The best restaurants in Camden and Kentish Town

A real stalwart in Camden's food scene is Andy's Taverna, which first opened way back in 1967. Serving up classic and affordable Greek food, there's plenty of skewered souvlaki meat, dolmades, moussaka, grilled fish and veggie dishes along with Greek wines. The white-walled courtyard can even make you feel like you're in Greece, on a sunny day, that is.

Intimate Bintang is one of London's oldest Filipino restaurants, which dishes up a menu of halal self-styled pan Asian fusion food. It doesn't serve alcohol, but you can bring your own and pay corkage. It's part of the Maginhawa group, which owns five other restaurants in the area, including Ramo Ramen in Kentish Town below.

Championing the street food of Delhi, Indian Alley has given its own contemporary twist to classics like biryani boxes, big thalis and soft flour wraps stuffed with meat, as well as classic dishes, from papri chaat to dal makhani. There's a spacious indoor restaurant, as well as tables on the terrace, when the weather allows for it.

Owner, Yi Fei, comes from Chengdu in Sichuan so Jinli really specialises in Sichuan food. Its spicy hot pots are revered, such as the braised beef brisket, along with other typical regional dishes. The Camden restaurant is the group’s latest outpost to open outside of London's Chinatown.

Ma Petite Jamaica has been doing its thing since 1985, and now also has a rum and reggae bar next door, too. The jerk pit style menu has all the classics you'd expect, including jerk pork, chicken and red bream, curried goat with rice 'n peas, plus ackee and saltfish and dumplings. Rum cocktails rule the roost and Red Stripe is on tap.

As one of the oldest vegan restaurants in London (it first opened in Soho back in 1988) this Camden outlet is one of six branches. Its plant-based dishes are bright, bold and still manage to be exciting, and it undoubtedly paved the way for the modern vegan food scene in the capital.

This small Parkway restaurant doesn't like to conform to labels. Instead, it describes its sharing plates style as a blend of Asian and European cuisines and takes its cocktails seriously, too. The menu lists its wonton dish as "Wontons? Tortellini?" noting the similarity between wonton skins and traditional pasta. It also includes other fusion dishes like the Sichuan chicken burger and dumpling skin "tacos".

This high-end contemporary Indian restaurant, run by chef patron Sabbir Karim and his team, is critically acclaimed and has become a bit of an institution. Dishes are vibrant and the extensive menu branches out beyond the dishes of your usual local curry house.

Kosovan-born Nazmi Dervishaj is behind this popular Mediterranean bar and cafe which serves up a winning menu of Mediterranean-led dishes. Their weekend brunch is a big hit and cocktails are also worth a try - the list has both vegan and non-alcoholic options available, which is a nice inclusive touch.

Founded by Tim Barclay, Stefania Evangelisti and Filippo Rosato, Purezza came to life in Brighton in 2015 and opened the Camden site in 2018. This became London's first vegan pizza restaurant, as well as taking home the accolade of being the largest vegan restaurant in London, too.

Set within Camden's Hawley Wharf food hall, this affordable Middle-Eastern-inspired steakhouse describes itself as being halfway between Tel Aviv and New York. Run by two Israeli chefs Shiri Kraus and Amir Batatus, who previously worked at The Palomar and The Barbary, the kitchen sources grass-fed, free-range and traceable beef and cooks it on an open fire. Its signature dish is an onglet steak with a side of herbs on the plate, which is theatrically torched right in front of you.

Following on from the success of the Cheese Truck, The Cheese Bar specialises in all cheese serving possibilities, from chunky grilled cheese sandwiches, to melting fondues and sharing cheeseboards, plus there's a cheesemonger. So popular is the brand, it's now one of five outposts across the city, including The Cheese Barge in Paddington and Pick & Cheese in Seven Dials Market.

Named after its former use as a horse hospital, the Grade II listed building is now home to Camden Market's first-ever pub. Industrial interiors are pared back with exposed brick and cast iron pillars. Food-wise, they're all about modern rustic dining and hearty comfort classics from local UK sources. Sundays have hearty roasts and Farrier also champions natural, low-intervention, organic and biodynamic wines.

A real stalwart of the north London food scene, The Lansdowne first opened its doors in 1992 in Primrose Hill and is a classic British pub. On the menu is a mixture of Mediterranean and British dishes, from French onion soup to slow-cooked oxtail and cheek stew with mash.

