Another reason to go to Barnsbury

This review was first published in October 2000

That's it. I am now officially jealous of the residents of Barnsbury, Islington. I've put up with the rows of elegant houses looking like they're inhabited by beautiful, aesthetically astute, intellectual bohemians (all those bookcases) without turning too green. But having The Dining Room as their neighbourhood restaurant is too much.

Painted dark sapphire blue and decorated with old mirrors and mismatched furniture, its warm glow extended a romantic appeal on a wintry evening. There's an open kitchen, not your River-Cafe-type modern open kitchen, you understand - it looks more as though they've just mislaid the door. But the hard-working young chefs within turn out some stunning food.

Leek and potato soup isn't rocket science, but ours was a smooth, velvety version with a reassuring depth of flavour. More impressive were papardelle with hare, a stunning version of this Italian winter classic, the wide, flat pasta perfectly al dente and the long-cooked sauce almost treacly rich. Main courses were equally good: a vast slab of slow-roasted pork came with pumpkin, fluffy potato purée, ambrosial gravy and combined meltingly tender meat with dynamite crackling.

A king prawn dish came with a sauce pungent with garlic, chiffony sheets of barely cooked spinach and a hummock of nutty, toothsome Camargue red rice. And the cost of all this for two? With a couple of bottles of excellent house wine and tip: £60. Barnsbury? Bah humbug.

The Dining Room
169 Hemingford Road, N1 1DA