Barnsbury, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: This aptly-named, all-day café in Barnsbury is the local hot-spot for weekend brunch – “if you can get in before the queues”. “Courgette fritters, pancakes, banana bread” all get a shout-out, along with a “seriously good Virgin Mary”. It’s less frenetic during the week, when they take bookings.

“Always busy, always buzzing” – this very well-known Islington gastropub “manages to maintain its high standard friendliness” after 15 years under the direction of Nick Gibson – although even admirers say “the acoustics need sorting; if you’re sat anywhere near the bar it’s almost impossible to hear anything”. “The food is fine”, but has perhaps lost a bit of its edge (“…for example, we didn’t finish a bowl of decidedly average chips… unheard of in our family!)”; and service at peak times can become “distracted”.