The front section of Tollington's - for walk-ins
So this is the latest from the Four Legs team?
That's right. If that doesn't ring a bell, their previous venture was the hugely successful pub The Plimsoll in Finsbury Park a few years back. That place has been rammed ever since it opened and now the same team have headed every so slightly north of that to open up Tollington's.
Is this another pub?
No, it's quite a different thing altogether. They've taken over an old fish and chip shop and turned it into the kind of place they love going when they're over in Barcelona and other Spanish hot spots - a seafood bar with Spanish influences.
Where is it?
You'll find it on Tollington Park, just off Stroud Green Road. It's a five-minute walk from Finsbury Park station.
Where should we sit?
That largely depends on whether you've booked or not. The front area is more of a pintxo/tapas bar with room to stand at the counter along with stools round the edge with some shelves for your small dishes. That's for walk-ins only and retains that feel of an old chippy.
At the back is a proper dining room with tables and chairs and room for around 24 diners which can be booked in advance.
The dining room at the back - which you can book
What's on the menu?
On our preview visit, there were a series of tapas dishes ranging in price from £5 for a plate of pickled anchovies to £16 for a dish of pollock pil pil. The tables (and counter space) aren't that big, so we'd suggest ordering like you would in Spain, a few dishes at a time.
Here's what we had to give you a flavour:
Killough bay oysters (£6 each) - our first time trying these oysters from Northern Ireland and they're a hit of briny deliciousness.
Chips bravas (£6) - perfect, PERFECT chips covered with bravas sauce and a punchy aioli.
Salty potatoes with sauces (£6) - don't judge us for double-carbing it here. Who could resist these salt-baked potatoes served with moho verde and moho rojo sauces.
Tomato salad (£10) - joyfully one of those tomato salads that you get in Spain and think WHY can't tomatoes taste like this in the UK. Well, these do. A generous amount of olive oil helps.
Devilled crab (£12) - the dish everyone's talking about. Deep fried choux filled with a potato and crab mix and then served with Mojo Picon sauce.
Smoked eel omelette (£11) - while this tortilla was the perfect consistency (runny in the middle) it was the one thing that could have done with more seasoning.
Pork neck and broad beans (£14) - such a great little tapas dish with the best of the summer's new broad beans.
Room for dessert?
There are just two desserts on offer when we went. A bowl of strawberries and this...
Flan (£7) - 100% a custard dish you're going to want to order a slice of, with a perfect caramel top. It's hard not to just want to devour the whole thing...
What about drinks?
Estrella on tap is served in three sizes, small (or a cana as it would be in Spain), double or by the jug. There's cider and Cava and an edited selection of wines available by the glass and bottle starting at £30 for Abrazos Tinto. We're also pleased to see Vichy Catalana on the soft drinks side of things (but no Fanta Limon sadly).
Overall thoughts:
Obviously, Tollington's is going to be a hit, such is the popularity of the Four Legs name. But it's also a successful second album for them and it's different enough to make you want to put this and The Plimsoll on rotation and somewhere worth crossing town for. We'll try not to be too smug that it's so close to where we live...
More about Tollington's
Where is it? 172 Tollington Park, London N4 3AJ
Find out more: Follow them on Instagram @tollingtons.fishbar
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Tollington's. Prices correct at time of publication.
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