Highbury

If you live in North London (or indeed anywhere in London) it can't have escaped your notice that a parade has been planned for Arsenal this weekend. Based on the celebrations of the last week or so it's going to be a mad affair with around a million fans expected to pour into the area on Sunday 31 May. 

With such a huge crowd expected, the traditional parade route has been expanded, taking in Holloway Road, Finsbury Park, Highbury, Canonbury and Islington. And, as you might have guessed, the restaurants, cafes and bars along that route (and close to it) are already making

After eight years, one of our favourite restaurants in the Highbury and Islington area, Sambal Shiok, has closed its doors for good (on 27 May). The Malaysian restaurant, which opened on Holloway Road in 2018, has been forced to close thanks to the financial pressures that are starting to hit more and more small businesses. 

As founder Mandy Yin says, "Sambal Shiok’s closure reflects structural cost pressures facing the UK’s independent hospitality sector rather than any single event. The numbers stopped working."

Sambal Shiok had started life as a food stall before

In a move that vaguely reminds us of the time back in lockdown when we all had to get our pints to go, Highbury restaurant Farang is cleverly pivoting for the gorgeous weather we're about to have. This week they're serving up fried chicken and beer to take away and have in a nearby park in the sunshine.

The "Farang In The Park" offering is a portion of the restaurant's signature Gai Prik fried chicken served with burnt chilli sauce and fresh lime, and a cold pint of Singha.

But if you fancy grabbing this to go and sit in Highbury Fields, waiting for Paul Mescal to jog

We've had a lot of news about pub openings and revamps recently, and now here comes one a little closer to home (well, our homes anyway). The Highbury Barn, a large pub right in the middle of Highbury village, which dates back to 1840, is getting ready to reopen after a £500,000 revamp.

Anyone who's been there will know that it's a big old space and now they're adding a new bar at the back, while also

What do you get when an actor opens a local restaurant in London with two very experienced restaurant folk? We went to Highbury's Lupa to find out.

As Highbury locals ourselves, you'll have to forgive us for focusing more on the fact that actor Theo James is also apparently our neighbour, than the news that he's opening a restaurant here. But if we stop wondering why we've never seen the White Lotus star out and about in N5 and look instead at what he's actually involved in, then Lupa does sound rather interesting.

First off, Theo's got himself a solid

Born and raised on Blackstock Road, Parakeet chef Ben Allen shares his top Highbury food and drink recommendations with us.

Dusty Knuckle have arrived in Islington, and they're trying something new. While they've delivered by milk float before, this will be their first-ever bakery in an actual van. It's parked up in Highbury Fields (near the bottom of the tennis courts section) and they say they're planning to be there for the next 12-18 months. 

The bakery will have a selection of bread (including

Exciting news for North Londoners - we're bringing you news of a new pop up that will satisfy both lovers of Spanish flavours and the wines of Burgundy.

After a successful soft-launch weekend in early March the team behind Barra Bourgogne, comprising chef Iain (formerly of Stoke Newington’s Jolene) and

The Fink's team have opened a neighbourhood restaurant in the heart of foodie Highbury. We went to check out this tardis-like space.

10/10/23 - updated with the opening date

Eagle-eyed Highbury residents may have noticed some construction work going on up at Highbury Barn over the past couple of months. Turns out that's going to be a brand new neighbourhood restaurant from Mat Appleton and Jess Blackstone, the founders behind local coffee shop group Fink's.

Saltine, as it'll be called, scores highly on the 'must

Eagle-eyed N5 residents will have noticed work going on over the past few months at former arts space Light Eye Mind on Blackstock Road. This week it unveiled itself as an Italian-accented wine bar, Giacco's.

The bar's owners are Leonardo and his partner Danilo. Leonardo is the one with the background in hospitality - he used to run the Farewell Cafe which used to play host to popups from the likes of Ling Ling

Here at Hot Dinners we've long been fans of Nourished Communities, whose neighbourhood store in Canonbury really felt like a game-changer when it came to showcasing local and sustainable food when it opened.

So we're particularly pleased to hear that they've now branched out with a

It's the dish that made a North London restaurant go viral this week. When Westerns Laundry put up a shot of their stuffed duck neck on their Instagram page, they presumably never thought the story would be discussed as far away as India.

The Mail, Sun and Mirror all picked up on the story, triggered by one of the

Last year they were first to the party when it came to delivering drinks to the park. Now Highbury restaurant Top Cuvee has gone one further and will be cycling around North London bringing its Barbecuvée offering to pimp up our park picnics.

So, not only can you get Pet Nat and cocktails brought to your spot in either Clissold