 pm‑11 pm |
| Wednesday | 5 pm‑11 pm |
| Thursday | 5 pm‑11 pm |
| Friday | 5 pm‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 9 am‑11 pm |
| Sunday | 9 am‑9:30 pm |
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