Updated 30/5/18 with more details
OK, so now we're totally regretting raving on so much about Gilly's Fry Bar. Why? Because the Finsbury Park Japanese meets Northern Chippy is closing and relocating to the West End.
In an email today, owner Neil Gill revealed that "when we launched Gilly's Fry Bar a year ago, on the flimsiest of shoestrings, it was more in hope than expectation. It had long been a passion project of mine, the idea of combining my love of Japanese tempura technique with the old-school Sunderland chippies of my youth.
"Obviously I hoped it might appeal to one or two fellow enthusiasts, but I had no idea it would strike such a chord. It has been amazing as well as gratifying to see so many of you love the art of batter as much as I do."
He goes on to say that "like so many plays coming out of the Park Theatre next door - Gilly’s will be TRANSFERRING TO THE WEST END! The shutters will be coming down on our little Finsbury Park test site, and we will emerge as a fully fledged batter butterfly later this year. We’ll be able to show even more people just what you can achieve with a deep fryer, obsessive attention to detail and a lot of love."
As to what those new dishes might be, we caught up with Neil who told us: "The menu will be largely the same, moving location is bold enough, I'd dare not risk my regulars' wrath if I messed with the food line-up as well! Though I will be introducing some new dishes tailored for lunchtimes, and things like our Cod Crack, Fish Cakes and Buttermilk Chicken Wings which have been rotating specials at Finsbury Park will be permanent fixtures.
"I really want to do deep-fried mini pizzas, think more the Pizza Fritta of Naples than the deep-fried pizzas of Glasgow! I'm also working on a Japanese Milk Bread Fillet-O-Fish."
The last day of trading at Finsbury Park is today with plans to open up West before the end of the year. They do have a site, but details are under wraps for now.
Goddammnit, that's the last time we big up a local restaurant. Now where are we going to go for our tempura hake fix in N4?
More about Gilly's Fry Bar
Where: 4A Clifton Terrace, London N4 3JP
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Twitter @gillysfrybar and Instagram @gillysfrybar.
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