Five Restaurants to Try this Weekend

Pophams Bakery

It’s only been open a few months, but already Pophams Bakery, located on an unloved strip just off Essex Road, has gained a degree of Instafame for its maple bacon “croissant” (more correctly, it’s an escargot). Like most Instagram food — like most Instagram croissants — its success may be less a function of taste (salty, sweet, fatty), and more a function of its gorgeous fractal geometry and search engine optimised keywords; on a certain kind of hangover, though, there’s no denying its appeal. Better on a normal weekday are the less-hailed elements of the Pophams offering: a cosy room, modishly hygge stoneware, and a sourdough loaf of real crust and chew. As fellow member of the Guild of Food Recappers Ed Smith noted, this place probably isn’t worth a journey in its own right. But, especially if the rhubarb and cardamom custard “croissant” is on the board, it’s most certainly worth a detour. —George Reynolds
19 Prebend Street, N1 8PF

The Little One

For somewhere so flush with cash, Primrose Hill is perplexingly short on decent coffee (and, in fact, places to eat, with the honourable exception of L’Absinthe.) Give thanks, then, for The Little One at the bottom of Regent’s Park Road. Squeezed into the gap between two buildings (if it had paws and a tail Dog Twitter would term it a ‘smol pupper,’) it’s popular with passing paparazzi, school-run mums and dads, and everyone in between. Monmouth coffee beans and homemade muffins make for a strong start to the day — and those who get there early enough to nab one of the chairs can order a breakfast crêpe. —Emma Hughes
115 Regent’s Park Road, NW1 8UR

Somine

London has a fairly well-documented issue with a lack of late-night restaurants. In short, there are few great places to eat in the capital past 11pm. The arrival of the night Tube may have slowly begun to initiate change, but for as long as the city’s councils remain at the mercy of local residents (making licenses difficult to acquire) eating (or at least eating well) will elude the majority of nocturnal Londoners. One time-honoured exception is Turkish restaurant Somine, in Dalston. During the week, it is open until 2am; Fridays and Saturdays until 5am. (It used to be 24-hours, but a recent license change means they now close for two hours, opening again at 7am, at weekends.) But, really, any time is a good time for the lentil soup, vegetable stew, fine pickle plate, house-special manti dumplings, or any range of grilled meats from its roaring and reliable ocakbaşı. —Adam Coghlan
131 Kingsland High Street, E8 2PB

Max’s Sandwich Shop

The rotating quotation emblazoned on one wall of this Finsbury Park/Crouch Hill curio/icon currently reads: “My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.” #Relatable. Between philosophical introspection and televisual acclaim, Max Halley serves up sandwiches prepared with the same attention to detail that a fine plate — of any size — might command in any given restaurant. Salt, fat, acid, heat, crunch is his Nosrat-esque mantra, which inspires putting confit guinea fowl, pickled grape and tarragon salsa, baby gem, parsley, garlic croutons and anchovy mayo between two slices of house-made focaccia. Its name? “Et tu, Brute? Murdering the Caesar.” A rotation of glitzed-up fried potatoes, house ferments and craft beers are an able supporting cast; the “Ham, Egg n Chips” sandwich started it all and is a fine introduction; irreverent patter comes as standard. —James Hansen
19 Crouch Hill, N4 4AP

Dilara

In a week when Eater revealed London’s first authentic Uyghur restaurant, it felt appropriate to suggest the city’s second. (Dilara, in Finsbury Park, offers Uyghur food from across the Silk Road, whereas Etles’ offering is specifically from the Xianjiang region of northwestern China.) From the outside, Dilara is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of place. But to miss it would be to miss out. Succulent, cumin-scented lamb skewers are the speciality here; indeed any dish containing lamb is highly recommended. But nor, like at Etles, should the restaurant’s hand-made noodles, tugur (boiled lamb dumplings), and big plate chicken be missed. —Angela Hui
27 Blackstock Road, N4 2JF