The team behind highly rated Islington desi pub The Tamil Prince has opened a follow-up nearby. The Tamil Crown has taken over the former Charles Lamb pub on Elia Street, near Angel station. The Tamil Prince is hailed as “truly brilliant” in the newly published Harden’s 2024 London restaurant guide, and was one of the […]
Musician YolanDa Brown has broken global fundraising records on Kickstarter to launch a new restaurant and music venue in Islington. Soul Mama is set to open this autumn with a menu inspired by recipes handed down through generations of mothers across the Caribbean, Africa and South America. Launched in partnership with her manager Adetokunbo ‘T’ […]
Three high-profile but very different London dining destinations whose futures have all been in doubt are set to reopen in the next few weeks: Soho’s historic L’Escargot, smart Islington brasserie Bellanger, and Clapton’s funky wine bar P Franco. L’Escargot in Greek Street, the city’s oldest French restaurant (est. 1927), is to open on Wednesday 24 […]
The historic Islington pie and mash shop M. Manze in Chapel Market is to reopen as a low-intervention wine bar serving British small plates by Alex Pashby of street-food trader The Beefsteaks. The pie, mash and jellied eels shop closed down in 2019 after 108 years in the face of steep increases in rent and […]
A new pub/restaurant with a high-end chef behind the stoves is launching in Islington. The Baring, close to the Regent’s Canal in Baring Street premises formerly known as The Poet, opens its doors on Tuesday. Sustainability is a major theme for both food and drink, with wines from low-intervention independent makers and a rotating choice […]
Former Barnsbury pub The Cuckoo reopens today as The Tamil Prince, showcasing the food of Tamil Nadu on the southern tip of India. The transformation has been led by Tamil Nadu-born chef Prince Durairaj and former Bao operations manager Glen Leeson, who first worked together at Roti King. They are also the team behind Tamila, […]
Chef James Cochran is to open a sports bar next month with a menu built around his signature buttermilk fried chicken. Valderrama’s – named after the big-haired Colombian footballer Carlos, a cult hero in the 1980s and 90s – is within walking distance of James’s highly rated Islington restaurant 12:51. The bar represents a permanent […]
Megan’s, the upbeat and extremely dog-friendly London chain known for its bottomless prosecco brunches, is planning almost to double in size by the end of next year, with chairman Rod McKie saying this week the number of branches will grow from 13 to 22. Having started out as a King’s Road Chelsea antiques shop that […]

After nearly three years chef/restaurateur Tom Oldroyd is following up his Islington hit Oldroyd with a new venture in Hackney. Though fans love the “fabulously tasty, daily changing menu” at his Upper Street spot there is a quibble that the joint is just too small, so his takeover of The Duke of Richmond pub and dining […]

With Songkran (Thai New Year) around the corner, 13-15 April, we’ve decided to bring you a list of the top 10 places to get an authentic taste of Thai cooking in London, according to our survey. Still one of our reporters’ favourite cuisines for a cheap eat that packs a big punch… Som Saa E1 “Your […]