The very atmospheric Dining Room at the pub. It must also be lovely for Sunday lunches too with all that light flooding in.
So what do we need to know about the William IV?
It's always great when any London pub gets a new lease of life. This 200-year-old Islington boozer was threatened with closure back during lockdown. After a few more hiccups it finally got some interesting owners when Lee Godwin and Mike Harrington took it over last year. The pair had worked at places like Mare Street Market and the Well & Bucket, so they know what it takes to run a popular pub in this part of town.
They started slowly, reopening the pub bit first, but this winter they unveiled their upstairs dining room which is what we were here to check out.
This is what you're looking for
Where is it?
You'll find it just off City Road, close to the Wenlock Arms. The closest tube would be Old Street, but it's a short walk from Angel too.
Where should we sit?
That depends on what menu you want to try. Downstairs the focus is more on bar snacks and lovely-sounding pies. Upstairs the menu is more of a formal affair with larger dishes on offer.
The downstairs pub, early on a Saturday evening - this was rammed as we left after dinner.
What sort of food are we talking about?
The story starts with their suppliers. This is a pub which prides itself on its relationship with the UK's best food producers, so you'll find day boat seafood from Wright Brothers and heritage meats from Swaledale Butchers on the menu.
Seared scallop, garlic butter, breadcrumbs (£8.50) - don't make the rookie error of not ordering bread to go with this, as you won't want one iota of that garlic butter to go to waste.
Whipped smoked cod's roe, crisps, Tabasco (£9.50) - our only slightly off note of the night. The roe was seriously strong even for roe lovers!
Guinness glazed beef short rib, mashed potato, baby carrots (£20) - looking for that cooked so long it's falling off the bone kind of dish on a cold night? Look no further.
Heritage breed flat iron steak, triple cooked chips with peppercorn sauce (£24) - don't judge us, we went for two beefy mains and we're not remotely sorry.
What's on the menu for vegetarians?
There's a decent selection of dishes that are vegetarian, with at least one vegan main which on our visit was a celeriac and pearl barley risotto with black garlic and crispy kale. You'll also want to order this great snack too.
Chive panisse topped with Parmesan and served with a pistou sauce (£8.50) - wafer light sticks of panisse (those are chickpea fritters if you're not familiar with them) and a pungent pistou sauce for dipping.
Room for dessert?
There were four dessert options when we visited, along with a selection of flavours of ice cream from Hackney gelato.
Orange syrup cake with creme fraiche (£8.50) - we were very glad we ordered this when it turned up, still steaming.
What's on the drinks list?
We didn't manage to try the cocktails, although there was a coastal martini shot with an oyster we were eyeing up. What did grab our attention was an unusually well-priced wine list, which is all too rare in London. It's a mix of natural and classics with seven in the £40 and under price range (two of those in the £20s). They also have four bottles of alcohol-free wine from Odd Bird, for those swerving booze entirely.
Overall thoughts:
The dining room at the William IV is one of those success stories we should all be celebrating - the survival (or thrival?) of an old London pub that does what it does without too much frivolities but does it very well. This is great pub food that's thoughtfully sourced and beautifully cooked. We should all be so lucky to have a place like this as our local.
More about William IV
Where is it? 7 Shepherdess Walk, London N1 7QE
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @william_iv_pub
Hot Dinners dined as guests of William IV. Prices correct at time of publication.
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