Set up by three childhood friends, Three Uncles is an ode to their beloved memories of visiting roast meat cafes back in 1970s Hong Kong. The newer Hawley Wharf location is an upgrade from their takeaway siu mei kiosk in Liverpool Street and their chopped-to-order roast duck, crispy pork belly and char siu pork are all cooked using traditional Cantonese methods.

French restaurant and bar, Authentique draws its offering inspiration from 12 French-speaking regions, such as Jura and Savoie (between Switzerland and Burgundy) which rotate monthly. There's a huge array of interesting wines served by the glass, while the well-stocked wine shop has around 700 wines and 75 beers.

Two brothers run Babuji, which is named after their father who loved Bengali, Mumbai and Pakistan street food. The menu is a homage to the street food of countries across South Asia, from the likes of aloo tikki chaat to Bengali prawn curry.

Known for its simple but tasty Turkish meat and doner kebabs in even simpler surroundings, E Mono has been highly praised by The Times' food critic, Giles Coren, for years. The flatbreads are made on-site, and the chicken shawarma is free-range. There's seating inside to dine in, as well as its popular takeaway service.

As the name suggests, the restaurant is a meeting of east and west, in a relaxed neighbourhood restaurant near Tufnell Park. But more specifically, the menu focuses on bringing together the owner's two favourite cuisines: Indian and Italian. Think masala margarita pizza, butter chicken arancini and saag paneer truffle tagliatelle.

This is the latest iteration from the family, which spans over a 100-year history of Jewish bakery tradition and is now run by Aaron, the great-grandson of founder Wolf Kossoff, a Jewish refugee from Kyiv. Aaron has worked at Honey & Co. and was also head baker at Ottolenghi when he was just 27. Now he's brought his skills home to produce excellent bread, pastries and baked goods under his family name.

A Filipino concept from the Maginhawa group, this one is based on street ice cream sellers who help people keep cool in the humidity of the Philippines. They're always brightly coloured and popular flavours include ube, a purple yam. Think pandesal ice cream sandwiches and shaved ice drinks with layers of sweet toppings.

Norman's looks like it’s been here forever, but actually sprung to life in 2020 and is a modern take on a proper British caff (not a café). It keeps the humble tradition alive with the likes of hearty English fry ups, and dishes from sausage, beans and chips (not French fries) to cottage pie, and syrup sponge and custard – simple, but done really, really well.

This neighbourhood Filipino bakery is another outpost from the Maginhawa group which owns Bintang and Ramo. Here, it's all about sweet and savoury baked goods, including Japanese-inspired fluffy sando sandwiches filled with corned beef hash or panko chicken and mushroom, through to breakfast Filipino milk buns with beef sausage, egg, cheese and tomato compote.

From owners Tanzi Ellison and Jean-Francois Pioc – who previously set up Café Gourmand in Soho – Patron brings a slice of French brasserie dining to Kentish Town. Expect classics like countryside terrine and slow-cooked confit duck on the menu. It recently acquired next door and extended its dining room and added a Parisian speakeasy-style spirit lounge, plus a terrace at the back.

Dishing up traditional Vietnamese food in an intimate and simple restaurant, Pho Ta's menu includes the likes of bun cha, pork belly in a meaty broth, along with summer rolls and meat grilled over charcoal. It doesn't serve alcohol but runs a bring-your-own option.

This cosy little restaurant with pared-back interiors serves traditional Ethiopian food. The Queen of Sheba's speciality is stewed meat dishes and injera, spongy Ethiopian flatbread, as well as the traditional coffee ritual, where it's served slowly and heartily strong.

Following in the fusion footsteps of Bintang in Camden, Ramo Ramen offers Filipino-Japanese halal ramen. There's a sister site in Soho under the same name. Ramen flavours include oxtail kare kare as well as miso and walnut, while the menu also has plenty of gyozas, bubble tea and mango peach pie for pud.

The Fields Beneath cafe is about three things, coffee, wine and food and it focuses on doing them all really well. The food offering has been vegan since 2018, and it's as local and seasonal as possible, the wine is natural and there's always a single-origin coffee on filter.

The Parakeet is a pub run by the people behind Camden's Blues Kitchen, having taken over what was The Oxford pub. It remains part pub, part restaurant with the latter run by chef Ben Allen. The menu changes regularly and there's an emphasis on cooking over fire.