London Islington Restaurant Guide

It’s “all about the wine, as you might expect” at James Dawson’s “relaxed” wine-bar group, whose branches boast a “splendid list” of “high-quality and well-sourced” bottles. The food is very much “second fiddle”, though “unobjectionable”, while the most interesting venue is the original one, off Fleet Street, “hidden in the vaults of St Bride’s Church”. Top Tip – “go on a Monday night for wine at shop rather than restaurant prices”.

This “well-established and reliable French bistro” with a “faux-rural dining room” in Islington is “good value, friendly and welcoming”, while the “simple and traditional cooking packs plenty of flavour in quite generous servings”. Top Tip – “go for the set lunch” (three courses for under £20).

A “buzzy” atmosphere and “welcoming service” are the strong suits of this “expanding group”, with 16 branches in London and another handful nearby. While nobody disputes that they’re “lovely to sit in” and offer “value for money”, the “Middle-Eastern-inspired cooking” divides opinion, with some reporters “pleasantly surprised by the tasty food” and others bemoaning “underwhelming” dishes that “sound better than they taste”.

“I used to be a regular, now I’m so sad”. The June 2023 reformatting of this “very handsome-looking” Wolseley Group outpost on Islington Green (which had closed in 2019 and then reopened in 2020 after failing to sell the site) is not going well. It’s a large site, evoking a fin-de-siecle Parisian haunt with a “newish design that’s pleasant enough” and a fairly traditional, French brasserie-style menu. For too many, though, “since reopening after a further refresh results are dire”. One reporter neatly summarises the mood: “This is written with huge sadness, as it was my favourite place for nearly any occasion in the Corbin & King days. Now it feels like a Café Rouge, with a cynical and over-priced menu and average service (I really feel for the staff, a lot of whom were there in the good old days). What a waste, and what a loss for Upper Street: it was such a godsend to have a grown-up restaurant in the area when it first opened, and then reopened”.

“Ambience is not key when you just want to stuff your face!” – you “just get a great dirty burger” at these tongue-in-cheek diners, whose signature offering is the ‘Dead Hippie’. Founded 16 years ago from the back of a truck by Scott Collins and Yianni Papoutsis, at the time a technician with the English National Ballet, it now has 15 London outlets and a national delivery operation.

Since the early 1990s, this tiny, two-floor canteen on Islington Green has been a popular local pitstop. Don’t expect anything foodie, but for a flavourful refuel at a good price, its small selection of simple curries is just the job.

“You can practise your Italian language skills” at this “genuine, quirky Puglian restaurant in busy Islington, with great service from real Italians who know the region”. Even some fans concede that culinary results can be “mixed”, with hits and misses reported in a single meal. Nevertheless, it’s “always buzzing” and “might benefit from some sound absorbers as it can get very noisy”. They also have a lesser-known spin-off near St Paul’s.

We’re “very lucky to have it as our local”, say regulars at this Islington gastropub with the unusual facility of an in-house butchery to ensure high-quality meat. “I’ve been dozens of times, and never had a bum meal”.

In a “brilliant setting” among the antique shops of Camden Passage, this “reliable, high-class stalwart has been going for over 50 years, and is never disappointing”. “The food is unoriginal but good quality and excellently prepared, while the staff are unfailingly efficient and welcoming”. There’s a “super bar, and garden dining is especially lovely come summer-time”. You wouldn’t head here for a rave, though – having recruited an army of regulars over so many years, it’s perhaps inevitable that “the restaurant vibe is large tables of posh pensioners having a jolly time”.

“Go mad for further adventures in veg” at Yotam Ottolenghi’s famous deli-cafés, whose Middle Eastern inspired menus are best known for their “creative” salads and meat-free dishes (bread and pastries are also “fabulous”) but there are also some meat and fish options. They are far from cheap, but “the spicing is interesting”, “the flavours are immense” and “the small-plates format allows you to try a number of options”. “A great spot for brunch” or “to drop in for cake and tea”. The Islington branch is most commented-on, and in December 2023 its newest sibling (also in north London) opened on Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, while a branch in Richmond, in the leafy southwest, is scheduled for late 2024.

This “very Austrian” café-restaurant in Islington’s atmospheric Camden Passage is “a bit different from the usual” for London, with a menu of “schnitzel, noodles, Tyrolean breakfast, daily soups and various sausages” – plus of course “great coffee and exceptional cakes”. It’s “not a place for dieters... but the layered torte is worth the calories!”.

This “friendly French bistro on Islington’s busiest street has all the predictable Gallic offerings – onion soup, escargots, crepes – and a decent wine list”. It inspires few criticisms and is “pleasant enough” to be a useful address “well-placed for the Almeida theatre”.

“What is better than an amazing breakfast?…” and you are certainly spoilt for choice all day long at this greasy-spoon-esque chain, which is celebrating its 20th year in 2024 with the addition of a St Pancras branch to its empire of 16 caffs (11 of them in the capital) and 3 pubs.

“Proper Kyushu-style ramen with a thick, silky broth” is the secret behind this small London noodle chain from former pro cyclist Kazuhiro Kanada. “Especially great on a typical cold, rainy London day”, it’s “a go-to for a quick, cheap and (relatively) healthy supper in town” (“I’ve stopped for ramen at all the main chains and a few indies, and for my money this is the very best bowl at a great price”). The sixth branch opened in summer 2024 at Westfield Shepherd’s Bush.

Nick Gibson’s famous Islington gastropub offers “British cuisine with a creative twist” that is “utterly delicious, generous, and most of all memorable”. There’s a “strong selection of craft beers and ales”, and a “renowned wine list put together by Nick and priced ungreedily”. This year’s worst complaint – “just a bit too noisy and busy, which can affect the service”.

“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.

“Cajun and Creole dishes served pub-style” – including “delicious jambalaya” – share top billing with live jazz at this “really unusual and lively spot” – a colourfully converted tavern across the road from the Regent’s Canal in Islington, where restaurateur Jacob Kenedy (of Bocca di Lupo) channels his Louisiana roots.

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”.

“Fantastic vegan Sichuan food” – “bursting with spices and tastes” – makes any one of this “deservedly popular” trio in Islington, Golders Green and Spitalfields Market (from the team behind omnivore Xi’an Impression) “a go-to place if you want to eat vegan with an Asian twist”. “Don’t go because it’s vegan, but because the food is just so good!”

As well as specialties from the island of Hainan, Cantonese, Hakka, and Min dishes add interest to the Southern Chinese menu of this Islington yearling: a first bricks ’n’ mortar project from restaurateur Sunny Wu. It’s not attention-grabbing in looks – perhaps why reporters have yet to vote on it – but in a February 2024 press review, The Evening Standard’s Jimi Famurewa was impressed, if “for no other reason than the fact that no one else is really doing it” (i.e. cuisine like this) – “flavours are both mellow and highly unexpected… embrace the experimental, tactile blur of slurped herbal broths and snaffled quail eggs, then Hainan House, to the uninitiated, can feel like learning a thrilling new culinary language”.