Zilouf’s

Individuality is the key at this debonair restaurant-cum-cocktail bar at the calmer end of Upper Street. It’s a father & son business, & the Messrs Zilouf have surrounded themselves with people who like to think differently. The menu is an enticing east/west fusion, so you might find Thai shredded duck salad with caramelised salted peanuts & spicy nahm jim sauce, or fore rib of beef with Asian greens, double-cooked chips, wasabi hollandaise, herb butter & horseradish cream. Meat comes from Smithfield, fish from Billingsgate & bread, ice creams & sauces are made in-house. There’s a sophisticated wine list, but it’s the cocktails that bat their eyelids at you. Purées, syrups & spirit infusions (all made here) go into stunners such as the Japanese 75 – jasmine tea-infused gin, grapefruit gomme, lemon juice & Champagne. How terribly elegant.