Really interesting British influenced tapas style dishes. Loved the Scottish mussel tagliatelle. So good I had to order some bread to continue to enjoy the sauce. Definitely will be back next time I come to London.
Oldroyd Islington is the newest venture from Tom Oldroyd, one of the founding chef directors of Polpo, who saw it grow from a single restaurant in 2009 to the multi-branch chain it is today.
Oldroyd, the first solo restaurant from former Chef Director of the Polpo Group Tom Oldroyd, opened its doors about a year ago and it’s been a favourite ever since.
It basically ticks all the boxes when it comes to a good local restaurant: quick to get to, excellent value, stunning service and food that’s not just good but also varied and interesting, so every visit brings some element of surprise...
My two biggest passions in life are Otis Redding and eating good food. Put these two together and I’m as happy as a lark! This is just what happened when I spent last Sunday afternoon at Oldroyd with my good friends Louise and Tony. I was excited to see them as it had, yet again, been way too long since our last get-together. Saying that, on my way there, I had been protesting to my brothers that I was absolutely NOT going to drink that afternoon. (I’ve been trying to reign the drinking in a bit). Of course, as soon as I saw them, and hugs and squealing was exchanged, I immediately ordered what they had…prosecco with pear vodka. An absolute delight, and the perfect way to kick off the afternoon.
I know I'm beating a well banged drum but if I'm heading out for a meal I don't want to spend half of the night stood in the rain or to have to drop loadsa money on pre-dinner drinks whilst squeezed into a cramped restaurant bar. This is the reason why I've never visited Russell Norman's acclaimed Venetian small plate restaurants Polpo & Polpetto. Twice I've visited on a Friday night. Twice I've been told there would be a long wait for a table.
Think about your dream neighbourhood restaurant. It would have a chef-owner who spends real time in the kitchen. It would be around the corner, so that you could stagger home, if and when necessary. They would know your name, so that when you called they would always manage to squeeze you in. The food would be fresh, simple, seasonal, but not overly so and cooked from the heart. Front of house would all have real personalities. It goes without saying that it would be sensibly priced.
Managed to squeeze in a last minute booking to the tiny but tasty Oldroyd. & it was top marks all round.
Crammed but cosy in an upstairs table arrangement, with excellent, friendly staff that exemplified homely but professional service.
A short but sweet menu: the mushroom croquets (to start) came with a divine truffle mayonnaise that might be the closest thing to ambrosia I've tasted; the seaweed and cider saucisson was quality, accompanied by posh mini gherkins that were an absolute beaut.
Finally overcoming a stigma towards Steak Tartare instilled by Mr Bean, I grabbed the large version of the dish - loads of food, and proper delicious, just the right level of richness.
The Gambas Pil Pil (basically seafood and chorizo stew/soup) was brilliant too. Perhaps a little on the rich side, but quality prawns and a divine sauce to dip into after.
(Good wine and beer too ofc)
Lovely place overall, get yer bookings in and try a few of Oldroyd's banging plates.
I recently checked out Oldroyd in Angel with fellow foodie, Connie. A few days before we were meant to meet we were deciding where we should go for dinner. Always wanting to try somewhere new we both suggested Oldroyd. Although we were only meeting on a Wednesday, this is a popular new spot with minimal seating (it’s teeny tiny) so we could only get a table at 6pm. Yes, that’s right – you can actually book here, hurrah! I arrived a little early and sat at one of the few stools down stairs whilst some diners finished off their late lunches.
For people like me who struggle to pick only a few items out of a menu, it’s a godsend as it allows us to try a bit of everything, all in the name of sharing and being social.
Not that you need to be a big group to justify ordering the entire menu at Oldroyd…
Which is rather a good thing as I wanted to order every single dish. To be prefectly honest, I pretty much did and I regret nothing.
So my advice would be, grab a couple of friends and GO (do NOT skip dessert).
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The restaurant is small, the tables are small, they serve in small plates style... but they are all big on flavour and quality! We squeezed into our little corner table and managed to devour a couple plates of food in between the catching up! Who says bloggers only focus on the food?!
