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A diner cuts into a plate of turbot with green courgettes, two glasses of wine in the background.
A plate of turbot and courgettes at Cadet in Newington Green.
Michaël Protin

11 Great Places That Make Newington Green the Ideal Dining Neighbourhood

The neighbourhood has a rich history of doing things differently — its restaurants continue the tradition

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A plate of turbot and courgettes at Cadet in Newington Green.
| Michaël Protin

Not quite Stoke Newington, Highbury, nor Dalston, and a muddle of N1, N5 and N16, one could be forgiven for thinking Newington Green an irrelevant intersection between more tangible neighbourhoods. Forgiven perhaps, but wrong.

This small area of north London has been a home for medieval heavyweights such as Henry Percy and Thomas Cromwell, a sanctuary for literary greats like Samuel Pepys and Daniel Defoe and, perhaps most significantly, a breeding ground for dissident intellectuals and social reformers: The Unitarian Church to the north of the green is relatively unremarkable to look at, but was a key influence on, among others, pioneering feminist thinker, author, and school mistress Mary Wollstonecraft.

Admittedly, none of those individuals left a deep culinary legacy. But the locale is now well served by a mix of Turkish-Cypriot community establishments, modern café culture, and free-thinking, independent restaurateurs. Plus, in Newington Green Fruit and Vegetables, it’s also home to one of London’s best and fairest-priced suppliers of fresh produce.

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Primeur

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Situated on Petherton Road, a wide tree-lined avenue between Newington Green and Highbury, the elder sibling of the acclaimed Western’s Laundry is surely one of London’s most appealing restaurants for a sunny summer’s evening; when rolled back, its ex-motor garage doors allow golden rays to bathe the convivial room. There’s a certain nonchalance to Primeur’s take on Franglish bistronomy, though that appears based on the knowledge that their low-intervention wines and the food on offer are quality — deceptively simple small plates of lamb consommé and spring vegetables; onglet, onions and wet garlic; grey mullet, olive oil and lemon. 

Antepliler Baklava Salonu

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Those familiar with the northern end of Green Lanes will know the Antepliler name through this enterprise’s Haringey-based restaurant, doner grill and kunefe bar. An eponymously titled baklava-focused satellite at the southern end of the road might not bustle and hum in the same way as the other sites, but is certainly of note. Both exterior and interior are modest — hidden behind perspex shields are seven or eight trays of masterful baklava, all of which hit that sweet spot between textured and sticky, sweet but not sickly. There’s a coffee machine too. Sometimes it works.

01 Adana Restaurant

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A decent all-rounder for those wishing to enjoy a Turkish grill without making the (short) trip to better known ocakbasi restaurants in Dalston or Haringey. 01 Adana is cavernous and can be quiet, but it does a good line in freshly baked gozleme, pide and lahmacun, as well as the full, fire-cooked range of lamb chops, adana (sumac-seasoned, minced lamb kebab), halep (spicy minced lamb kebab) and beyti (lamb or chicken kebabs wrapped in lavash) with generous servings of salads, rice and flatbread. Liver, kidney or Cypriot sheftalia shish options are a few more good moves.

Belle Epoque Patisserie

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Next to the Unitarian Church on the north side of the green, Belle Epoque is a classic French café, delicatessen and bakery. Quiches, filled baguettes and typically French salads (goat’s cheese, nicoise, chicken) are all fine, but the patisserie is a few levels beyond that. When it opened in 2002, everything was baked in the basement. Now, with a second location on Upper Street and a counter at Selfridges, production is centralised elsewhere. The switch from quirky local bakery to pro kitchen shouldn’t deter, though, as glossy, highly decorated mini-tarts catch the eye and taste as good as they look, and the classic lemon, pistachio and apricot tarts at the counter never disappoint.

Perilla

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Perilla offers an inventive, contemporary and refined spin on seasonal British cooking. Diners can choose from a relatively succinct daily changing menu (octopus bolognese; cultured cream and roasted nut soup served in a burnt onion; grilled and pressed radicchio with blood orange and sheeps curd) or go all-in for the four course plus snacks set menu of the day (£66.) It’s proper, near fine dining, but in a relaxed setting, and appears to have gone from strength to strength since opening in late autumn 2016.

