Clerkenwell, Mediterranean Restaurant Guide

“This ever-friendly cafe sibling of next door Moro is a wonderful place to eat great tapas” – “especially sitting outside in Exmouth market”. Husband-and-wife team Sam & Sam Clark’s 15-year-old spin-off provides “superb tasty food at very reasonable prices” in a “casual but professional” environment, encompassing “interesting plates” of Spanish and North African-inspired food that is “not pretentious but delivers great enjoyment”. There’s a second branch in Hackney Road.

Still “consistently knocking its many imitators out of the park” – London’s original gastropub celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, while head chef Ed Mottershaw has run the kitchen for 21 of those years, guaranteeing an “always interesting” Mediterranean-inspired menu and “reliably brilliant cooking: no fuss, no faff, no fancy flourishes. Just dedication to the palate and wholehearted devotion to flavour”.

With a bright, modern interior lit by big floor-to-ceiling windows, this flexible neighbourhood amenity near Old Street is a canteen and bar that opens all day from breakfast. It’s from the team behind well-known Hackney wine bar Sager + Wilde, hence an above-par drinks offering. But food is far from incidental: there’s a “constantly changing, seasonal menu” of southern European small plates, some larger risotti, pasta and burgers and it majors in a big range of pizza. Top Tip – it “can handle large parties with ease”.

“A cut above your average wine bar”: this 20-year-old group remains highly popular in our annual diners’ poll thanks to its “decent wines at fair prices” in “jolly” settings. “The food can be terrific – but not always”, and the overall performance shows signs of steadying after a tricky patch when the business was sold out of administration.

“A relative newcomer to the Exmouth Market scene” – this “cool” and mega-popular yearling (a sibling to Perilla, see also) is “a lovely, light and airy” space, “interestingly converted from an old bank building” with “an open kitchen where you can watch the chefs at work” (“it’s great fun to sit at the counter”). “Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the menu; this is a thoughtful, skilfully executed menu” of “creative Med-inspired dishes” whose “flavours pack a real punch” (although “all the small plates can add up to a large bill”). “Interesting wine selection” too. Top Menu Tips – “light bite starters are simply delicious: salt cod churros, vitello tonnato rolled up like a cigar to bite into, and absolutely delicious spanakopita – two mouthfuls of heaven, the most divine crisp thin filo and the filling intense and tasty”; “amazing sobrasada; very interesting, whole salt-baked poussin and rigatoni with smoked morchella mushrooms”.