The North Star

Under new management, this gastropub a short walk from the Regent’s Canal on the Islington/Hoxton borders, has shed some of its more outré trappings in favour of dove-grey walls & a clean aesthetic. There’s a secluded, white-painted beer garden out back & a dining room overlooking the busy street at the front of the building. Polite European staff serve pints of Doom Bar, Staropramen & Stowford Press cider. Poshed-up pub staples (free-range wild venison sausages, crushed pea mash, baby carrots & caramelised onion gravy) sit alongside Med flavours (prawn & crab croquettes with aïoli), & there’s ice cream from Chalk Farm’s Marine Ices for dessert. Locals stop by at lunchtime for a pint & one of the daily specials for a fiver – anything from marinated chicken on sourdough to roast pork belly with Jersey royals.