Lizzy's On The Green

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Newington Green’s best coffee is found on the green itself, in a kiosk. Bittersweet and black-cherried Alchemy beans should provide a draw to caffeine aficionados, while the smoked creamed corn and jalapeños on toast, fish finger sandwiches and cakes baked on site each day are reason to shun takeaway and instead stay and eat; there are a decent number of tables and chairs on the shaded decking.

The youngest restaurant on Newington Green is also its most grown. Cadet is a wine bar from alumni of some of the city’s best cellars and stoves — P. Franco; Westerns Laundry; Bright; Flor; St. John — with George Jephson’s stunning charcuterie tacked on for good measure. While it’s undoubtedly hype, hot, and accordingly busy, the vibe of all that bustle is remarkably genuine, giving it the air of a place that has been open for three decades, rather than months. With Tom Beattie and Francis Roberts pouring wines from their importer, and Jamie Smart’s generously soigné country cooking, there’s grace to go with the guts and gizzards en croute.

Jolene follows Westerns Laundry and Primeur, both from David Gingell and Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim. It iterates on those restaurants’ principles while bringing something new to what they have accreted — lightly-worn, plainly-spoken hospitality. That approach manifests in a scrawly blackboard menu, long on assemblies of good ingredients exchanging sideways glances: pork and green sauce, buttermilk and plums, ravioli and sage butter. Continental Europe stakes an assertive claim, with exceptional crisp, buttery croissants, palmiers, madeleines, charcuterie, anchovies, and cheeses featuring heavily. So too does a shrewd, brisk list of natural wine.

Acoustic Brasserie

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Twelve years ago, Acoustic Brasserie (née Cafe) was a bit of a brunch find — with a menu featuring mounds of smashed avocado and feta on toast, remarkably consistent variations on poached eggs and hollandaise on muffins, Turkish eggs with sucuk and flatbreads, and a pretty serviceable full English. All that might now be a bit vanilla, but the Acoustic benefits from an enviable morning sun trap and remains a dependable and crowd-pleasing weekend spot.

Probably the Newington Green restaurant most changed by COVID-19, Trangallan is now Tranga, a dining and grocery hybrid. The Galician slant, excellent tapas, and slouching sun trap of a terrace, though, have endured, meaning it retains its place as one of the most compelling places to eat in the area.

Oivita Pizzeria

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There are a couple of pizzeria/trattoria type restaurants on the edges of the green, but this is the best of the lot. Neapolitan pizzas tick the wood-fired, blistered and puffed edged, sloppy floppy middle boxes, while toppings are traditional and service genial. A pizzaiolo can be judged by the quality of his “Neapolitana” — and Oi Vita’s is pretty good, with just the right number of quality capers and anchovies cutting through a sweet, if perhaps overly generous, tomato base. That said, the fresh Italian sausage and egg finished “Uovo” is also worth a look. Small, rustic, independent.

Primeur

Situated on Petherton Road, a wide tree-lined avenue between Newington Green and Highbury, the elder sibling of the acclaimed Western’s Laundry is surely one of London’s most appealing restaurants for a sunny summer’s evening; when rolled back, its ex-motor garage doors allow golden rays to bathe the convivial room. There’s a certain nonchalance to Primeur’s take on Franglish bistronomy, though that appears based on the knowledge that their low-intervention wines and the food on offer are quality — deceptively simple small plates of lamb consommé and spring vegetables; onglet, onions and wet garlic; grey mullet, olive oil and lemon. 

Antepliler Baklava Salonu

Those familiar with the northern end of Green Lanes will know the Antepliler name through this enterprise’s Haringey-based restaurant, doner grill and kunefe bar. An eponymously titled baklava-focused satellite at the southern end of the road might not bustle and hum in the same way as the other sites, but is certainly of note. Both exterior and interior are modest — hidden behind perspex shields are seven or eight trays of masterful baklava, all of which hit that sweet spot between textured and sticky, sweet but not sickly. There’s a coffee machine too. Sometimes it works.

01 Adana Restaurant

A decent all-rounder for those wishing to enjoy a Turkish grill without making the (short) trip to better known ocakbasi restaurants in Dalston or Haringey. 01 Adana is cavernous and can be quiet, but it does a good line in freshly baked gozleme, pide and lahmacun, as well as the full, fire-cooked range of lamb chops, adana (sumac-seasoned, minced lamb kebab), halep (spicy minced lamb kebab) and beyti (lamb or chicken kebabs wrapped in lavash) with generous servings of salads, rice and flatbread. Liver, kidney or Cypriot sheftalia shish options are a few more good moves.

