Test Driving Bistro Sablé - a French pivot makes this former pub now one of Islington's best restaurants

Inside Bistro Sablé, looking decidedly French

What can you tell us about Bistro Sablé?

First of all, it wasn't always Bistro Sablé. Under its current owners, for the last 10 years it's been known as Smokehouse, a gastropub that was originally launched by Neil Rankin. Back in those days, barbecue and smoked meats were a BIG thing in London and Smokehouse was in the thick of that. However, these days it's less of a trend, and the name Smokehouse apparently started to limit what the restaurant could do.

So, it's a pivot?

Absolutely, and a very timely one. Now, as Bistro Sablé, it's influenced by classic French bistros and brasseries. That just happens to be a notable trend in London restaurants at the moment (see Claude Bosi's Josephine restaurants and many more besides). But it's also something that never goes out of fashion, and really suits its Islington clientele (and we write this as locals ourselves).

Where is it?

You'll find it on a corner halfway down Canonbury Lane. Essex Road train station is the closest station, but it's only about a five-minute walk from Highbury and Islington too.

It was Smokehouse, and now it's Bistro Sablé

It looks like a pub - is it, though?

Yes and no. Bistro Sablé is part of a pub group that includes The Pig and Butcher and The Princess of Shoreditch in its roster. However, this location has really always been more of a restaurant than a pub. There is a drinking-only licence and they do keep the front of the building open for drinking walk-ins from Monday-Thursday, but expect it to be more restaurant-focused at the weekends.

That's a little bit of a shame for locals, as the terrace here is a lovely spot - completely covered in the winter, but also shielded from the road by lots of shrubbery all year long. When the weather's warm, this is one of the best alfresco spots in Islington.

As for the look of the place, there's a real classic French bistro feel about it. The structure hasn't changed since its Smokehouse day, but it's surprising what a paint job, lots of French artwork and candles on every table can do. It transforms the place into a classic French bistro and it felt particularly warm on the cold and wet night we visited. The roaring open fire also helped.

Mondays - Thursdays, this area is kept for drinks. 

If not here, where should we go for a drink first?

The Canonbury nearby is always decent (even Paul Mescal has been spotted in there), and The Compton Arms is also good. You're also only about five-minutes away from The Pocket, which is the hottest pub in Islington right now (and one of the hottest in London overall, too). So there are plenty of options.

The drinks here are also great - we'll get back to that in a bit.

So, onto the food. What can we expect?

It's billed as a classic French bistro and the menu certainly lives up to that. Expect plenty of very Gallic dishes like French onion soup, rillettes, snails, steak tartare and more. At first glance, the menu seems to be a perfectly decent French bistro menu. However, when the food starts arriving, that's when you quickly realise that the kitchen happens to be turning out some of the best French cooking in town right now.

Here's a taste of some of that:

Baked cheese soufflé, parsley salad (£12) - a perfect example of a really great, oh, so cheesy soufflé. Honestly, it's near the quality of a cheese soufflé we've had at Josephine, and that's high praise.

Pate en croute (£14) - a great example of pate en croute, with some sharp mustard alongside (personally, we would have liked something a little less strong as an accompaniment, but it probably would be less authentic as a result).

Dover sole meuniere (£45) - One of the more expensive items on the menu, but the large fish was really well cooked with perfect meunière butter sauce.

Boeuf Bourgignon and pancetta with pomme puree, or coquilettes (£24) - a good example of a dish that completely overdelivers. This is a massive portion, almost enough to share, centred around a slow-cooked beef cheek. It's also very generous with the pancetta and button mushrooms.

The pommes puree - this comes with the bourgignon, but also as a side for £6. It is made with as much butter as it can handle, as any great pommes puree is. The pommes frites in aged beef fat (a big portion for £5) are also highly recommended

On top of the above, you'll also find dishes like bouillabaisse, rotisserie chicken with girolles, bavette and pommes frites for a very reasonable £22 and ratatouille niçoise. The latter is one of the very few vegetarian dishes on the menu, but that's probably par for the course with a classic French bistro.

Look out for the specials board too. That featured coq au vin and some large steak cuts on our visit.

And dessert?

Alongside French cheese from local heroes La Fromagerie and, of course, a crème brulee, you'll find the following, which we highly recommend:

Half dozen madeleines (£9) - Cooked to order, these take 15 minutes (which is handy, given you'll need a break after the past two courses) and come out of the oven as fresh as they can be. We LOVE madeleines and these are among the best we've had recently.

Crème caramel (£9) - Another dish that's done just right, with a barely-set texture.

What about drinks?

The wine list is, understandably, completely French. What's immediately noticeable, however, is that everything on the 60+ bottle list is available by the glass or carafe. So even if you're not going for a bottle, there's a massive range to choose from here. Prices start at a very reasonable £27 for the house wines, and there's a good selection of bottles under £50. But if you're feeling flush, you can get a Domaine Trimbach, Clos-saint-Hume Alcase Riesling for £600 a bottle. That's £31/£55 for a 75/125ml glass, if you were wondering.

There's also a classic cocktail list which, of course, has a French 75 and a Kir Royale on there. While we were nearly tempted by a sidecar (£11), one of our favourite cocktails, we couldn't pass up the following:

Sablé negroni (£5) - Yes, it's a great negroni for only a fiver. Hard to go wrong with this.

Overall thoughts

It would have been easy for Bistro Sablé to be a perfectly fine French bistro for Islington locals, and it probably would have done well. But after our visit, it's clear that it's punching far, far higher than that. The kitchen is turning out some of the best French food we've eaten of late. And honestly this writer was delighted to find one of the city's best French restaurants a scant five minutes' walk from his front door. But even if you aren't that close, Bistro Sablé is a very easy recommendation.