Islington, Middle Eastern Restaurant Guide

“You will want to lick the plate” if you brunch (the highpoint) at one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s inspired deli-cafés, whose creation in 2002 helped created the TV fame of the owner, and started to popularise the Middle Eastern-influenced cuisine that’s swept London and even now is seen as fashionable. The formula is little changed: “tasty, healthy and yummy dishes” that are “beautifully flavoured” but “a bit on the pricey side”. “Ottolenghi is the master of flavoursome veg (with more veg choices than at most non-veg restaurants)” and, in particular “the cakes are wonderful!”. (Also, “they’re great on allergens.”). On the downside, “space is tight” and the “ambience could be more relaxed”. There’s also a feeling in some quarters that “Yotam has become a brand and it shows”, with food that is “good but after a while same-y”.

“In a corner of Islington” – Chapel Market – Tel Aviv-based chef Maoz Alonim earns universal praise for this late 2024 newcomer, particularly applauded for its “lovely service” and a menu featuring “superb shellfish” (“excellent oysters”) and “the best taramasalata ever eaten”. The Sunday Times’s Charlotte Ivers is a big fan, and in her January 2025 review she described a "gorgeous" little place with “perfect seasonal cooking, with warmth to cut through the English winter but all the vitality of the Mediterranean”.