Belle Epoque Patisserie

Next to the Unitarian Church on the north side of the green, Belle Epoque is a classic French café, delicatessen and bakery. Quiches, filled baguettes and typically French salads (goat’s cheese, nicoise, chicken) are all fine, but the patisserie is a few levels beyond that. When it opened in 2002, everything was baked in the basement. Now, with a second location on Upper Street and a counter at Selfridges, production is centralised elsewhere. The switch from quirky local bakery to pro kitchen shouldn’t deter, though, as glossy, highly decorated mini-tarts catch the eye and taste as good as they look, and the classic lemon, pistachio and apricot tarts at the counter never disappoint.

Perilla

Perilla offers an inventive, contemporary and refined spin on seasonal British cooking. Diners can choose from a relatively succinct daily changing menu (octopus bolognese; cultured cream and roasted nut soup served in a burnt onion; grilled and pressed radicchio with blood orange and sheeps curd) or go all-in for the four course plus snacks set menu of the day (£66.) It’s proper, near fine dining, but in a relaxed setting, and appears to have gone from strength to strength since opening in late autumn 2016.

Lizzy's On The Green

Newington Green’s best coffee is found on the green itself, in a kiosk. Bittersweet and black-cherried Alchemy beans should provide a draw to caffeine aficionados, while the smoked creamed corn and jalapeños on toast, fish finger sandwiches and cakes baked on site each day are reason to shun takeaway and instead stay and eat; there are a decent number of tables and chairs on the shaded decking.

Cadet

The youngest restaurant on Newington Green is also its most grown. Cadet is a wine bar from alumni of some of the city’s best cellars and stoves — P. Franco; Westerns Laundry; Bright; Flor; St. John — with George Jephson’s stunning charcuterie tacked on for good measure. While it’s undoubtedly hype, hot, and accordingly busy, the vibe of all that bustle is remarkably genuine, giving it the air of a place that has been open for three decades, rather than months. With Tom Beattie and Francis Roberts pouring wines from their importer, and Jamie Smart’s generously soigné country cooking, there’s grace to go with the guts and gizzards en croute.

Jolene

Jolene follows Westerns Laundry and Primeur, both from David Gingell and Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim. It iterates on those restaurants’ principles while bringing something new to what they have accreted — lightly-worn, plainly-spoken hospitality. That approach manifests in a scrawly blackboard menu, long on assemblies of good ingredients exchanging sideways glances: pork and green sauce, buttermilk and plums, ravioli and sage butter. Continental Europe stakes an assertive claim, with exceptional crisp, buttery croissants, palmiers, madeleines, charcuterie, anchovies, and cheeses featuring heavily. So too does a shrewd, brisk list of natural wine.

Acoustic Brasserie

Twelve years ago, Acoustic Brasserie (née Cafe) was a bit of a brunch find — with a menu featuring mounds of smashed avocado and feta on toast, remarkably consistent variations on poached eggs and hollandaise on muffins, Turkish eggs with sucuk and flatbreads, and a pretty serviceable full English. All that might now be a bit vanilla, but the Acoustic benefits from an enviable morning sun trap and remains a dependable and crowd-pleasing weekend spot.

Tranga

Probably the Newington Green restaurant most changed by COVID-19, Trangallan is now Tranga, a dining and grocery hybrid. The Galician slant, excellent tapas, and slouching sun trap of a terrace, though, have endured, meaning it retains its place as one of the most compelling places to eat in the area.

Oivita Pizzeria

There are a couple of pizzeria/trattoria type restaurants on the edges of the green, but this is the best of the lot. Neapolitan pizzas tick the wood-fired, blistered and puffed edged, sloppy floppy middle boxes, while toppings are traditional and service genial. A pizzaiolo can be judged by the quality of his “Neapolitana” — and Oi Vita’s is pretty good, with just the right number of quality capers and anchovies cutting through a sweet, if perhaps overly generous, tomato base. That said, the fresh Italian sausage and egg finished “Uovo” is also worth a look. Small, rustic, independent.