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Islington is one of London’s best neighbourhoods for foodies ¨C packed with restaurants we recommend. From long-standing Italian favourites to arguably the best laksa in London, these are the tables to book when you find yourself nearby and hungry.?
1. Trullo
Best for: homemade pasta
Probably Islington¡¯s favourite neighbourhood restaurant, and with good reason. Since it opened in 2010 Trullo has never deviated from its winning formula of flawless antipasti and fresh pasta, served with quiet warmth on paper tablecloths that quickly become gloriously splattered with olive oil and tomato sauce. Sharing mains from the grill (Belted Galloway T-bone, whole Cornish mackerel with Italian spinach) are glorious for a group feast, but you can¡¯t go wrong keeping it simple: anchovies with salted butter and crostini to start with, then ravioli of Westcombe ricotta with sage butter or pappardelle with the legendary Trullo beef shin ragu. Cocktails are keenly priced and the all-Italian wine list is full of bargains.
Address: Trullo, 300-302, St Paul’s Rd, London N1 2LH
Website: trullorestaurant.com
2. Sambal Shiok
Best for: waking up your tastebuds
A self-taught Malaysian-born Chinese chef of Peranakan Nyonya heritage, Sambal Shiok¡¯s owner Mandy Yin left behind a career in law to launch a street-food stall, before moving into pop-ups and, finally opening this adored Malaysian restaurant at the bottom of Holloway Road. Sambal Shiok serves generously filled, steaming bowls of fiery curry laksa, Malaysian fried chicken, rice bowls and salads in a bright, colourful, always busy room. Patrons of all ages feel instantly at home, and while service is efficient you never feel rushed. One to add to your address book.
Address: Sambal Shiok, 171 Holloway Road, London N7 8LX
Website: sambalshiok.co.uk?
3. The Nook
Best for: a friendly glass wine with snacks
Neighbourhood restaurant Linden Stores, which used to occupy this site on the corner of St Paul¡¯s Road and Highbury Grove, moved to Cheshire in 2021, leaving big shoes to fill. Happily, The Nook has more than risen to the challenge. A wine bar serving seasonal small plates in a Tardis-like tiled space, it¡¯s the sort of place everyone wants on their doorstep ¨C relaxed, friendly and reliable around the clock. Stop by for a wine flight with cheese, charcuterie and sourdough from Break By Bike on the side, or settle in for something more substantial ¨C perhaps a couple of rounds of brown crab and crayfish brioche with salad to share. At the weekends the kitchen whips up brunch for the locals, along with hair-of-the-dog cocktails. Record collectors, take note: there¡¯s a selection from independent London labels for sale behind the counter.
Address: The Nook, 220 St Paul’s Road, London N1 2LL
Website: thenooklondon.co.uk
4. Western’s Laundry
Best for: fresh fresh fish
Don¡¯t be fooled by the industrial exterior (as its name suggests, Western¡¯s used to be the garage of a commercial laundry) ¨C this hidden-away restaurant near Drayton Park station is as warm and convivial as it gets. Part of the family that includes Primeur, Jolene and the Jolene bakery on Colebrooke Row, Western¡¯s Laundry¡¯s USP is seafood: think sparklingly fresh?oysters, langoustines with blush-pink Marie rose sauce, tagliarini with crab, artichoke and chilli, and smoked eel atop pressed potato terrine, all matched with expertly chosen wines. When the sun goes down and the candles come out it¡¯s gorgeously?romantic?in here ¨C don¡¯t, whatever you do, forget to save space for a rum baba. But whenever you come and whatever the reason for booking a table, it always feels like an enormous treat.
Address: Western¡¯s Laundry, 34 Drayton Park, London N5 1PB
Website: westernslaundry.com
5. Top Cuv¨¦e
Best for: natural wines and small plates
Before lockdown, this was a lively small-plates spot on Blackstock Road with a focus on ¡®natty¡¯ natural wine. But beginning in March 2020, Top Cuv¨¦e transformed itself into a household name among young Londoners, couriering bottles of pet-nat and orange wine all over the city on graffiti-logoed cargo bikes. Since then co-founders Brodie Meah and Max Venning have opened their own off licence ¨C Shop Cuv¨¦e ¨C just around the corner, as well as a Bethnal Green outpost, but the original north London restaurant is still where the main action is. It¡¯s a lovely spot for impromptu solo diners: turn up early or late, take a seat at the bar and put yourself in the team¡¯s hands for superlative sourdough, smoked duck rillettes with cornichons and cheese a-plenty.
