In a former laundrette in a slightly obscure corner of Highbury is the fishy sibling of north London favourites Primeur and Jolene. The old industrial block space is dominated by communal tables, the menu by the Cornish catch of the day – from mussels to monkfish. A banger of a neighbourhood restaurant in a previously overlooked enclave.

People make a pilgrimage from south London to slurp bowls of spicy soup in this tiny Chinese canteen – few foods are more restorative than its slippery hand-pulled biang biang noodles. Regulars will go for the cold sesame version paired with lots of pork and seaweed pot-sticker dumplings. Quick, easy and affordable, it’s a brilliant insider address.

There are lots of brilliant Italian restaurants in London but Trullo has inspired many of the newest iterations. The menu focuses on season and quality ingredients – be that Cornish squid, delica pumpkin or Sicilian pink grapefruits. All the pasta is made in house and paired with hearty flavours of golden garlic and marjoram or a classic beef shin ragù. Trullo’s low-key little sister is the smash- hit Padella (sites in Borough and Shoreditch) but this Islington original is the spot to linger in. 

Those who haven’t been to the restaurant formerly known as Black Axe Mangal have almost certainly heard of it. Despite the post-lockdown name change, FKABAM is still as loud as ever, dishing up plates that sit somewhere between the nose-to-tail flavours of chef Lee Tiernan’s former employer, St. John, and the Turkish mangal grills that proliferate in the area. There’s no better example of his cooking than the signature oxtail and bone marrow gratin with charred flatbread.