London Restaurants - North London
Critic reviews - total score 6.5 out of 10
This is from Corbin and King, the team behind The Wolseley, Bellanger, The Delaunay and more. This time it is an all-day restaurant serving French food with Russian influences.
Since they opened, MEAT liquor have grown their burger and cocktail empire across London, but all of their locations are places where you can get some of the very best burgers in town. Not to mention some killer cocktails.
Critic reviews - total score 8 out of 10
A top Holloway Road pizzeria which prides itself on its dough. The standard is 48-hour fermented and there are also vegetable charcoal, wholemeal and gluten-free options. Combine this with some unique toppings and combinations (including truffle honey) and you've a winning combo.
This Spanish restaurant on Upper Street comes from expert jamón producers Jamon y Salud, so you'd be expecting their jamon to be of a particularly high standard (it is). But it's not all about ham as the restaurant does a great line in authentic Spanish tapas, as well as serving up excellent Spanish wines. It's also worth popping in and grabbing a seat on the bar if you just need a snack.
Critic reviews - total score 7 out of 10
Top Cuvee in Highbury sees an ex Dinner by Heston in Melbourne alumni return to London, backed up by a chef from Naughty Piglets. Expect a neighbourhood wine bar with a regularly changing list of both food and wine, as well as cocktails from the people behind Three Sheets.
Critic reviews - total score 8.5 out of 10
This restaurant comes from the team behind Spiritland - and this is their second King's Cross venue. For food, there's a ground level pizza restaurant and downstairs is the basement late-night licence cocktail bar.
Critic reviews - total score 6 out of 10
Moio restaurant on Stoke Newington High Street is a collaboration between a chef and sommelier who previously worked together at Portland restaurant as chef and sommelier. There's a modern European menu with a big focus on matching wines with it.
Critic reviews - total score 6.5 out of 10
Pip Lacey, the former head chef at Murano (and who you may also know from 2017’s Great British Menu) is the brains behind Hicce, a restaurant with wood-fired food that's brimming with British flavours via Norway and Japan. You'll find this all-day restaurant on the top floor of Wolf + Badger at Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross with a pretty handy bar too.
Critic reviews - total score 8 out of 10
Malaysian laksa specialists Sambal Shiok, headed up by Mandy Yin, have finally found a permanent spot for their critically-acclaimed dishes. The laksa is great, but so are all the other dishes. Look out for regular events there and enjoy the wine list with a focus on Riesling.
Part of the Hart Bros empire in Coal Drops Yard, this is the group's first wine bar. It really makes good use of the old coal storage area to evoke the feeling of a wine cellar and the wine list is, obviously, one of the best in the area (and there's plenty of help on hand if you're struggling with your choice). The food comes via two induction hobs, and the team in the tiny kitchen are working wonders from them.
Critic reviews - total score 5 out of 10
Featuring the former Head Chef of Bob Bob Ricard in the kitchen, North London's new Kosher restaurant is aiming for a European grand cafe style of dining in leafy Belsize Park.
Critic reviews - total score 7 out of 10
It's third time lucky for the team behind Westerns Laundry and Primeur as they have opened Jolene, a rare grain bakery and restaurant, on Newington Green. Expect a similar approach to their previous restaurants - ever changing menus, organic wines - with a big focus on the bread too.
Critic reviews - total score 6.5 out of 10
Roti King has established a huge reputation from a small restaurant in Euston. It's oft lauded as one of the best Malaysian restaurants in town and has attracted many to its subterranean location. Certainly expect some of the best rotis in town as well as great lentil curries and spicy noodles.
Flat Iron have an avid following amongst Londoners, with their signature flat iron steaks being one of the best deals in town. This is their King's Cross location where they serve up the usual flat-iron steaks as well as some special cuts. And all for a much cheaper price than you'd normally pay at a steakhouse.
Critic reviews - total score 7.5 out of 10
With eyepopping interiors by Tom Dixon and food by Palomar chef and restaurateur Assaf Granit, this was the first restaurant to open at Coal Drops Yard. If you're up at the counter, it's a scene quite familiar from The Palomar - Jerusalem-inspired food served up by a lively kitchen. They also have a handy bar - and outside space - on the first floor.
