This was only day 2 and already there was a packed dining room...
What do we need to know about Goodbye Horses?
This new wine bar and restaurant is one-third of a new venture that's just opened up on an old pub site in Islington. The first bit was Day Trip - a pour-over coffee shop. The final element will be The Dreamery ice cream shop which has yet to be unveiled. We were here to try Goodbye Horses, which is the wine bar/restaurant part, for dinner.
Running front of house is George de Vos who you might remember from Dalston's Brilliant Corners. And in the kitchen is Jack Coggins who most recently was cooking up a storm at Papi in London Fields.
Where is it?
You'll find it down a side street, just off Essex Road in Islington. The nearest station would be Essex Road and it's probably about a 20-minute walk from either Angel or Highbury and Islington tubes.
This is what you're looking for...
Where's a good place to sit?
As the previous owner ripped out most of the original fittings they've been given more of a blank slate design-wise and as a result, the interiors - by Leopold Banchini - are not at all what you might be expecting.
The room's a mix of more communal tables and the odd one for two or four people. We really liked the look of the stools up at the bar too, which would be particularly nice if you were dining solo or fancied chatting more about the interesting wine selections here.
The counter and group dining options at Goodbye Horses
So what kind of food are they serving up?
They say the menu features fun and seasonal sharing plates. As you'd expect with that kind of concept the menu's loosely split into snacks, small and larger plates and desserts with prices in the £8-£20 range.
Here's what we had to give you a flavour.
Carlingford oyster with kohlrabi (£4.50 each)
Cornish crab cracker with green strawberry (£8 each) - a fabulous snack on a homemade seedy cracker.
Eggs mayonnaise (£10.50) - rather baldly described on the menu, these came with more of a hollandaise-style sauce and a much-appreciated topping of shoestring fries. The must-have dish.
Raw beef with chilli and mushrooms (£14) - a particularly good take on beef tartare that paired particularly well with those wafer-thin mushrooms as well as a welcome crunch to the dish.
Oxtail ragout broken rice (£16) - honestly still thinking about this dish. Delicious.
What's on the menu for vegetarians?
There's plenty to entice those with a plant-forward diet, with these being particularly good examples.
Peas and beans with goat's curd (£13) - such a pretty plate.
Heirloom tomatoes with figs and Corra Lin cheese (£12) - that jammy tapenade was such a good match for the tomatoes.
Room for dessert?
There were two desserts and a cheese option when we visited. But we'd given the menu such a going-over we only had room for this between us.
Bread treacle ice cream with puffed rice granola and blackberries (£10) - a riot of texture and colour in this very summery end to our dinner.
What about drinks?
Wine is a big deal here - the list has been put together by Nathalie Nelles who used to work for the Noble Fine Liquor Group (Bright & P Franco). It's a mainly organic and biodynamic list and frankly, we needed help deciding what to have. Luckily everyone here really knows their way around the list, plus they'll be happy to let you try stuff first if you want to work out what to have. If you want to get a real sense of what the offering is here, we'd suggest doing as we did and ordering by the glass. There are roughly 20 options there ranging in price from £6.50 to £19 for a 125ml glass.
Overall thoughts:
We honestly weren't sure what to expect from Goodbye Horses but we ended up being blown away by the whole thing. From the design to the wine offering to the inventive (and delicious) food being turned out by the kitchen, this is one of those clever projects that ends up being more than the sum of its parts.
There's nothing quite like it in this part of town either, so if you're an Islington resident who fancies being able to eat well locally without having to head east, this is going to be very much your cup of tea.
More about Goodbye Horses
Where is it? 21 Halliford St, London, N1 3HB
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @goodbyehorsesldn
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Goodbye Horses. Prices correct at time of publication.
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