London Barnsbury 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”.

2024 Review: “I couldn’t love it more”, say regulars of this Islington Vietnamese – “a family-run and family-oriented original, with reliable and delicious food”.

2022 Review: “Brilliant burgers charmingly served in a student-friendly hang-out” – that’s the deal at this indie four-year-old, which is located at the northern end of the new developments near King’s Cross.

“Utterly delicious” south Indian food in “small portion sizes, which encourages you to order almost everything on the menu”, makes it “tricky to get a table” at this majorly successful three-year-old Barnsbury pub conversion, which has spawned a trio of spinoffs (Tamil Crown, Tamila, see also). “Moderate pricing” is part of the appeal and it’s “lively and fun” (if “a bit clattery for real comfort”) – so it’s “well worth booking weeks in advance” to taste the “great lamb chops, prawns” and much else. Top Tip – “breakfast is a more recent addition to the offering: the Uttapam is heavenly”.