Having worked at Smoking Goat and Begging Bowl and launched successful stalls at Dinerama and Hawker House, Thai food master Seb Holmes finally set up his own restaurant, opening Farang in 2017. Originally conceived as a residency, the venue is now a fully-fledged permanent restaurant and has gained fans, including top food critics, all over London. It also went on to win a Big Gourmand award in the 2019 Michelin Guide. Specialising in modern Thai street food, Farang showcases the very best fresh Thai and British produce, serving dishes like braised beef massuman curry, spicy Cornish mussels with wild ginger, curry pork rib with sweet basil, and smoky grilled aubergine with soft boiled duck egg and roasted rice. For dessert, there's a selection of homemade ice cream and sorbet while the drinks menu is made up of Thai beers, tropical cocktails and a small selection of wines, including three from Thailand.
Tapas & mezze bar next door to sister restaurant Moro on Exmouth Market. Sam and Sam Clark have made Moro a household name with their superb Moroccan-Spanish cooking, and this smaller tapas place next door, opened 13 years after they created the restaurant, offers a welcome addition for the loyal customers who often can't get a table. Cheaper and more casual than its sibling, Morito taking no bookings and offers the chance to try lots of different dishes, "all just as well sourced and prepared, and zingily spiced, as in the main restaurant, for a bargain price" (Evening Standard). Stand out dishes include black rice with cuttlefish and preserve lemon and seared scallops with albarino, and if you need help just ask - the friendly staff know their way around the menu.
Presented by Bocca Di Lupo founder Jacob Kenedy, Plaquemine Lock serves the best of New Orleanian cuisine. Specialities include oysters, boiled crawfish and gumbo (soup) along with po'boy sandwiches filled with fried shrimp, blackened chicken, slow-roast beef debris and fried green tomato with cheddar. Further dishes include blackened grey mullet, dirty rice and pork boudin balls while desserts are indulgent with pecan pie and strawberry and cream pie among the options. Beers are British but the cocktails are all Louisianan. Housed in a former pub, the restaurant, which takes its name from the waterway that Jacob's great grandfather constructed in Louisiana back in 1909, retains the original bar, wooden fittings and pub atmosphere.
Housed in a former garage in a pretty Islington square, Primeur is a one-of-a-kind neighbourhood restaurant. With a strikingly simple website and a daily, handwritten menu on Instagram, it really is all about the food and you need to visit to see what it's all about. Recipient of a Bib Gourmand 2017, the open plan restaurant only has 40 covers, many of which are on a long communal table, and just 11 dishes on the menu, plus one dessert. Feast on the likes of nduja on toast, pork terrine, tomato gazpacho and chocolate mousse with peanut caramel.
Recipient of a Bib Gourmand award, Provender is an all-day informal bistro that serves well-sourced French food and wine. Choose from a two or three course prix fixe menu, with options such as truffled artichoke and mushroom risotto; flat iron steak with triple cooked fries and pepper sauce; and roast confit of chicken with braised red cabbage and puy lentils. Traditional French desserts like crème caramel and chocolate tart make for a pleasing conclusion and the wines are very well priced.
A superb addition to the Islington eating scene is Trullo, a homely neighbourhood Italian in Highbury in the mould of the River Café (but thankfully not replicating its grossly inflated prices), serving simple, authentic and delicious dishes made with excellent produce. The man behind Trullo is Jordan Frieda - son of pop legend Lulu and hairdressing god John Frieda - who himself used to be front of house at The River Cafe. Head chef Tim Siadatan is one of the original recruits to Jamie Oliver's Fifteen project, going on to graduate from there to St John and Moro. His short, appealing and ever-changing menu does not disappoint - and a £10-cap on wine mark up means you won't break the bank if you want a bottle of Italian wine to accompany your meal. Critics have been universally impressed, with The Observer's Jay Rayner claiming: "Great food, expertly cooked and served by friendly waiting staff... There's no secret to Trullo's success."
Following the success of Primeur, which got a Bib Gourmand in 2017, Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim and David Gingell open their second restaurant in Lower Holloway. Fish restaurant Westerns Laundry is housed in the last remaining part of a 1950's building and keeps both the industrial feel and name of its former occupant. The menu focuses on seafood and dishes made with produce sourced from the British Isles. A chalk board shows the daily changing menu. As well as sea bass with seaweed tartare and raw scallops you get meatier choices of pork loin and beef rump followed by green apple sorbet for dessert. Tucked away across a forecourt planted birch trees, the restaurant has floor to ceiling doors, pulled open in warmer months.
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