The Best Restaurants In North London

The Best Restaurants in North London | They’re At The Top

No-holds-barred nose-to-tail dining; exceptional fresh pasta; critically acclaimed Thai food; great value noodles and a neighbourhood eatery where every dish has been touched by fire – these are just a few of the best restaurants North London has to offer…

…you’ll find the rest of them below.

Happy browsing.

CRITICALLY LAVISHED THAI FOOD: FARANG | Highbury

Farang started out life as a purely temporary venture by former Begging Bowl and Smoking Goat chef Seb Holmes. The fact that it’s still going almost a decade later isn’t the worst sign. Well, that and the Bib Gourmand it won.

Details: 72 Highbury Park, N5 2XE | Book a table at Farang
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A LOVELY LITTLE GASTROPUB: THE PARAKEET | Kentish Town

You can’t move for excellent gastropubs in Islington, but Kentish Town is also here to ruffle a few feathers: The Parakeet is a gorgeously restored pub & dining room helmed by a couple of ex-Brat chefs. The open kitchen is centred around a huge, open-flame grill, where the team smoke & scorch the likes of melt-in-the-mouth slow-cooked pork belly skewers; tender uchiki kuri squash & aubergine; hearty chops; and sea bream to share, all sided by roasted confit pink firs.

Details: 256 Kentish Town Rd, London NW5 2AA | Make a booking at The Parakeet
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A STELLAR WINE BAR: GOODBYE HORSES | Islington

Goodbye Horses feels like a genuine labour of love. From the moment you step inside, it wraps you up in its warm embrace thanks to glow of flickering candlelight, giddy chatter, fragrant aromas, and the crackle of vinyl. The food comes from chef Jack Coggins (fresh from a stint at the hyper-creative Papi) and wine from director Nathalie Nelles (formerly of grape palace P Franco), and they both absolutely deliver.

Details: 21 Halliford St, N1 3HB | Book Goodbye Horses
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COUNTERTOP TAPAS: BARRAFINA KING’S CROSS | King’s Cross

Top quality tapas. That’s the short version. Breezy, Barcelona-style counter seating with chefs buzzing away to produce delicate, near perfect Spanish classics, one after the other until you can’t physically hold any more. That’s the longer version. But either way, you’ll love it.

Details: Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, London N1C 4AB | Book Barrafina
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A RAUCOUS DEN OF SMOKEY DELICIOUSNESS: F.K.A.B.A.M | Highbury

At F.K.A.B.A.M (Formerly Known as Black Axe Mangal), ex-St John chef Lee Tiernan takes his nose-to-tail teachings and applies it to Turkish-inspired flatbreads loaded with sizeable helpings of grilled & smoked meats. The result? One of the best restaurants in North London, in a setting where you can really let your hair down.

Details: 156 Canonbury Road, Highbury, N1 2UP | Book F.K.A.B.A.M
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QUALITY PUB GRUB: THE PLIMSOLL | Finsbury Park

The Plimsoll team’s latest opening, Tollington’s, might have stolen some of the limelight off its alma mater this year, but it’s still the OG we turn to for some of London’s finest burgers; the unbelievable fried potatoes & aioli; and the occasional curveball like the pigeon bhuna. They pull a great pint, too.

Details: 52 St Thomas’s Rd, London N4 2QQ | Book The Plimsoll
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MODERN-DAY ROMANCE: JOLENE | Stoke Newington

Brought to you by the same folks behind fellow refined North London restaurants Westerns Laundry and Primeur, Jolene is a flawlessly romantic all-day restaurant and bakery, best enjoyed at brunch, or for a candle-lit dinner of seasonal small plates and low-intervention wines.

Details: 21 Newington Green, Stoke Newington, N16 9PU | Book Jolene
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AN ITALIAN ICON: TRULLO | Highbury

Trullo offers a simple, seasonally focused Italian-inspired menu of homemade pasta and charcoal grilled meats. It’s that place you want to accidentally stumble across in Puglia, in London. Oh, and right next door is Trullo Wine Bar, an intimate, candlelit spot that will take all the decision-making out of planning date night.

Details: 300-302 Saint Paul’s Road, N1 2LH | Book Trullo
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AN ANTEDOTE TO WEEKNIGHTS IN WINTER: SAMBAL SHIOK | Islington

After a string of successful pop-ups, Malaysian-born Mandy Lin took the leap and went permanent with this relaxed, cafe-style space in Highbury, where you can enjoy big bowls of warming laksa, and a small selection of alternative Malaysian plates, five days a week.

Details: 171 Holloway Road, Highbury & Islington, N7 8LX | Book Sambal Shiok
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GREAT VALUE XI’AN STREET FOOD: XI’AN IMPRESSION | Highbury

Sitting quietly in the shadow of the Emirates Stadium is one of the best restaurants in North London – a small canteen-style eatery serving traditional Xi’an street food in the form of spicy hand-pulled noodles; pork-stuffed ‘burgers’; and potsticker dumplings.