Critic reviews - total score 8 out of 10
Michelin-starred James Cochran has gone back to his roots with 1251, his Islington restaurant which is a much more personal affair for him. Here he's serving up modern British food, made with Kentish produce (and several nods to his West Indian heritage). The restaurant is pitched as a place to try Michelin-level dining in a more relaxed environment.
Critic reviews - total score 7.5 out of 10
This canalside restaurant on Caledonian Road has a menu full of authentic Chinese dishes that you don't see all that much of outside of Chinatown. Particularly good for groups.
Casa & Plaza Pastor is the Mexican restaurant of two parts from the Harts Group - the people behind El Pastor in Borough and the Barrafina restaurants. Casa Pastor - the part that's most like El Pastor before it - serves up Mexican classics done well. Outside is Plasa Pastor, which has a line in sandwiches and rotisserie chicken (and is, obviously, heated in the winter).
Critic reviews - total score 8 out of 10
They're viewed as being some of the best Spanish restaurants in London and this Barrafina is no exception. All of the Barrafinas have a unique menu and the King's Cross outpost has a unique menu with a particular focus on Catalan cooking. Otherwise, expect a no-reservation counter-dining-only restaurant with excellent Spanish small plates.
Critic reviews - total score 6 out of 10
Respected restaurateur and chef Anthony Demetre (of Wild Honey) has brought his vision of a Spanish/Italian vermuteria to the Coal Drops Yard part of King's Cross. Expect plenty of vermouth and negronis aplenty alongside a tapas-style menu focusing on seasonal produce.
Critic reviews - total score 6 out of 10
Described as "a neighbourhood restaurant created in partnership with three-time Bib Gourmand winner Brett Redman, and stylist-turned-restaurateur Margaret Crow" they're aiming for a Bloomsbury salon for the 21st century vibe.
After winning an episode of the BBC's Million Pound Menu, street food legends Baba Gs have finally settled down with their own restaurant in Camden. They have their famed burgers and some brand new dishes too.
They already have a kebab restaurant in Battersea, and now they've arrived on Islington's Upper Street. BabaBoom are serving up all their favourite kebabs with meat and vegetables cooked over coal and some cracking Middle Eastern sides too.
Chapel Market might not be the first place you'd think of for top quality sushi, but Head chef Padam Raj Rai was the former head sushi chef at Tsukiji restaurant in Mayfair and he knows his stuff. Plus, you'll get to throw an A5 Japanese Wagyu steak on the stone here and cook it exactly how you like it.
Chick n Sours comes from the team of Carl Clarke and David Wolanski, whose mission is to serve up some of the best fried chicken in London. And they're doing a pretty good job of it so far, with their wings, tenders and huge chicken burgers all some of the best in town. All that plus an excellent selection of sour cocktails.
Critic reviews - total score 8 out of 10
Set on Liverpool Road, this critically-acclaimed restaurant specialises in Hunanese and Sichuan cuisine, so while the menu is huge it's best to concentrate on those sections.
Critic reviews - total score 8.5 out of 10
This Holloway restaurant (it's just across the road from the Emirates stadium) has won a deserved reputation for cooking up some of the best Shang Xi-inspired street food in London. Yes, that means there's a bit of heat involved here, but their hand-pulled noodles are among the best in town. Their pork/beef "burgers" are not to be missed.
This artisan bakery in Islington is best known for its pastries - chief among them the maple bacon croissant, but its bread is up there too. Head along here for some great coffee in the minimalist setting and work your way through some excellent pastries.
Slightly off the beaten track in Canonbury is this small neighbourhood wine bar, serving up a changing seasonal European menu. The owners are Hugo Thurston and Vinny Burke, who were also behind Shoreditch's Jago.
Critic reviews - total score 9.5 out of 10
This bright, friendly neighbourhood cafe really comes into its own at the weekends when it serves up one of London's best brunches. You'll have to fight off every other Islington to get a seat, but it's worth it for dishes like Crispy Pork belly with spring onion pancake, kimchi and scrambled eggs.