The tale of Holloway is one of rebirth and restoration, transformed from an undervalued area of Islington into a genuine up and comer.
Its main thoroughfare, Holloway Road, otherwise known as the A1, cuts through Jeremy Corbyn’s Islington North constituency, and in recent years it’s become one of North London’s premier shopping streets, home to a great mix of independent and unique boutiques as well as some of the biggest names in retail.
Running for 2 miles across the borough of Islington, Holloway Road gets its name from its 15th-century appearance, where it was a sunken and hollowed-out highway.
Back then, the road was often sidestepped for more well-policed thoroughfares, as it was notorious for its proliferance of highwaymen and thieves. Today, it’s thankfully cleaned up its image and is a great place to shop, explore, and, most importantly, eat.
You’ll also find the main campus of the London Metropolitan University here, as well as Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium standing proudly just off the main drag, making it a student-centric area that cross-pollinates with the area’s traditionally working-class backbone, all of which leads to some fantastic, affordable places to dine.
These are those; the best restaurants on Holloway Road, London.
The Spoke
The Spoke is a cafe and restaurant with a unique aim; it’s designed to be a place for the area’s bikers and cyclists on two wheels to congregate. It also happens to be a place where buggies on four wheels with babies gather too!
Serving excellent quality coffee all day long, its praises have been sung by Times columnist Giles Coren, who placed it in his Top 50 Restaurants list back in 2013. A somewhat dubious honour, perhaps, given his tendency for the controversial, but an honour nonetheless…
Anyway, you’ll find The Spoke located directly opposite Upper Holloway Station, making it an easy find should you be arriving on two feet rather than two wheels. It’s easy to find visually, too, thanks to its flamingo pink exterior paint job. Yet, on the inside, this vibrancy turns into a rustic, re-used aesthetic that has influenced a whole raft of cafes in the area (and city) over the last decade.
Still, it’s a cosy place to chill, making use of hanging lights that evoke the old oil lamps that would have been found around the area during the Victorian era. It has a purposely skewiff vibe, filled with mismatched geek-chic furniture to channel a controlled, chaotic feel. It works.
You can, of course, just drop in for a quick coffee, but you’ll miss out if you ride off into the sunset without first having tasted one of their signature burgers. The Spoke serves a great range of them, from a classic American cheese and bacon to the arguably more interesting Korean fried chicken burger, the latter of which deploys a sweet, spicy Gochugang mayo to bring life and colour between the bun.
That said, in our experience the finest burger here is the Smoky; filled with slow-cooked pork that’s been marinated in a smokey and flavourful BBQ sauce that seeps from the pork and into its toasted buns. It’s topped off with fermented miso mayo to add an earthy kick.
All the meats used here are free-range and are big enough to satisfy the larger appetites accrued from a morning’s cycling, ensuring that customers have the energy to hit the road again after their visit.
Owned by Valbona Sadiku and Jose Granja, a former event manager and aerospace engineer respectively, the duo have previous success in North London, having opened a much-loved coffee shop by Archway called Bread & Bean. The Spoke follows a similar formula, and is always packed with Holloway regulars; what more encouragement do you need?
Address: 710 Holloway Road, N19 3NH
Website: thespokelondon.com
Sambal Shiok
If you’re looking for a fabulous Malaysian restaurant that pays no lip service to watering down its flavour profile for tender ‘Western’ palates, then it’s to Sambal Shiok you should head. Fronted by chef Mandy Yin, Sambal Shiok is one of a growing number of excellent Malaysian options in London, making it a must-eat venue if you’re on Holloway Road.
Whilst Yin’s food is certainly influenced by her Peranakan Chinese background, she freely admits that the ‘authenticity’ of her food isn’t her number one priority, but, rather, offers her own interpretation of the cooking traditions and street food of both Kuala Lumpur and Penang, as well as drawing inspiration from her upbringing in the UK.
The results are fantastic. Sambal Shiok focuses first and foremost on its signature curry laksa, the famous Nyona noodle soup that straddles the moody and the vibrant effortlessly. Here, chef Win blends the relatively mellow curry laksa style of Kuala Lumpur with the more fiery assam alternatives from the Penang region, with coconut cream softening the soup’s harder edges and tamarind water adding verve and intent.
It’s a truly first rate laksa, channelling the wide-eyed wonder Ying felt as a child eating the soup in Malaysia, and evoking a similar feeling in the resident diners of Holloway Road. The wider public seem to agree; the dish helped the restaurant be named one of the Guardian’s top 20 Best Restaurants in 2020. In addition to that, Sambal Shiok was also named Time Out’s most-loved North London Restaurant in 2021.
If laksa doesn’t interest you (who are you?) then there are plenty of other street-inspired sides to get stuck into at Sambol Shiok. Chef Ying, once a lawyer who traded it all for a career in food, got her first break serving street food, and her beef rendang and chicken satay burger dish from those early buzz-creating days remain on the menu now.
Dining at Sambal Shiok is an intimate experience, with the venue unassuming at first glance. It has a dark interior, using hard wooden tables, but a burst of colour comes from the red metal chairs and stools, seemingly replicating the laksa’s peaks and troughs on the palate.
When dining at Sambal Shiok, it’ll become clear why chef Ying was so keen to bring the bold yet homely flavours of Malaysia to London, flavours which will linger in your mind (and on your clothes!) for days, eventually pulling you back in to relive them all over again.
