The Pig and Butcher

Success with The Princess of Shoreditch and The Lady Ottoline has paved the way for their owners’ third gastropub, located amid Islington’s grand stucco terraces. Eat in the bar or the cosy dining room from a sensibly concise menu that takes its cue from the pub’s meaty moniker. Pork rillettes offer a well-judged balance of silken fat and flavoursome flesh, or you could start with blood pudding, endive and orange. Portions are pretty daunting, so removing one ingredient from, say, velvety duck breast on beetroot, cabbage and borlotti beans with tomato and kumquat might be an idea. If you still have room, pud might include tangy lemon posset topped with fresh peach. Fruity Pays d’Oc kicks off an approachable wine list, while satisfying craft beers and cider include Bath Gem and Hackney Brewery’s excellent Golden Ale. Service is brisk and good-natured.

Pay a visit to The Pig and Butcher, where history meets hearty dining. Housed in a charming pub dating back to the 1800s, in the beautiful Islington, The Pig and Butcher is more than just any other restaurant – it has plenty of great history and treats its customers like family. According to the restaurant, back in the day, Islington was nothing but fields, where farmers would graze their livestock before sending them off to Smithfield's Meat Market. The Pig and Butcher have kept this tradition alive by sourcing their meat straight from the farm and butchering it on-site. From rare breeds like White Park cattle to Iron Age pigs and Hebridean lamb, the team’s commitment to quality shines through. Even the fish, supplied by Celtic Fish & Game, comes fresh from local ports in St. Ives, Cornwall.

Inspired by the rustic charm of farmhouse tables across Europe, the menu features some of the best seasonal produce the country has to offer. With a daily changing selection, you'll always find something new and exciting, so it’s well worth paying this charming pub style restaurant a visit.

The menu may include snacks like whipped cod's roe with cucumber and focaccia crostini, or the cobble lane coppa with pickled chilli. Next up are the starters, which feature delicious Cornish crab salad with a brown crab mayo, cucumber and grated egg, and aged beef tartare with egg yolk and thyme crostini. For your main, enjoy the braised short rib with creamed mash and onion, or the butter poached Skrei cod fillet with chorizo, basil pesto and new potatoes. If you're feeling fancy, try the cote de boeuf between the two of you, served medium rare with triple cooked beef fat chips, a truffle sauce and garden salad.