Islington

• The Baring sees top restaurant team take on an Islington pub

  

  29/6/22 - updated with the opening date

  A look at a chef or manager's CV while it doesn't tell you everything about them, does give you a fairly good indication of what to expect. So when we heard that the team who are reopening the Islington pub The Baring worked at places including Dabbous, Kerridge's Bar and Grill, Orasay and Six Portland Street we felt quietly confident that it would be an

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• Birdies brings crazy golf (and burgers) to Islington

  

  It was only going to be a matter of time before crazy golf came to Islington and now it's finally arrived as the latest Birdies gets ready to open in Angel Central.

  Coming from the same people as Roof East, this follows on from the Birdies that opened in Battersea. The main event is the nine-hole crazy golf course, that all finishes off with a big roulette wheel. But, as with any competitive

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• James Cochran is opening Valderrama's on Islington's Upper Street - a sports bar with fried chicken

  

  James Cochran is adding a new venture to Upper Street Islington (his restaurant 12:51 is just up the road) but this time it's quite different to his previous place. He's opening a sports bar called Valderrama's.

  It's named after the Colombian 90's football captain and sports will be a big part of the venture, with screens dotted all around the bar (we

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• Islington is home to Mother Clucker’s new fried-chicken restaurant

  

  Get your chicken puns ready, Mother Clucker is setting up a restaurant in Islington, having previously found fame as a street-food truck in 2013 and then a UK-nationwide delivery service in 2021.

  You may recall we reported on their first bricks-and-mortar home back in 2018, when Mother Clucker set up shop in Exmouth

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• Myungrang's Korean hot dogs are headed for Angel

  

  19/5/21 - Updated with the opening date

  Hot off the back of the huge success that Bunsik has had in Charing Cross with its corndogs, we now have the Korean giant Myungrang Hot Dog heading our way. With branches dotted all over the world from the Philippines to Singapore and Taiwan, the

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• Mezcalito Mexican bar and restaurant comes to Newington Green

  

  18/5/21 - Updated with the opening date

  They've been popular in Chelsea (they even got a visit from Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston) and now Mexican restaurant and bar Mezcalito is heading to Newington Green.

  Food-wise, it'll be the same as the original - a mix of tacos, quesadillas, burritos and small plates. That includes: 

  • Mexican Bao - Mexicanised Bao
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• The Tamil Prince is a new Islington pub from ex-Roti King team

  

  The people behind Tamila in Hackney, Chef Prince Durairaj and Glen Leeson (both ex Roti King), are heading to Islington for their next opening - The Tamil Prince. 

  They're taking over what used to be The Cuckoo pub in the middle of Barnsbury and are transforming it into a pub showcasing South Asian cuisine, which they say is underrepresented in the area (as locals,

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• Test Driving Noci - Islington gets a fresh pasta restaurant that's already a big hit

  

  Islington has a hot new pasta place that's already pulling the crowds in. We went to take a look. 

• Pelicana's Korean fried chicken is coming to Islington

  

  7/4/22 - updated with opening date

  Last year, Korean fried chicken giant Pelicana opened its first London store, in Hammersmith. Now they're heading across town, picking Islington for their second branch.

  They're taking over a site that was last Jones & Sons spot in the Angel Central shopping centre. There will be a takeaway outlet on the ground floor (as you enter the centre from Upper

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• Miscusi is opening its next pasta restaurant in Islington

  

  Islington's waited a while for a pasta restaurant and soon there will be two within a few feet of each other. Hot on the heels of Noci opening on Islington Green, Italian chain Miscusi is opening nearby on Upper Street (where Masala Zone used to be). 

  Miscusi opened its first London restaurant earlier this year where it suffered a pretty duff review ...

• VQ, the 24-hour restaurant is coming to Islington

  

  24-hour restaurant specialists VQ (which stands for "Vingt Quatre") have a brand new site lined up - they're coming to Islington. 

  Taking over the space that used to be Comedor, they'll be right on Upper Street and you can expect the same kind of menu as the other VQs (in Chelsea, Bloomsbury and Aldgate). The main event is their "Breakfast Any Time" which, as you might expect, means that you

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• Caravel is a floating restaurant on Regents Canal from The Spiteri brothers and Studio Kitchen

  

  We do like a floating restaurant (the Cheese Barge is a thing of wonder) and this latest restaurant on the water sounds like another very promising addition to Regents Canal. Caravel comes from brothers Fin and Lorcan Spiteri who have taken over a restored barge next door to Studio Kitchen (on the canal between Hoxton and Islington) and converted it into a

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• New Islington cafe TRAMPOLINE serves up hope to refugees

  

  If you prefer your morning coffee to come with a side order of goodwill, then a new cafe opening in Angel next week sounds like just the place for you.

  TRAMPOLINE is a new social enterprise cafe by Founder Pranav Chopra on Camden Passage which is all about helping refugees to the UK enter the workforce. How they do that is by working with Groundwork London and Hotel School a hospitality training

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• Noci is a new pasta Islington restaurant from ex-Bancone chef Louis Korovilas

  

  A Hot Dinners exclusive

  He had a big hit with his dishes at Bancone, before moving onto Tavolino, and now Louis Korovilas is opening an Italian pasta restaurant in Islington (taking over from the Cote on Islington Green).

  At this new restaurant, you can expect a combination of Italian street food and pasta dishes. Of the former, the fritti are the main

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• Must & Lees wine shop, tasting room and school opens in Barnsbury

  

  If you're hoping to broaden your view on wine and maybe break a little bit of out your comfort zone, then the arrival of new Islington wine bar and shop Must & Lees is for you.

  Newly-opened on Liverpool Road, this is the passion project of drinks expert Chris Cassell. Having worked in the booze industry for 15 years, doing everything from managing cocktail bars to working in the English wine industry, he

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