London Islington Restaurant Guide

2018 Review: The “pretty authentic food” and attentive staff win consistent praise for this Islington fixture. The “modern decor is a cut above the normal high street Thai”, making the best of what could be a tricky narrow space.

Tiny Canonbury fixture, with “a small but perfectly formed menu” of ambitious modern European dishes, prepared in an open kitchen – “wonderful, well-flavoured, light cooking”, from “the amazing roast potatoes to the soups and everything in between”.

Paella Shack now has a permanent / pop-up home in Highbury, but it can still be found at markets in London City Island, Beaconsfield, Cobham and Walthamstow. There's also a cookery school, so you can learn to make your own authentic Valencian paella.

This craft beer and butchery shop (sibling to a Streatham spot) has an open rear terrace for outdoor dining; once fully open, it will offer a small plates menu.

“Tucked away in Camden Passage”, this Islington institution is “still going strong after all these years” and remains a real “go-to place for family celebrations” for many north Londoners; as well as “a great place for a romantic dinner”. “The ordinary fascia hides a true gem inside”, leading onto “a modern, spacious and stylish interior” where the top seats are in the “lovely, light and airy back area”. It’s not a foodie kind of place, but the cooking is “contemporary and varied (the set menu never disappoints)”, and “staff are par excellence, always professional, but fun and cheery”.

“A brilliant addition to Norf Landon”: this “buzzy” and “notably hip” new Highgate wine bar and bistro offers a fashionable formula, combining a curt menu of “lovely small plates” – showing “real depth of flavour” – with an “excellent wine list, which may tend a tad to the ‘natural’, but which offers plenty of choice”. “Knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff” add to the picture. “Only slight issue is acoustics: this is a hard-walled box, so noise-sensitive folk may want to pass… but I’m looking forward to returning soon”.

Craft ales and on-site butchered meat combine at this “great local pub” in Islington – where the “hearty fare” is (perhaps unsurprisingly) “great for meat-lovers”. It’s “buzzy and busy”, so “expect to queue” at prime times.

2017 Review: “Consistently good thin-crust pizza” makes it worth remembering this cute, family-friendly Italian, hidden off Upper Street.