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RestaurantsLondonIslingtonN1

survey result

Summary

£84
 ££££
4
Very Good
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Perfection for simple high quality” – Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda’s “lovely neighbourhood Italian” in Islington draws a big fan club from across town and provided many best-meals-of-the-year in our annual diners’ poll thanks to its “exceptional pasta”, “excellent grilled meats and fish” and “fairly priced Italian wine list”. “Always busy and noisy”, it’s also rather “romantic”.

Summary

£78
 ££££
4
Very Good
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“The neighbourhood Italian everyone would want to have” – Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda’s “low-key and lovely” Islington fixture “feels like a special meal every time”, with “amazing pasta” and other “delicious” dishes prepared from “excellent ingredients”. “Choose upstairs in summer for lunch, and downstairs in winter for a romantic dinner”. “Just wish they weren’t so dog-friendly!”.

Summary

£78
 ££££
3
Good
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“It’s so good to have on my doorstep” – Tim Sidiatan and Jordan Frieda’s “teeming local favourite” is “precisely the type of neighbourhood spot everyone wants to have”: “a relaxed, chic atmosphere makes for a stress-free, no-frills meal out that just feels special” (“choose downstairs for romance”). “Italian-inspired open-fire cooking is a focus, with frequently changing fish and meat dishes,” but “it’s worth a visit for the pasta alone”. And it all comes at “sensible prices”. Top Tip – “mouthwatering ragu!”

Summary

£71
  £££
3
Good
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda’s neighbourhood Italian near Highbury Corner remains one of north London’s most commented-on destinations. The “simple but extremely well-executed dishes” are “authentic” and served with a “real sense of gusto”. (They can, however, “sometimes seem a bit pricey”, and this was a caveat that cropped up more this year.) Its “intimate” style also makes it a romantic favourite: “choose a table in the light and airy upstairs for a date in summer, or a booth downstairs for a steamy tryst in winter!”

For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).

Have you eaten at Trullo?

300-302 St Paul’s Rd, London, N1 2LH

Restaurant details

Highchair,Portions
20
No dress code
90

Trullo Restaurant Diner Reviews

Reviews of Trullo Restaurant in N1, London by users of Hardens.com. Also see the editors review of Trullo restaurant.
Julia P
The best in Islington...
Reviewed 2 months, 20 days ago

"The best in Islington"

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Victoria J
A while since we visited. Monkfish cevic...
Reviewed 3 months, 7 days ago

"A while since we visited. Monkfish ceviche with amalfi lemon, needed a coloured plate or leaves - it looked anaemic although tasted good. Delicious tagliatelle with chopped mussels, cod with coco beans and anchovy and rosemary sauce. Ricotta doughnuts with vanilla sauce and blackcurrants £11 but excellent. "

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Steven B
Based on Italian cooking. Should have had m...
Reviewed 3 months, 7 days ago

"Based on Italian cooking. Should have had more pasta as it was good. The Monkfish carpaccio was delicious but looked feeble as it had no colour. Cod was moist perhaps lacking some bite. Fried doughnuts with blackcurrant and sauce made a good end , £104 for 2 OK to sit and some tables for 2 are quite spacious. "

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Andrew D
It's under too much pressure, The food and ...
Reviewed 10 months, 1 day ago

"It's under too much pressure, The food and service are struggling. My sardine starter was very good - but the rabbit main, when it arrived, was insipid, watery and overcooked. They should take out two or three tables and take standards back up. Disappointing "

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What the Newspaper Critics are saying

The Times

Tim Hayward celebrated the 15th anniversary of a “plucky little independent” which he characterised as the “bastard love child of St John, out of the River Café, with a fair smattering of Jamie Oliver grated over the surface”.

Everything about it was pretty well perfect, from the rope-powered lift at the pass and the “genuinely hospitable” front of house staff, to the brilliant house-made pasta, the “barely restrained” Cornish turbot wrapped in lardo di Colonnata and the ricotta doughnuts with freshly made vanilla custard.

“I reckon Trullo got it right pretty much on day one and they’ve been doing it brilliantly ever since,” Tim declared. “Trullo might be the youngest of the classics but it has seriously old bones.”

Tim Hayward - 2024-12-22

Prices

Traditional European menu

Starter Main Pudding
£10.50 £32.50 £9.00
Drinks  
Wine per bottle £35.00
Filter Coffee £2.00
Extras  
Bread £5.00
Service 10.00%
300-302 St Paul’s Rd, London, N1 2LH
Opening hours
Monday12:30 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm
Tuesday12:30 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm
Wednesday12:30 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm
Thursday12:30 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm
Friday12:30 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm
Saturday12:30 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm
Sunday12:30 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm

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