London Finsbury Park Restaurant Guide

Max Halley’s cult Stroud Green café has won renown as an “outstanding, cheap ’n’ cheerful” gourmet option, thanks to its wild, wacky and wickedly enjoyable selection of sarnies, each of which amounts to what’s effectively a meal between slices of bread (be prepared to get your hands dirty).

“Such a fun neighbourhood pizzeria” – this “friendly”, if hectic, indie has been a Finsbury Park fixture for 21 years. They do “very competent pasta”, too, and are kid-friendly to the extent of producing “pizza dough dinosaurs”.

“Brill sushi and mouth-numbingly spicy Korean hotpots” draw a bustling crowd of overseas students to this “unprepossessing” operation near Finsbury Park tube – once “the best-kept secret in town”. But word has spread about the “sensational Korean and Japanese food for £10-£20 a head” – “authentic and in huge portions”. Cash only and no booking.

This “Italian gem” in Finsbury Park has locals purring with its “wonderful homemade pasta” and “brilliant service from Paola and her team” – “we were a fussy group aged 7 to 75 and the staff catered for our every desire”. Yes, there’s “a singing waiter”, but “it’s not cringe-worthy, he’s really good!”.

“Unusual toppings that actually work” (“BBQ sauce!”) and “the best-ever, super-thin crusts” are hallmarks of this “achingly East London trendy” quartet of “excellent” and “inventive” pizza-stops.

New to Finsbury Park, and more a wine-shop-with-food than a restaurant or bar, but we thought it worth including. Wine tasters are provided with nibbles to accompany food, and larger, sharing plates of cheese, charcuterie, etc can be ordered. Raul Diaz, the wine expert from TV's Sunday Brunch, has helped with the bin selection, and will be running tasting events.