The pork belly and pea croquettes were an excellent way to start the meal, though simple they were simultaneously meaty and light, and quite delicious. We also enjoyed the special of sardines on toast with a tangy chutney type sauce, the lamb and almond meatballs were not at all stodgy as meatballs can be, and came in a fantastic romesco sauce which I would happily pour over everything. Including the crisp and skinny courgette fries.
The highlight of the meal was the cornish crab tagliarini; so much crab flavour packed into this plate... it was creamy, the tagliarini was soft and light... I probably could have eaten the whole thing on my own if I'm being really honest.
As we were too busy chitchatting, we'd forgotten that Oldroyd only give you 1.5 hours at your table... so get those plates rolling in thick and fast. We'd run out of time... but the staff were really lovely about our faux pas and moved us into the two seats at the tiny bar so we could have dessert. The chocolate mousse was absolutely worth teetering precariously on those stools for (as a shorty, bar stools are not my friend...).
We only really scratched the surface of the menu so will be back again for some of the more meaty, richer dishes - perfect as autumn and winter roll round!
It is the most unlikely of restaurant. A small space tastefully done up to feel like a wood cabin. A even smaller kitchen producing spectacular food. The ingredients scream quality. The food is nuanced and cooked with car. The lunch menu is excellent value for money. And a big thank you for the waitress and chef, who really made sure that the food was gluten allergy. A brilliant place if you have food preferences, restrictions or allergies.
Fantastic little place, all of the food was cooked incredibly well. We visited on meat free Monday and found all of the dishes (bread, potatoes in aioli, artichoke and leek, mushroom tagliatelle and spiced cauliflower) all fantastic. Finished off with honeycomb mousse. Two full up and satisfied customers. Highly recommend and very good value for money!
The menu is creative and shows a lot of effort put in. The menu changes quite often so you're unlikely to try anything you see in the pictures. We loved the grilled baby gem and smoked eel. The skate wing in brown butter was tasty, but perhaps a tad too oily. It needed something sour to cut through the oil. The steak was good as well, but could be more tender.
I highly recommend this gem of a place. It's in a great location on Upper Street, just a couple of mins from Angel Station. It's a very unassuming looking place, I've lived in the area for a couple of years and never noticed it. It's a clean and minimal setting but the food is truly excellent. The menu isn't big and is designed to share so you can taste lots of things. I believe the menu changes frequently but if the croquettas are an option when you go, get them!
Really small place with unexpectedly good food. We ve been there for a quick monday lunch and found their meat free 10 pounds lunch offer.
We ordered:
Starter(5£extra)
- peas and mint croquettes with (probably homemade)mayo :3/5
( good tasting and smooth texture, show of technique but very small portion )
Mains
-peach,raw and roasted zucchini, peashoots , grated almonds, light basil pesto and sour cheese sauce : 5/5
( portion was small too but very nice balance, this dish tells a story, if i wanted to be really critical i would say it just needed the zucchini to be roasted on a harder flame to retain same texture but deeper roasting and some maldon salt on top)
-tagliatelle with parmesan/garlic sauce, roasted leeks, parsley 4/5
(Again nice taste, not as eclectic as the peach dish but equally satisfying ,very rich sauce, to raise criticism level i would cook the tagliatelle one minute less)
The lunch was too brief to evaluate floor service
we will definitely be coming again :)
Delicious food, looks fresh, well dressed, fair portions. The place is small or cosy, you decide. Good service. I loved it.
A few choices of starters and mains, only one dessert, but everything is fresh and beautifully cooked. Nice service.
Great little place in Angel, small but tasty menu mainly composed of modern British and European dishes. Cozy though you end up sitting very close to your neighbours. Nice to be able to see the chef's cooking. Lentils and croquettes are great for starters. The malfatti for main have a bit too much spinach and could be smoother. The Babette steak is good. Overall good quality for adequate price.
Very delicious and creative food, a gem for the neighborhood. For the price and ambience, would prefer slightly larger portions. More suitable for couples, small groups rather than big parties.
Delicious food! Had a great lunch there and would definitely come back.
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