London has never ceased to impress its hungry visitors.
Catering to both the casual diner and opulent spender alike (one writer once described London’s more luxurious side as its “marble halls”), north London restaurants tend to contain the city’s best-kept treats, and here we’ve selected the top seven, the best of the best.
Bridges cross the river Thames, leading to the best restaurants north London 2021 — creative commons, courtesy of Loco Steve via Flickr
1. Devran — Best Restaurants North London 2021
Looking for the best north London Turkish restaurant? Taste-tastic kebabs and breaded foods are a specialty at Devran, located on the Stoke Newington Road near Rectory Road train station — it’s a Turkish treat done very well.
Recently, the restaurant competed in the runner-up stage in a new UK Turkish food award, making it onto the semi-final list alongside some of its neighbouring north London restaurants.
Devran is a small venue, but wholesome. This is where ingredients go to blossom: Devran’s kitchen has maintained a consistent home-production streak for as long as possible, committed to using organic ingredients since its opening.
Herbs and spices — ever important in delicious kebabs, soups, and sauces — all come from Devran’s own garden. Dishes come heaped with serious doner meats and pitta bread. If you visit, keep an eye out for this family-run restaurant’s specials — a little pricey, but worth the cost.
2. Kiplings Indian Restaurant — Best Restaurants North London 2021
Not to be confused with the British biscuit brand or the world-famous prize-winning author, this Highgate restaurant is like an Indian moonstone — an utter delight.
Kipling dishes up vibrant Indian food with Asian beer in a polished wood-panelled environment. They’re big on tradition, even offering visitors to try out a classic sweet-flavoured drink from the East, Mango Lassi, made from a mix of mango, yoghurt, and sugar.
Reach through a promising doorway (resplendent with the restaurant’s name in silver lettering) and enter a low-ceilinged, rosy red room, candlelit at evening.
Then, you’re in for a sumptuous Indian banquet. Sizzling chicken dishes, marinated overnight in spices, lamb cooked in aromatic sauces, and for vegetarians, fresh selections cooked in masala sauces, garlic, and ginger.
3. Plu — Best Restaurants North London 2021
No list of the best restaurants north London 2021 could go without mentioning Elliot Moss’ Plu.
The interior comes with a sprinkle of opulence: all golds and blues, even a magnificent Dale Chihuly chandelier hanging from the room’s centre.
Though small, Plu is intimate. This is a north London restaurant that treats its guests with patience and respect.
Plu’s mission is to offer a five-star culinary experience for those with appreciative taste buds. Highly creative dishes line the menu, so heavily consistent in their bold flavours that to the perceptive eye the meals on the table come with a distinctly European feel.
That’s because owner Elliot Moss began his career in Le Gavroche, a well-established London restaurant that specialises in French food.
Bookings are always essential at Plu due to its limited tables. However don’t let that dissuade you: any meal here is surely one to savour.
A glimpse at Plu’s stylish design via Instagram
4. Trullo — Best Restaurants North London 2021
The British restaurant critic Jay Rayner once said of Trullo that “like all great restaurants, [it] makes the business of running them look simple”. Rayner was initially reluctant to give Trullo his commendation: he had feared Trullo was too good to be true, that it would use up all its excellent energy and disappear; like a night-sky comet, beautiful yet brief.
Thankfully, Trullo is still going strong.
Well-prepared Italian food is what this north London restaurant is all about. The team here is very serious about cooking, so much so they even offer guests an original hardback cookbook, teeming with signature dishes.
Inside is unpretentious, warm, and welcoming. Since Trullo rolls with the seasons, their menu is ever-changing, so no two visits are ever the same. Welcoming success since June 2010, this restaurant’s ethic is something to admire.
5. San Giorgio — Best Restaurants North London 2021
Next up is another Italian favourite, only this time more established in the north London scene.
Owner Giorgio has operated as a restaurateur in England since the early 1980s. His venues have long remained among north London top restaurants ever since.
San Giorgio has cropped up in many conversations among the food lovers of London as a traveller’s choice. Their dishes, boasting various specialties such as their lamb cutlets, is not the only reason guests return: it’s also because of the restaurant’s first-rate atmosphere.
Everyone who has the pleasure to meet Giorgio puts in the good word after — friendly, affable, caring. If ever travelling on London’s high roads, this is one restaurant to enter and feel at home.
6. Wiltons — Best Restaurants North London 2021
The oldest among north London restaurants, it is also one of the best. At Wiltons, make sure to dress well: this is one place that still sees gentlemen at tables in their country tweeds.
Wiltons is a noble establishment, elegant and sophisticated, and delights itself in a menu that unashamedly boasts an air of high-styled Britishness. It has less a vibe, more an aura, says one review. If anything it should be visited at least once in a lifetime.
So if you’re the type that dines out for luxury’s sake, the type who unblinkingly orders oysters, lobsters, caviar, then Wiltons will cater to your every need. Old school brings new delights as Wilton’s is absolutely a London landmark.
French delights at via Michelin Guide
7. Casse-Croûte — Best Restaurants North London 2021
You can always expect to find provincial tastes in the heart of London. This list has already commended a handful of European venues; and as the saying goes, there’s always room for one more.
Casse Croûte is both super small and super savoury. Its menu’s rural flavours are sure to attract anyone who appreciates well-considered meals. The decor only amplifies this rustic feel: at the front door, for example, a blackboard menu displays Casse Croute’s choices in a three-tiered fashion. Old dishes move out, and new ones simply move in.
This is one of the most charming north London restaurants, short but sweet. Authentic, hearty, tasty — that’s Casse Croûte.
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