Islington

• Test Driving Carmela's, this NYC-style pizzeria is an immediate Islington hit

  

  Carmela's brings the New York-style pizza craze to Islington, and it happens to be run by a team who are very into their pizzas. We went down to try them out. 

• Carmela's pizzeria brings East Coast USA style pizzas to Islington

  

  1/8/25 - updated with opening date and menu details

  Earlier this year, Nordic restaurant Skal closed its doors for good in Islington, and now we know who will be taking over that space on Upper Street. Moving is Italian/American pizzeria Carmela's. 

  It comes from Phil Chaykin, the man behind Ugly Dumpling in Carnaby, who's teamed up with Gerry del

  ...
• Sushi Fanatics sees the Amsterdam sushi izakaya opening in Islington

  

  Islington's about to get a new sushi restaurant, this time via Amsterdam. Sushi Fanatics, billed as a "hidden sushi izakaya", will be taking over the space from Hot Stone on Chapel Market. 

  The original Amsterdam location has built up something of a fanbase over there for their compact restaurant serving up various options of nigiri, maki, donburi and more. They also have a

  ...
• Ippudo bring their classic tonkotsu ramen to Islington's Essex Road

  

  There's a corner restaurant site in Islington that is well known to locals, originally as a pub and most recently as Japanese restaurant Akari (which closed late last year). Now, the same space on Essex Road is about to be reborn as the latest Ippudo. 

  It'll be the fifth outpost of the ramen chain that has lots of restaurants all over the globe. It's also Islington's second big ramen brand, as there's

  ...
• Popular Angel sushi spot SASA is on the move

  

  An eagle-eyed Hot Dinners reader got in touch this week, pointing out that changes seemed to be afoot on St John Street. On closer inspection, it looked as though someone was moving into the old The Gate site on St John Street.

  Well, we did some digging and it turns out to be the new home of popular Islington sushi restaurant SASA. As owner Mark Tan-Pham explained to us, the move wasn't planned, but they're delighted not to

  ...
• James Cochran is back in Islington, taking over the menu at Little Bat

  

  He may have recently left The Brave, but chef James Cochran hasn't left Islington. Instead, he's about to take over the food menu at Little Bat cocktail bar.

  Little Bat is from the same people behind Callooh Callay and it's one of the very few cocktail bars in Islington, and also one of the most highly rated (we've been in recently and they do a great martini). Cochran's

  ...
• The best restaurants in Islington, Angel and Holloway

  

  Islington has a HUGE amount of restaurants, with the majority of them along Upper Street. Here's our guide to the very best of dining out in and around Islington. 

• Zeit für Brot German bakery has landed in London

  

  Somewhat out of the blue and with little fanfare, a German bakery and cafe has made its debut in London. Zeit für Brot (translated as "time for bread") has a number of bakeries across Germany. Over here, they've settled in Islington for their first UK opening, taking on a big corner site on the junction between Islington High Street and Pentonville Street in Angel.

  A quick visit reveals it to be an

  ...
• The Pocket pub in Canonbury is the new pub from The Southampton Arms team

  

  London's pub scene is thriving in 2025 and this latest news from Islington is very good indeed. If you're a north Londoner you'll probably know of The Southampton Arms in Kentish Town. It's a gorgeous, old-school (and tiny) spot up near Parliament Hill that specialises in ale and cider.

  Well. the same team behind that are responsible for taking over a long-closed site on Canonbury Lane in Islington, where they're

  ...
• De Beauvoir's hot new cafe is Leigh's

  

  Islington's run of interesting openings continues this year with the arrival of Leigh's in De Beauvoir. The duo behind it are Cordon Bleu-trained chefs Melanie Clarke and McKenzie Amaral who have taken over the cafe area at co-working space One and a Half, just across the road from the popular pub The Scolt Head.

  It's a daytime-only space, serving up coffee, toasties, soups and bakes. Expect to find a regularly

  ...
• Test Driving The Brave - James Cochran's new food-led pub in Islington

  

  Islington's pub scene continues to be in rude health with the arrival of this exceptionally good bistro pub with chef James Cochran running the kitchen.

• Test Driving The Dreamery by Goodbye Horses, a spectacular looking ice-cream/wine bar in Islington

  

  Goodbye Horses has opened a combo wine and ice cream bar just across the road, and it looks spectacular. We went down to have a scoop of ice cream and behold The Dreamery.  

• Goodbye Horses are opening their ice cream shop, The Dreamery

  

  12/12/24 - updated with new images

  December might not seem like the most obvious time to launch an ice cream shop, but that's exactly what the team behind Goodbye Horses are doing. We knew at the time they originally opened the restaurant back in July that

  ...
• Test Driving William IV - a perfect example of a good pub dining room

  

  We should all be so lucky to have a pub Dining Room like the William IV in our neighbourhood.

• Rake is the next residency to take over at The Compton Arms

  

  So far, the hit rate at Islington pub The Compton Arms for picking extremely interesting chef residencies is out of the park. They started with Schmaltz by Chris D'Sylva who went on to open Dorian. Then it was Four Legs who now run The Plimsoll and Tollington's. Most recently it was Tiella which has been universally loved by all the critics.

  That means we sat up and paid attention when we found out who was taking over

  ...