What can you tell us about Bellanger?
This is the latest from Corbin and King, who have brought an upmarket Parisian brasserie serving old school Alsace food in Islington. So expect plenty of Parisian style glitz and warming pots, sausages, schnitzel and more.
Where is it?
Right on Islington Green, it's taken over the spot that Browns used to hold for many, many years. The nearest tube stop is Angel.
Where should I meet for a drink first?
Islington isn't blessed with the best bars, but the most obvious one nearby is 69 Colebrook Row (aka the Bar with No Name) if you fancy some top class cocktails from Tony Conigliaro. At the moment, alas, you can't just pop in for a drink at the Bellanger bar unless you're also eating there.
And where should I sit?
In every Corbin and King restaurant, there's a pretty clear "place to be". Given that Bellanger is split over some distinctly separate rooms, it's a little harder to judge this. In contrast to its predecessor Browns, we'd say that the back room could well be one of the places to aim for as well as the space to the left of the main entrance at the front.
What should I order?
We went in the evening and it should be noted that the menu will be changing a little for weekend brunch. As for the traditional menu it's split into tartes flambees (more of those in a minute), starters and sandwiches, mains including sections for pot, escalopes and sausages - and desserts, of course.
We'll start with the star of the show - the tartes flambees - and these are the absolute must-haves. They're wafer thin flatbread served on your table raised high on a board. We've now tried all four savoury types and while all are pretty darned great, the "Chèvre, Miel et Au Thym" (goat's cheese, honey and thyme - £5.50) is the one not to miss. But either way, you have to kick things off with at least one of these - they're thin enough not to dent your appetite too much.
The next shout-out goes to "Les Pots" which are a collection of hot pots, either Coq au Riesling, Choucroute a l'Alsacienne or Baeckeoffe - which is the one we went for. That has beef, pork and lamb braised in gewürztraminer with root vegetables - and is a meal in itself for £18. Perfect for a (albeit rather mild) winter day and you can get bigger versions to share at £35 for two and £67 for four.
Otherwise we'll definitely be making a return trip for the chicken schnitzel sandwich (£7.50) and you shouldn't pass up on the artery-furring pommes aligot featuring potato bound with an obscene amount of butter and cheese - (£4.95).
How about drink?
There's a very extensive wine list - one of the best we've seen in Islington - and prices start at £22.50 a bottle although there's a relatively steep incline after that with the majority between £30 and £50. It's also worth paying attention to the featured producers, the French beer list and a nice seelction of Champagne cocktails.
Overall?
Bellanger represents the next step for Islington. This is an area that's packed with restaurants although only recently has there been a visible shift upwards in quality. Corbin and King's latest restaurant is a distinct step up from what was here before and brings a real destination-style restaurant to the area for Islington locals. It'll be a huge hit for anyone in the area and if you're passing, definitely pop in for a tarte flambee.
Bellanger is at 9 Islington Green, London N1 2XH and the reservation line is 020 7226 2555. For more, follow them on Twitter @bellangern1.
