Islington restaurants haven’t been so prominent since Blair and Brown made their 1994 deal at Granita. As well as ex-Polpo chef director Tom Oldroyd opening his first solo restaurant here, September will see the launch of Bellanger (from the team behind The Wolseley, The Delaunay et al) at the former site of Brown’s on Islington Green. Other places putting the area firmly back on the gastronomic map include good-time gastropub The Canonbury Tavern (with its mammoth beer garden) and dude food haven MeatLIQUOR, due to open in September.
But back to Mr Oldroyd (below), who’s certainly been a busy man this summer. As well as the new restaurant, he’s helped his fiancé launch a lifestyle shop in Hoxton, they're preparing to get married and now Square Meal is badgering him with questions, the lucky thing. Fortunately, he’s found time for a chat and in return, we’ve been kind enough to devour Oldroyd’s menu (it was pretty tough going). Read on for Tom’s thoughts on Islington, Corbin & King and the world’s best BBQ, as well as our verdict on Oldroyd.
Can you sum up Oldroyd in five words?
Local, independent, European, intimate, seasonal.
Which are emerging as the most popular dishes at Oldroyd?
I have no doubt that our croquettas (at the moment, smoked pork belly and pea) will remain a firm favourite, while the pasta dishes (such as the crab Provençal tagliarini) will no doubt always be popular. But everything has its place and the menu is only a sum of all of its parts.
How are you luring in the Angel masses at brunch time?
Great cocktails: we’re serving Oldroyd-spiced vodka Bloody Marys and Mimosas with our house Cremant de Loire. And the menu, of course, which includes smoked trout and roe, celeriac remoulade with soft boiled egg, and Cumberland sausage hash, summer cabbage, fried egg and gravy. The outside seating definitely helps too.
With Chris Corbin and Jeremy King (The Wolseley, The Delaunay et al) opening Bellanger (below) on Islington Green later this year, why do you think the area is hot right now?
When I found out that Jeremy and Chris were opening within a minute’s walk away I was delighted; I actually wrote them a letter telling them as much. To open my first solo restaurant so close and in the same year as their ninth(!) feels like a great omen.
Upper Street was an independent business hotspot around 10 years ago, but the inevitable rise in rents forced the smaller independents out. With the casual dining scene now expanding so rapidly, I don't know a place that deserves its independent restaurants back more than Islington does.
Which is your all-time favourite restaurant?
The restaurant I find my mind wandering to most recently is in le Rayol-Canadel sur Mer (west of St Tropez), which I discovered two summers ago. Your favourite restaurant should be the one that you are made to feel most relaxed in. Forget everything else. I am not going to name it though, or it will no longer be a secret…
Which are your most significant food memories?
I remember an ostrich steak that literally melted in my mouth in Cape Town. I once queued for four hours from 7am to get arguably the best barbecue food in the world at Franklin's in Austin, Texas (it was worth it). When you are in love with food, everything you eat becomes a fond memory...
What would your ultimate meal be?
It would be in the spring and span from lunch to the early hours of the morning. It would include all my closest friends, excellent wine and Quo Vadis head chef Jeremy Lee (above) in the kitchen – I'd hope for lamb sweetbreads, asparagus, broad beans and calves liver.
And finally, how are the wedding preparations going?
Slowly… That’s what happens when you open a restaurant, launch a shop and move house all at the same time. We still want to tie the knot after all of that though, so that’s a good sign!
Read on for our verdict on Oldroyd
Wedged between a couple of inconsequential outlets, Tom Oldroyd’s (former chef director of the Polpo group) first solo venture is tiny and easily missed on chain-heavy Upper Street. But its lack of size produces a convivial buzz akin to a family kitchen, with an open-plan layout meaning chefs, diners and front of house staff rub shoulders within what is clearly a labour of love.
Seasonal, European sharing plates jostle for attention on minute tables: golden, crunchy smoked pork belly and pea croquettas are a must, soothed with truffle mayonnaise; chilli coriander prawns (a special) are happily served and eaten shell-on – fortunate, given the piquant juices which lurk within. Larger offerings include a crab tagliarini dotted with succulent white flesh, sitting on a brown crab rouille that made us want to lick the plate. Whole roast monkfish perches on braised fennel and is scattered with tapenade, resulting in a full-bodied, almost meaty gravy (above). For dessert, salty pistachios and fresh raspberries cut through a decadent chocolate mousse (below), while a sweet, white peach Bellini from the refined cocktail list would also do the job.
Tom hopes the restaurant will become an integral part of the Islington dining scene – we have no doubt it will. Whether you will be able to get a table, however, is another matter entirely.
This article was published 30 July 2015