The 13 best Islington restaurants
The vast choice of Islington restaurants makes this one of London's best neighbourhoods for foodies, with eateries peppered along the upper street and nestled amongst the rows of grand townhomes. Whether you're looking for long-standing Italian favourites or arguably the best laksa in London, Islington restaurants have it all. We know it can be overwhelming picking where to book your next table, so we've gathered a list of the best restaurants in Islington.
1. Ottolenghi
Best for: unbeatable salads and sweet treats
It’s easy to spot Ottolenghi on Upper Street thanks to its impressive window displays, jam-packed with home-baked sweet treats and piled-high pink meringues. There’s a shop at the front where you can grab a salad box for lunch, and a cosy dining space at the back with long white tables made for sharing and a few intimate tables for two. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and supper, with different menus to suit the time of day. Supper is lit by candlelight and is our favourite time to visit. Ottolenghi – famed for his diverse use of ingredients and Middle Eastern cooking – has created a daily changing menu divided into hot and cold sections. You’ll find all the cold salads displayed on the counter at the front – we recommend scoping these out before making your decision. Sourcing the finest fresh produce and with a veg-championing ethos, Ottolenghi takes salads seriously. We loved the soft baked cauliflower shawarma with green tahini and pickled red cabbage, and the roasted aubergine topped with mint yoghurt, burnt aubergine pickle, almond and pomegranate.
Hot plates are cooked in the kitchen out back – our favourites include the butterflied, grilled mackerel coated in shrimp chilli sambal and served with a side of crunchy kohlrabi and wedge of lime for squeezing. Another hit is the beef and lamb kofta with pickled beetroot raita, pomegranate and red onion. Save room for pudding – there’s carrot and walnut cake and flourless chocolate rum fondant, or take your pick from that window display. Sophie Knight
Address: Ottolenghi, 287 Upper Street, London N1 2TZ
Website: ottolenghi.co.uk
2. 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 Road, London N1 2LH
Website: trullorestaurant.com
Tim Winter3. Bellanger
Best for: a French love affair in Islington
If you haven’t already been to Bellanger, an Islington staple, then now’s the time to swing by the brasserie and admire the all-new and impressive makeover. Vintage French posters line the walls, red leather booths with crisp linen-topped tables make for a cosy evening, and a large outdoor terrace overlooks Islington Green – perfect for summer brunching, and a shiny marble bar with stools for a sophisticated boozy evening of fine cocktails.
The menu is. an all-day affair. Highlights include the steak tatare with a quail’s egg and sourdough toast, the classic French dish of juicy flat iron steak swimming in café de Paris butter and skinny fries and the rich pan-seared sea bream on a bed of herb couscous, preserved lemon and harissa. Finish on a sugar high; the baked vanilla cheesecake and caramelised apple tart are worth sharing. Sophie Knight
Address: 9 Islington Green, London N1 2XH
Website: bellanger.co.uk
Jelena Kovacevic4. Caravel
Best for: the most romantic date spot in Islington
Caravel is an exceptional spot. Bobbing on the Regents canal, it is moored permanently next to its late-night counterpart, Bruno – a trendy drinking den that’s well worth a visit. Head below water level to the cosy, unfussy restaurant where linen-topped tables are dressed with a little vase of fresh flowers glowing by candlelight. Nosy into the tiny that operates from the back of the boat discover some of the tastiest plates we’ve had in a while. The experimental menu is thought up by brothers and owners Fin (on the drinks) and Lorcan Spiterim (the chef), who come from a family of legendary London foodies. Mum Melanie Arnold is co-founder of Rochell Canteen, where chef Lorcan picked up some skills that he honed via stints at Quo Vadis and Oldroyd. And Dad Jon Spiteri is the co-founder of the legendary Session Arts Club.
The seasonal menu changes regularly; however, due to popular demand, the much-loved sesame prawn toast served with a homemade sweet chilli sauce is a staple. There are a few ways to make your way through the menu, either share a selection of small plates between you or work your way down in a standard fashion with a small plate and a main each. The mains are surprisingly big. The small plates won us over – we recommend going to town on these; our favourites were the fresh sun-ripened tomato salad topped with a black olive crumb, the little crispy potato rostis topped with sour cream and caviar, the daring potent deviled lamb sweetbreads on toast with garlic and aioli and the softest guinea fowl skewers doused in harissa marinate. Mains always include a fresh pasta dish and a veggie, meat or fish choice. The pasta was the winner here, a datterini tagliatelle mixed with a generous helping of palourde clams. Get yourself to the barge – it’s delicious and uber-cool. Sophie Knight
Address: 172 Shepherdess Walk, London N1 7JL
Website: caravelrestaurant.com
Instagram.com/westernslaundry5. Western's Laundry
Best for: 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) – 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 – 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
6. Top Cuvée
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 Cuvée 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 – Shop Cuvée – 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 Cuveé, 177B Blackstock Road, London N5 2LL
Website: topcuvee.com
Jessica Jill7. 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 be 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 – 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 maître 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 – 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 crème fraȋche (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 purée and a porcini crumb. And don’t skip a side of the spiced crushed potatoes – 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 Islington restaurant for seafood right now. Olivia Holborrow
Address: Prawn on the Lawn, 292-294 St Paul's Road, 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 – 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 – crispy Thai IPA battered chicken with fish sauce glaze, fresh herbs and lime – 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 – it’s almost impossible to leave empty-handed.
Address: Farang, 72 Highbury Park, London N5 2XE
Website: faranglondon.co.uk
11. The Tamil Prince
Nestled among the rows of Islington's glorious parks and townhouses, the chefs at The Tamil Prince are mixing things up, serving Indian small plates from the small yet mighty kitchen. We started with the okra fries and onion bhajis soused in spicy mint chutney. Next, we devoured succulent chunks of Indian cheese soaked in rich masala sauce slathered on sweet coconut pilau rice. The Dhal makhani is a must-order. Lastly, don't sleep on the cocktail list led by Bar Termini alumni Simone Pugi. We finished with a cardamom rum, rose water and lime concoction to top off a delicious evening. Connor Sturges
Address: The Tamil Prince, 115 Hemingford Road, London N1 1BZ
Website: thetamilprince.com
SheLives2Eat11. 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
12. 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 – 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 – 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.uk13. 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 – 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 £45 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 Road, London N1 2UP
Website: blackaxemangal.com