French Restaurants in Islington
1.
Le Sacré-Coeur
French restaurant in Islington
18 Theberton St - N1
This “well-established and reliable French bistro” with a “faux-rural dining room” in Islington is “good value, friendly and welcoming”, while the “simple and traditional cooking packs plenty of flavour in quite generous servings”. Top Tip – “go for the set lunch” (three courses for under £20).
2.
Bellanger
French restaurant in Islington
9 Islington Green - N1
“I used to be a regular, now I’m so sad”. The June 2023 reformatting of this “very handsome-looking” Wolseley Group outpost on Islington Green (which had closed in 2019 and then reopened in 2020 after failing to sell the site) is not going well. It’s a large site, evoking a fin-de-siecle Parisian haunt with a “newish design that’s pleasant enough” and a fairly traditional, French brasserie-style menu. For too many, though, “since reopening after a further refresh results are dire”. One reporter neatly summarises the mood: “This is written with huge sadness, as it was my favourite place for nearly any occasion in the Corbin & King days. Now it feels like a Café Rouge, with a cynical and over-priced menu and average service (I really feel for the staff, a lot of whom were there in the good old days). What a waste, and what a loss for Upper Street: it was such a godsend to have a grown-up restaurant in the area when it first opened, and then reopened”.
3.
Le Mercury
French restaurant in Islington
140a Upper St - N1
“I simply don’t grasp how they keep their prices so low!” – this “insanely cheap bistro” has provided “decent” Gallic fare in a prime Islington location opposite the Almeida Theatre for 40 years. It hardly matters that the cooking is “pretty run-of-the-mill”, “but you can’t argue with the highly quaffable French plonk, amiable staff, and dishes that are very pleasant”.
4.
La Petite Auberge
French restaurant in Islington
283 Upper St - N1
This “friendly French bistro on Islington’s busiest street has all the predictable Gallic offerings – onion soup, escargots, crepes – and a decent wine list”. It inspires few criticisms and is “pleasant enough” to be a useful address “well-placed for the Almeida theatre”.
5.
Caravel
French restaurant in Shoreditch
172 Shepherdess Walk - N1
For a “romantic” evening, fans tip this permanently moored barge on the Regent’s Canal about 15 minutes walk north of Old Street tube. It’s consistently well-rated all round, including its modern bistro cuisine.
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