Address: 171 Holloway Road, N7 8LX
Website: sambalshiok.co.uk
Tbilisi Restaurant
As a country that spent a lot of time behind the iron curtain of the Soviet Union, Georgia has only recently begun to be a popular tourist destination for Brits, last year being named by Wanderlust as the most desirable emerging destination of 2022.
Accordingly, its cuisine is now emerging into the collective consciousness of foodies nationwide, with visitors discovering a generous and varied food that takes seemingly simple, abundant ingredients and makes them taste otherworldly.
Tbilisi Restaurant has stood on Holloway Road for over 13 years, and has long been a local place for those ‘in-the-know’, offering an eating experience and warm Georgian welcome the country so prides itself in.
Inside, there’s a certain Eastern European chic to proceedings, with peach-coloured walls adorned with regal portrait mirrors housed in large, extravagant frames giving a sense of occasion.
For those unfamiliar with Georgian food, the experience at Tbilisi, named after the longstanding capital, is a gastronomic journey throughout the country. There’s a feeling of discovery with every plate, whether in the delicate Badrijani – crispy fried aubergine rolls filled with a creamy walnut and onion paste – or the Ispanakhi, a well-balanced walnut and spinach dip that goes just great with the various breads (baked or grilled in house) on offer, with our favourite being the three-cheese filled, egg-yolk topped Khachapuri, one of the country’s national dishes.
For those content to be rolled out in a wheelbarrow, the Chashshuli is superb; a complex beef stew with rich flavours all circulating and working in harmony, seasoned with a secret spice mix and simmered slowly throughout the day until its tomatoes and onions break down entirely. Pickles are served to cut through the richer elements.
The food here pairs beautifully with their selection of excellent Georgian wine, primarily from the Kakheti region. The wine list is extensive, dominated by dry red wines, with a great option being the Saperavi Kondoli, a dry option with a long and soft aftertaste, with ripe berries coming into the foreground.
Address: 91 Holloway Road, N7 8LT
Website: tbilisi-restaurant.co.uk
Neza Restaurant
Neza Restaurant is a perfect example of looking past the initial facade to find something truly special within. From the exterior, the restaurant looks like any other London borough takeaway you’ll see all over the city, without giving a second thought, let alone first bite.
You probably know where this one is going; looks can be deceiving, and by giving Neza a chance, you’ll unlock an enjoyable culinary experience.
Neza is nominally a ‘Mediterranean’ restaurant, with perfectly serviceable pizza, pasta and the rest available here, but it’s in the Albanian dishes that the menu really comes to life. The Albanian Meze, with salad, feta, onions, sweet olives, and gofte, traditional Albanian meatballs fried to give them a warm and crispy bite, is just lovely. Follow with the Fasule, a thick Albanian beef soup topped with beans; a fortifying thing of rugged beauty.
That said, the shish kebabs here are front and centre, taking the spotlight. Lightly charred to give a smoky flavour and seasoned with the popular Albanian spice mix of cinnamon, saffron and chilli pepper, they’re heady, hearty and excellent value, too, clocking it at just shy of a tenner.
Yep, Neza is one of Holloway Road’s cheaper dining options, with that aforementioned Meze starting at just £6.50, meaning it’s a great place to explore potentially new tastes without inhibition – you might just discover a new favourite dish.
Address: 296 Holloway Rd, London, N7 6NJ
Website: nezarestaurant.co.uk
Koutoukaki Souvlaki
You’ll find Koutoukai Souvlaki sitting at the junction of Nag’s Head market, making it a prime location for those looking to pop in for take-out or for those who want to rest their legs with a sit-down lunch or dinner, equally.
Here, functionality wins out over flashiness, with an every-man charm to proceedings – think exposed brick walls, straightforward wooden furniture, and the clatter and chatter of a restaurant in full swing. Black-and-white stills from Greek cinema and TV, as well as shots from weddings and other events from back in the day, adorn the walls, letting you know you’re in a neighbourhood joint (and also, most likely, that you’re about to be fed very well).
In their own words, Koutoukai wants to create a venue where all generations can connect over great food. Fun and laid-back dining are at the core of what this restaurant does, with a live band taking centre stage over the weekend to serenade diners with traditional Rebetiko and Greek folk songs. It’s obviously a restaurant proud of its heritage, history, and food.
That food sees traditional Greek kebabs as the headlining act, dominating the cooking area behind the counter, adding to a sense of theatre that the live soundtrack has already amped up. As well as kebabs, there’s a good selection of Greek street food to go, such as gyros and pitta wraps filled with delicious spiced meat and creamy sauce, perfect for nibbling on as you explore the local market that the restaurant overlooks.
Heartier Greek dishes are also available with the moussaka coming out blistered and burnished, with an almost fudgy quality that’s as comforting as you like.
Although the restaurant works well as a place to grab a bite and go, its entire ethos is about slowing down and enjoying the finer moments. You’ll get far more out of Koutoukaki Souvlaki if you dine in with a hearty main, watching the world roll by from out their window facade. We’ll see you there?
Address: 292 Holloway Road, London, N7 6NJ
Website: koutoukakisouvlaki.co.uk
Don’t stop there; North London has plenty more to offer, restaurant-wise. Check out our guide on the best restaurants in Highbury and Islington next, but perhaps walk there to build up your appetite?