Islington

Islington locals will be well aware of Smokehouse, the pub/restaurant on Canonbury Road that's been open for just over a decade (originally launched by Neil Rankin). And that's particularly because of its lovely terrace, hidden from the busy road by plenty of greenery. 

Well, now Smokehouse's time is up as it's just been replaced by something quite different. It's

Last seen at The Bluecoats in Tottenham, Ling Lings have another long-term residency lined up, this time in Islington. They're taking over the kitchen at wine-led pub Godet. 

It's led by chef Jenny Phung, with a menu that draws both on her Chinese heritage and her time in her own parents' takeaway restaurant. On the menu here, you'll find Chinese cooking

Islington has a new sushi and grill 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 and hare opening it as "Guru Guru".

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

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. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.  

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

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