bellanger

For many years, Islington had a surprisingly lacklustre restaurant scene. And then last year, ex-Polpo chef Tom Oldroyd opened Oldroyd on Upper Street and it was an instant hit. It was joined – in December 2015 – by Bellanger, the latest restaurant from Corbin and King, on Islington Green. Bellanger took over the site of a vast branch of Browns Brasserie. They made changes to the space, notably adding an opaque glass panel on one side of the Upper Room, transforming what was once the rather gloomy back room. The menu at Bellanger is inspired by the “original Alsatian brasseries of Paris” which translates into hearty fare: pommes aligot, chicken schnitzel, five different kinds of sausages, coq au riesling and gateau foret-noire. There are also justly popular tartes flambees: crispy, thin pizzas that are wood fire-cooked and served with sweet or savoury toppings – butter roasted apples with Calvados if that takes your fancy. This is decidedly not diet food but it was perfect for a treat dinner in winter. Now that it’s nominally spring, we’re still going to Bellanger but for breakfast. This is an utterly brilliant venue to start the day: the menu covers all bases from pastries to granola, fruit salads and porridge to mashed avocado on sourdough to eggs any way you like to a Full English. There’s also a choice of four different kinds of hot chocolate, including a Hot Chocolate Gourmand. And if that wasn’t enough to tempt you to visit, there’s an elegant amount of space between tables so that you won’t remotely feel crowded. And, as ever, the service is absolutely spot on: warm and attentive without being fussy.

This article originally appeared on a-littlebird.com