Address: Top Cuve¨¦, 177B Blackstock Rd, London N5 2LL
Website: topcuvee.com
6. FKA BAM
Best for: offal that you¡¯ll definitely want to eat
To the delight of its many admirers, Highbury Corner¡¯s iconic heavy metal grill Black Axe Mangal has finally awoken from its lockdown-long slumber. And like Prince, it¡¯s reinvented itself while it¡¯s been away ¨C the ¡®FKA¡¯ in its new name stands for ¡®Formerly Known As¡¯. So what¡¯s changed? For the moment it¡¯s serving a fixed-price set menu at ¡ê45 designed for sharing, which head chef Lee Tiernan switches up weekly (there¡¯s also an excellent vegetarian/vegan one). But the BAM greatest hits are all present and correct, from roasted bone marrow and oxtail gratin to a lamb offal flatbread and crispy rabbit, all paired with low-intervention wines and loud, loud music.
Address: FKA BAM, 156 Canonbury Rd, London N1 2UP
Website: blackaxemangal.com
7. 1251
Best for: surprise flavour combinations
James Cochran is well enough known that any restaurant with it above the door could draw plenty of see-and-be-seen customers. The trademark to his name may still owned by the EC3 restaurant he left in 2018 but the cosy, warmly-lit window scene of 1251 on Upper Street does well to attract discerning Londoners. 1251 is firmly in the camp of sharing plates, and sends dishes out when they¡¯re ready. Snacks include homemade soda bread served with umami seaweed butter and a pickled crab tartlet. For the plates, don¡¯t expect a robust main course: these are elegant dishes that feature dehydrated seaweed and foams and jus. Go in with an open mind: the Orkney scallops with creamed pumpkin are plump and tender, while the lamb, served delicately pink with artichoke and olive, has a mix of flavours you¡¯d never put together on your own ¨C but will want to when you leave. This is a refined restaurant that serves up brilliantly cooked food without being stuffy. The soundtrack is cool, the staff are laid-back, and on our visit, Cochran himself was swaying to Nineties hip hop while chatting to his ma?tre d’ near the bar. Go for the big-shot name, and stay for the food. Sarah James
Address: 1251, 107 Upper Street, London N1 1QN
Website: 1251.co.uk
8. Prawn on the Lawn
Best for: brilliantly fresh, lip-smacking seafood
Prawn on the Lawn is the sort of restaurant those in the know like to keep quiet. It started life as a simple fishmonger and seafood bar but is now a fully fledged restaurant which is named after its signature dish ¨C smashed avocado on toast topped with grilled prawns. Plates are simple celebrations of the seafood that Prawn on the Lawn sources daily from fish markets in Devon and Cornwall. Oysters come fresh or deep-fried in a crunchy crumb with garlic cr¨¨me fra?che (if you¡¯ve never tried them before, this is how to start). That signature dish sounds simple enough but comes with flourishes such as homemade soda bread and a pile of zesty greens that turn it into something you¡¯ll want to order again and again. Delicate, flaky cod fillet is paired with a well-balanced cauliflower and truffle pur¨¦e and a porcini crumb. And don¡¯t skip a side of the spiced crushed potatoes ¨C they¡¯re exceptionally crunchy and moreish. To drink, kick things off with a punchy Cornish Negroni (made with Tarquin¡¯s gin from Cornwall) and then move on to the wine list which is heavy on sparkling wines and whites. This is hands down the best seafood restaurant in Islington, if not the whole of London. Olivia Holborrow
Address: Prawn on the Lawn, 292-294 St Paul’s Rd, Highbury East, London N1 2LH
Website: prawnonthelawn.com
9. Farang
Best for: fresh zingy Thai treats
A modern?Thai restaurant?operating out of an old-school Italian trattoria ¨C it shouldn¡¯t work, but it does. Sebby Holmes and his award-winning team opened Farang as a pop-up here in 2017, but it proved so popular that they¡¯ve never shut up shop. Gai Prik ¨C crispy Thai IPA battered chicken with fish sauce glaze, fresh herbs and lime ¨C is sensational, as are the curries (coconut-braised beef cheeks with green peppercorns and ginger; a spicy southern-style one with coconut, lemongrass, turmeric curry and tiger prawns; wok smoked seasonal vegetables with pickled kohlrabi). Outside of service Farang operates as a grocery, selling hot food to go, ready meals, marinated meats and fish, Thai recipe kits and ingredients and much more ¨C it¡¯s almost impossible to leave empty-handed.
Address: Farang, 72 Highbury Park, London N5 2XE
Website: faranglondon.co.uk
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