London Canonbury Restaurant Guide

“Perfection for simple high quality” – Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda’s “lovely neighbourhood Italian” in Islington draws a big fan club from across town and provided many best-meals-of-the-year in our annual diners’ poll thanks to its “exceptional pasta”, “excellent grilled meats and fish” and “fairly priced Italian wine list”. “Always busy and noisy”, it’s also rather “romantic”.

“Exceptional” fish and seafood is served at this “cool” fishmonger-turned-restaurant near Highbury Corner, which is “different every time you go as they decide what and how to cook each dish according to what is fresh”. There’s a perennial complaint that it’s “quite expensive for a cramped space” that’s “a bit too crowded for comfort” – which is why those lucky enough to have been to the Cornish offshoot in Padstow say they prefer it.

“A little off the beaten track” at the far end of Islington, but “definitely a gem for this corner of London” – brothers Martin & Christoph Lange’s “cracking neighbourhood restaurant” is “consistently good” (“I’ve never had a bad dish”). There’s a fixed-price multi-choice menu to ensure “reasonable” bills.

Offering a combination of Turkish, Kurdish and Greek dishes, this “cheap ’n’ cheerful” grill on the Islington main drag has been “a mainstay in the neighbourhood for years, and with good reason”.

“The pizza is second to none”, combining “top-quality ingredients and fabulous bases” at this quartet of “bustling” pizzerias founded 15 years ago by Neapolitan-born Angelo and Pasquale. Since launching in Ealing, they have expanded slowly to Fulham, Islington and Fitzrovia – and the extent to which they’ve maintained their ratings is an achievement for an expanding group.

“You feel as if you’ve been teleported back to the ’80s” (or maybe even earlier) at this “very old-school” Italian relic – a basic café/ristorante by Highbury & Islington tube. “Even if the food isn’t hugely fashionable, it tastes really good and is pretty good value – I bet they make their carbonara with cream!”

Open in July 2024 in De Beauvoir, on the border between Islington and Hackney, this wine bar and restaurant serves biodynamic and natural wines alongside seasonal and sustainable sharing plates. Also on-site, pour-over specialist coffee shop Day Trip and gelato bar the Dreamery.