Miscusi Islington

Sipping an aperol spritz on a terrace overlooking a bustling street on a mild summer's evening, it’s hard to believe you’re in Islington. Already a smash hit in Northern Italy and Covent Garden, Miscusi Islington lives up to the hype.  

Italy is renowned for its hospitality and the staff here certainly make you feel at home. Servers were clearly excited about the location and menu, eager to show us around and to provide recommendations and further information about the origin of the dishes and ingredients.  

The airy space is punctuated with some wonderful rustic details; a wall lined with Italian crockery, a barrel of wine, and red and white chequered napkins. A ‘pastaficio’ alcove features an exposed industrial pasta machine, giving guests a cheeky behind the scenes peek at the pasta production. One month since its opening, the downstairs area still wasn’t open for business; however, promises of karaoke and a photobooth already under construction made us eager to return. 

Now let’s get down to business: the food. We started with creamy burrata served with juicy fresh tomatoes and a bowl of sourdough bread toasted to perfection, which attentive staff were quick to top up. We decided to ignore Miscusi's suggestions for mains and instead create our own dishes, opting for pistachio pesto egg noodles topped with mushrooms and black olives (the salty olives were a perfect foil for the nutty sweetness of the pistachio), and enormous paccheri smothered in rich Italian tomato sauce with guanciale. Both dishes were fantastic, and the pasta was delicious, fresh and perfectly al dente.

Dessert was more of a mixed bag. Tiramisu is a must at any Italian restaurant and Miscusi's was everything you could want; light, fluffy and practically drenched in espresso. We also went for the intriguingly named chocolate salami, but after several bites were almost too overpowered by the heavy, rich flavours to continue.  

Overall, with it's stunning fresh pasta, relaxed atmosphere and welcoming, knowledgeable staff, Miscusi Islington is well worth a visit. 

Established in Milan, Miscusi became a smash hit all over Northern Italy before migrating up to London. Its UK journey began in Covent Garden before heading even further north to its second location in Islington.  

Miscusi Islington's interior is full of red and rustic accents, with details such as wine barrels and walls lined with Italian crockery giving the comfortable feeling of a small-town Italian bar. The venue also boasts an impressive terrace perfect for people-watching over Islington green.  

At Miscusi, the focus of the thoughtfully designed menu is sustainability. 60% of the menu is now plant based with much of the produce being sourced straight from the Miscusi farm, meaning that many of the dishes can be traced from seed to fork.

Pasta is freshly and expertly made on-site and served up in a variety of combinations straight from the minds of the chefs, such as il calabrese (durum wheat paccheri, burrata and nduja), raviol-o'lantern (pumpkin and ricotta ravioli with mushroom sauce) and cacio pepe prawn tartare. If none of these take your fancy, there’s also the option to create your own dish. Choose between trofie, spaghetti, egg noodles and paccheri for your base, made from ancient grains, sorghum or M7. Then choose from a range of classic Italian sauces and toppings, including burrata, olives, guanciale and pistachios.  

Dessert is a melange of traditional Italian fare; think tiramisu, chocolate salami, and an inttiguing pear and ricotta cheesecake. Drinks options also stick close to tradition, with a range of wines, beers, and cocktails including negroni, aperol spritz and milano torino.  

With reasonable prices and a relaxed atmosphere, Miscusi Islington is ideal for a taste of la dolce vita.