Big Plates to launch the dining room at The Pocket, Islington's hottest pub

After years of being one of the quietest pubs in Islington as The Four Sisters and then closed for nearly four years after that, as locals ourselves, we thought that no one was ever going to be able to make a success of the pub site on 25 Canonbury Lane. But along came The Pocket and it's since been transformed into one of the hottest pubs in London. 

Up until now, the food offering at the pub has been decidedly limited, with pies from the bar being the main form of sustenance ("no green food" as the Instagram handle proudly declares). However, that's about to change as they're unveiling a new dining room upstairs and Big Plates are kicking off a residency there.

Big Plates is run by Josh Ebsworth and Hannah Larkin, who have stints at Cloth, Lucky and Joy and Half Cut Market behind them, they say their food is all about delivering "classics with cheeky riffs" while their menus will have a focus on comfort food and "generosity, indulgence and deep satisfaction."

The first menu is a short affair but it's the kind of menu where you want to order everything off it. So there's mince on focaccia with a bruleed egg yolk to start (almost like a cooked steak tartare), while mains include a butter chicken pie, pork schnitzel and a "Piedmontese onion". As for dessert, they'll have banoffee pie or chocolate and stout steamed pudding. As we said, we want all of that. 

The residency will be every Saturday in March and, given the popularity of the pub, you'll want to get that booking in fast.