The Nook in Islington launched quietly in the pandemic - and turns out to be an absolute neighbourhood gem.

The streetfood arm of the London Paella School has landed on Highbury's Blackstock Road where they'll be serving up ALL the paellas plus other great tapas.

The duo behind neighbourhood favourite Fink's Salt & Sweet are expanding - but they're not going far. Their second place will be a coffee shop on nearby Gillespie Road.

There's no getting away from the fact that lockdown was hard on London. But, equally, it's fair to say that some businesses coped better than others. Highbury restaurant Top Cuvee didn't let any grass grow under its feet when the city shut down. It pivoted quickly to become a natural wine distributor Shop Cuvee - actually growing its business over lockdown.

Now that owner Brodie and his team have been able to reopen the restaurant,

Over the past few months we've reported on a lot of restaurant closures. But we're personally gutted to have heard the news last night that Piebury Corner will not be reopening either of its restaurants.

We've been following Paul and Nicky Campbell's story ever since they first set up a pie stall around the corner from where we lived, back in

With people not heading into the centre of London to work, neighbourhood bars and restaurants are getting a lot more attention - and this new opening in our own local area caught our attention. The Nook has taken over the space that used to be Linden Stores, so we popped down to find out more. 

The owners are Angus and Lale Oztek-Pook. Angus is front of house and Lale the chef. Lale studied at Le

Over the many, boring weeks of lockdown, we spent a lot of time on our daily prescribed walk going past the old Dear Pizza spot on Highbury Barn, wondering what new restaurant was opening there.

Now we know - it's Donna Sofia - an Italian restaurant and pizzeria from the folk next door at Da Mario deli. They're serving up a range of antipasti, pasta, mains and pizzas.

On the menu you'll find:

• Toasted sourdough

We were delighted to see our local spot Fink's Sweet & Salt reopening its doors late last week. The popular Highbury cafe and store has been shut since October following a devastating mains pipe burst which flooded the area.

Reopening anywhere in the current times brings added pressures and, of course, right now Fink's is takeaway only, with social distancing measures in place. Their hatch has also reopened for anyone wanting to swing by and

Poor old Patron barely got a chance to open its second restaurant in Highbury before the shutters came down for lockdown. So we're pleased they've managed to sort out a new home delivery service at both their original Kentish Town restaurant and the new Highbury location.

The Maison Patron menu does sound

Over in Highbury, top Thai restaurant Farang has an interesting new offering during Lockdown. With just the one chef - owner Sebby Holmes - in the kitchen, they've launched Farang Larder this week.

As the name suggests they'll be offering a range of food, drink and meals to fill up your store cupboard and fridge.

There are five recipes kits. Choose from red, green, jungle and massaman curry kits or Miang for Days - which has everything

Highbury's Sunday lunch game looks set to get a little stronger from this coming weekend. Local restaurant Franks Canteen is about to take over the Sunday lunch service at Blackstock Road pub, The Woodbine.

"There's no reservations, Paul from Franks told Hot Dinners. "Just rock up - it's family-friendly and we'll be serving from 12 to 7pm.

"We'll be using our usual great suppliers, Swaledale for meat and

A Hot Dinners exclusive

Ever since they first opened their doors in Highbury in 2017, Bourne's Fishmongers have been on a mission to share their enthusiasm for British seafood with Londoners. The duo behind it are Lee Bourne and John Long. Bourne trained as a chef at Islington restaurant Fredericks before heading into the fishmonger trade at top London fishmonger Steve Hatt. He teamed up with fellow Highbury local John

Popular Kentish Town brasserie Patron is expanding - they've picked Blackstock Road for their second site, serving up all manner of classic French wine and dishes.

Five years ago, wedding caterer Paul Warburton opened Franks Canteen in Highbury as a weekend only brunch spot, just a few doors down from popular Thai spot Farang.

Now, having built up an incredibly loyal local trade, and dabbling with some supperclubs, he's about to open Franks Canteen permanently in the evenings.

"Our plan is to run in a similar way to our daytime operation," he told Hot Dinners, "which is food influenced

Highbury wine bar