Details: 117 Benwell Road, Highbury , N7 7BW | No reservations, but you can find more info on their website
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BRUNCH DISHES OF YOUR DREAMS: SUNDAY | Islington

Tucked away on a residential road in Barnsbury is this sweet little shoe-box of a brunch spot, serving without a doubt some of the finest pancakes in North London.

Details: 169 Hemingford Road, Islington, N1 1DA | Walk-ins only on weekends, call 0207 607 3868 for Tues-Fri bookings
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A RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE CLASSIC: DISHOOM KING’S CROSS | King’s Cross

Feast on an array of traditional Indian street food – spicy lamb chops; paneer rolls; and keema pau – in this former railway transit shed turned Bombay-inspired Irani cafe.

Details: 5 Stable Street, King’s Cross, North London, N1C 4AB | Make a booking at Dishoom
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AN ODE TO CHEESE: THE CHEESE BAR | Camden Town

Opening a restaurant dedicated solely to cheese Gouda been a risky move. Until you remember that cheese is delicious, and this place is basically the best thing that’s ever happened.

Details: Camden Stable Market, NW1 8AH | Book The Cheese Bar
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NEXT-LEVEL GRILLING: CINDER | St John’s Wood, Belsize Park

Jake Finn was apparently fascinated by fire as a young boy. Luckily he used his powers for good, and is now behind two of the best restaurants in North London. Flames fuel the concept at both his neighbourhood favourites, Cinder and Cinder St John’s Wood, where the name of the game is grilling and smoking over a jasper grill.

CASUALLY GREAT INDIAN: THE TAMIL PRINCE | Islington

The Tamil Prince – and its sibling The Tamil Crown – are both elegant examples of the Desi pub. Prince Durairaj has concocted a menu of South Indian dishes native to his home state, Tamil Nadu, with standouts including the masala-marinated grilled tiger prawns and the enormous, puffy bhatura (deep fried pitta). And of course, technically being a pub, it all comes alongside a band of quality drink options, from Indian and British beers to enticing cocktails.

Details: 115 Hemingford Road, London N1 1BZ | 16 Elia St, N1 8DE | Book here
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MASTERFUL USE OF BRITISH SEAFOOD: LYON’S | Crouch End

It’s all smooth sailing at Lyon’s, from the brilliant biodynamic wine list to the food. One of the best seafood restaurants in London, Lyon’s turns sustainably sourced British fish and shellfish into a daily-changing menu that may consist of tandoori monkfish with coconut yoghurt or tumeric hake in a Vietnamese dressing – plus Wright Brothers oysters (that are on there all the time because… who’s arguing?). If you don’t like seafood, it’s not a major issue either. There’s always a single very good meat dish on offer to please the naysayers – possibly an onglet steak with smoky red cabbage or lamb neck dabbled in hoisin sauce.

Details: 1 Park Rd, London N8 8TE | Book Lyon’s
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EYE-POPPING INTERIORS: MIDLAND GRAND DINING ROOM | King’s Cross

MGDR has been feeding punters since 1873, and a recent refit has left the place looking like a sprightly 100 year-old. Stowed away in the exceptionally beautiful St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, it’s a sumptuous spot for lunch or dinner, bathed in the golden light of the outsized chandeliers overhead. The French-leaning menu pulls off all the classics with aplomb, from tomato tarte tatin to the flaming Bombe Alaska for two.

Details: St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston Road, NW1 2AR | Book the Midland Grand Dining Room
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SIMPLICITY AT ITS BEST: PRIMEUR | Stoke Newington

The mechanics who once worked at Barnes Motors probably wouldn’t have foreseen their garage becoming one of the best restaurants in North London one day. Luxurious camel chairs placed around communal, candle-lit tables set the scene for a banquet of daily-changing dishes like salted & sliced pollock with wedges of blood orange and crispy fried pigs ears with a generous dollop of smoked cod’s roe, washed down with an all-natural wine list. The original concertina doors also works in the restaurant’s favour during summer, when it slides wide open to reveal the sun in all its fleeting glory.

Details: 116 Petherton Road, N5 2RT | Book Primeur
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WHERE DRINKS EQUAL THE FOOD: TOP CUVÉE | Finsbury Park

Natural wine and small plates. It’s a classic combination. Well, a newly-classic combination… and one that Top Cuvée excels in. You’ll find it in Finsbury Park, a trendy cabin of bare walls and pendant lights where one of London’s most respected low-intervention wine lists is backed by an ingredient-led, one-page menu of frequently changing dishes like Shetland mussels with nduja, and cured ocean trout with pink radicchio and roe. Turns out the team are naturals at food too…

Details: 177B Blackstock Road, N5 2LL | Book Top Cuvée

Liked exploring the best restaurants in North London? Round off your trip with a visit to the best bars in North London.

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