Islington

• Test Driving Bellanger - the Islington grand cafe gets a new look

   

  Bellanger in Islington has just had a lot of work done. We went back to see the brand-new look and also look at how the menu has adapted to a more Mediterranean outlook. 

• Islington restaurant Bellanger gets a major makeover

  

  Updated 1/6/23 with new images

  For the past month, Bellanger has been closed for what turns out to be a major overhaul. If you know the restaurant either from its Bellanger days or, before that, Browns you'll be aware that the space has always had the bar running down the right-hand side of the room on a different level.

  As it gets ready to reopen, we've been hearing more details

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• Little Pizza Hicce has arrived in Islington

  

  They only opened Hicce Hart on Chapel Market late last year, but Hicce have already expanded across the road in Islington with Little Pizza Hicce. They'd already trialled the pizza offshoot with a popup at Goodness Brewery (whose beer is available at Hicce Hart) but this is the

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• Katsu & Buns are popping up with just that in Islington

  

  Katsu & Buns are doing right what is says there in the name - katsu curry and bao buns. They've been delivering for a while but are now getting a pop-up space in Islington at The Chapel Bar Terrace. 

  The main menu features small plates and a special bao menu on Saturdays. So you'll find things like:

  • Ebi Katsu - lightly coated king prawns, sweet chili
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• NYC's Eddie Huang brings Baohaus' Taiwanese buns to London

  

  They've previously brought over Ivan Orkin's Ivan Mazemen for a popular residency and now Neighbourhood in Islington are getting ready for another US import. This time it's the turn of NYC chef and TV personality Eddie Huang (who also created the hit TV show Fresh Off The Boat). 

  He's bringing over the restaurant that first brought him to fame in New York, Baohaus. It was a

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• Get Baked, Leeds’ cult bakery, comes to Islington’s Neighbourhood restaurant

  

  There’s a new dessert offering at Islington’s Neighbourhood restaurant and it comes courtesy of Leeds’ famed Get Baked bakery.

  If the name rings bells, you may recall its rise to fame in late 2021, thanks to ‘Sprinklegate’, where the Trading Standards shut down baker Rich Myers’ use of US-imported sprinkles, as they contained the red food colouring E127, which is banned in the UK apart from use in cocktail cherries and

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• Compton Arms gets new Italian residency, Tiella

  

  After a bit of a fright last year, the future of one of Islington's best pubs, the Compton Arms looks bright. And now they're getting ready to launch an all-new residency. 

  Taking over the kitchens will be Tiella, run by chef Dara Klein. She was last seen at Sager + Wilde as

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• Test Driving Ivan Mazemen - Ivan Orkin's London residency at Neighbourhood in Islington

  

  There are a few weeks left to try the Ramen Junkie's London residency. Here's why you should...

• The Beefsteaks take over the Manze pie shop on Islington's Chapel Market

  

  A Hot Dinners exclusive

  It's been three years since the old Manze pie and mash shop closed its doors on Chapel Market, marking the end of an era after over 100 years of business. But, as one door closes, another opens, and walking past the empty building on Chapel Market back in 2020 proved to be a lightbulb moment for Alex Pashby of street food traders The Beefsteaks. His lease on a railway arch

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• Ivan Ramen's Ivan is popping up in London with Ivan Mazemen in Islington

  

  You may have seen him on Netflix's Chef's Table, or tried his food at last year's collaboration with Bone Daddies. But now ramen hot shot Ivan Orkin of Ivan Ramen fame is coming to London for a full-blown residency.

  The TV star and New York restaurateur will be running his Ivan Mazemen residency at Islington food hall Neighbourhood (previously known as Sessions) for four weeks. Mazemen is Ivan's broth-less ramen

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• Test Driving Hicce Hart - the Hicce team's impressive neighbourhood Islington pub

  

  Following up on their success in King's Cross, Hicce's Pip Lacey and Gordy McIntyre have come to Islington with something quite different in Hicce Hart. We popped down to see how they've adapted this neighbourhood pub. 

• Jam Delish bring their vegan Caribbean food to Islington with an ex-Fifteen chef in charge

  

  A Hot Dinners exclusive

  If you're looking for a positive thing you can say about the lockdowns, they do seem to have given a lot of people the push they needed to open their own business. One such lockdown-generated company is Jam Delish. Co-founder Jordan Johnson was furloughed during lockdown, which is when he took that opportunity to start up his own popup. Jordan, whose mother is

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• Islington's Trullo has opened a wine bar next door

  

  Hot Dinners exclusive

  Highbury Corner in Islington is doing rather well for wine bars right now. Not only does it have Yield and, a short 10-minute walk away, Provisions (both shops by day, wine bars in the evening) but one of Islington's best restaurants has also just opened a wine bar next door. 

  Trullo's wine bar takes over what used to be their shop. It's a tiny space

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• Hicce spin-off Hicce Hart comes to Islington

  

  15/11/22 - Hicce Hart is now open

  Good news for North London, with a second outlet of Hicce due to open. Called Hicce Hart, it will take up the site most recently occupied by the Day & Night pub in Islington (and a few more iterations before that) - a handy 20-minute walk from the original Hicce.

  Fans of the original Hicce at ...

• FKABAM (Black Axe Mangal) teams up with Tabasco for a pizza pop-up

  

  Here's a pop-up for the diary. Lee Tiernan's FKABAM (Formerly Known As Black Axe Mangal) is teaming up with Tabasco for a special pop-up pizzeria. 

  Taking place at the Islington restaurant, it'll turn into a pizzeria for the night with everything cooked in the huge wood-burning oven. The pizzas for the night include new creations as well as spin-offs of FKABAM favourites. So

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