This restaurant is a remix of a night lounge meets an afternoon café. The vibe is very chill. I seated myself at the bar and ordered the Old Fashioned cocktail. The drink was ok.. there were orange slices to add to the drink flavour. My favourite cocktail of the night was the mint julep... it goes down very smooth. I ordered the John Salt burger and waited no longer than 20 minutes for my dish. The server was very courteous. My burger was delicious and the fries were plenty too! read more

John Salt - Mint Julep with tons of ice! - New American Near Me - London, XGL

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One of the spots we hit up on our crawl through Upper Street. It was quiet as you'd expect for a weeknight but there were people around even though it was late. I liked the overall open layout of the place and it seemed very welcoming. The servers made a bunch of great cocktails and we essentially closed the place down. I'd like to see this place on a weekend to take in the scene. read more

I went to this pub today with over a dozen friends for a pub lunch with the hopes of simply having some laughs, decent food, and good drinks. Thankfully we enjoy each others company loads because the pub itself let us down completely. The drinks were fine (although most of us stuck with wine, so I really cannot comment on them much), but the food service was terrible. I believe there were 17 of us and out of those 17 about 13 of the dishes we received were cold. At first we gave the kitchen the benefit of the doubt and assumed that they were trying to serve our entire party at the same time, so they must have left a bunch of the plates out while waiting on the rest to be finished (still not acceptable, but an understandable err in judgement). However, when half the table had finished their lukewarm meals or had asked to have them warmed in the microwave before the other half had even seen their food (which also ended up being cold) we knew that just was not the case. The servers and management had done nothing at this point to apologize or make up for the cold food we were given, and around this time is when we started noticing that a good number of the dishes we received did not even have their included sides (for example, my friend ordered the macaroni and cheese which included red onion jam). When that was pointed out they simply brought her a small container of red onion jam, 20 minutes after she had finished her meal, which is completely unacceptable. When the head of our party finally confronted the server about what had happened he offered 50% off our meal and free dessert, because while we did not enjoy our lunch we were enjoying each others company and weren't in a hurry to leave. That seemed like a fair compromise and we accepted. We were also told that the reason our food was cold was because their lift wasn't working properly and because it was so windy they couldn't get the food to stay warm. As we were ordering dessert we first found out that one of the items on the limited menu (sticky pudding) which half of the party ordered wasn't available, but we were offered holiday pudding instead. At that point almost everyone switched to their hazelnut brownie and no one chose the holiday pudding. They clearly wanted to get rid of the pudding, because every one of us who had ordered the brownie had a large slice of it hidden under the fudge on top of ours. Thankfully no one in our group has any fruit allergies, but hiding food in order to get rid of it is extremely unethical. Then when it came time to pay the bill was suddenly higher than what we had agreed. Instead of taking 50% off they only took 50% off regular menu items and not their 2 for 20 menu and started talking about how they couldn't do it in their system, even though it was what was previously agreed upon. It wasn't until we brought up all of the problems with the deserts we were given and made it clear that we were not backing down that suddenly our originally agreement was respected again. There are so many ethical pubs in London with good food and drink, I would stay far away from this one and go just about anywhere else. read more

John Salt - Red onion jam, that arrived 20 minutes after the meal. - New American Near Me - London, XGL

There are times when misfortune and chance bring about a quite wonderful experience. I had originally booked a large table here as I'd heard Ben Spalding was doing a residency, a residency that within a few days had November and December booked out . My only option to try this upcoming star's cooking was a speculative punt at the end of January. The year turned and the chef left only to be replaced by Neil Rankin, the ex head chef of the awesome Pitt Cue. In addition they gave us 50% all food as a goodwill gesture. So yes bribery does work plus they have a happy (4) hour(s) of BOGOF cocktails between 5 and 9. Though guess who had the bright idea of being dry for the month.... If your'e a fan of kimchi the place seems to have dishes covered in it (no bad thing) I'd never been to the old place that they replaced however they have made a half bar half casual dining experience that could easily accommodate our group of 8 on one table. The service was great with the only complaint being that the mains did take some time. The food itself was frankly excellent. The starters were small but perfectly balanced starting with mixed tastes of octopus and iberico ham then going on to a soft and fluffy sole with bone sauce and finishing with a divine bacon panna cotta. All wonderful though the star of the show were the pulled pork chips with cheese and kimchi. Smothered heaven! The prices were pretty good with a three course meal and drinks coming to about £40 per head pre discount All in all a great place a short walk from Highbury and Islington station. As I'm moving there soon I shall certainly be returning especially to try the Sunday Roast that Tristan loves. read more

I can't review the food because we walked out. It started with incompetence during first contact - got in-touch a few days before to book and were told that they don't take bookings and that we should 'just turn up'. After doing as instructed, we arrived (early -around 6pm) to find most tables reserved. After that less than auspicious start, went on to find the poor staff training continued and to cut this story short we left (as mentioned can't comment on the food). It may be worth noting that the place also plays pretty loud music ... so it won't be a quiet meal (which is quite cool depending on the evening being planned). I would struggle to bother trying again based on that service. read more

It's a food-spotters and bloggers menu if ever there was one. Devised dishes described in a mash-up two-word list of current food trends. Raw this and that, 'Kimchi' here, 'chicken skin' there, 'pulled pork' everywhere... Check, check and mate, mate. That there's a pervading whiff of BBQ will come as little surprise to anyone who knows that chef Neil Rankin has hotfooted it over here from iconic meat Mecca Pitt Que, following a unfortunate turn of events between the owners and original kitchen prodigy Ben 'Roganic' Spalding. But of course if you're just a humble punter, you will neither know, nor care about this back story. For the rest of you, the civilians still radiating bafflement at the one-word menu and the breathy introduction? Banish the gloom and forget about the 'nu-restaurant' wankery, you're in for a treat. There's a seemingly more comfortable dining space upstairs, though we're relegated to slightly cramped and uncomfortable rough-hewn communal tables at the front, slotted in next to a mixed bag of trendy locals and slathering food spotters. Not ideal for a quiet date, and not something that they make a recommendation on when you book which feels odd. I'm also surprised that it's not as busy as the Twitterati would have you imagine. There's definitely room for walk ups, certainly in the loud downstairs bar space which serves a limited version of the same innovative menu. And the food? Thankfully it's superb. Absolutely superb. We go for (scratch that, I go for) a selection of the starter plates, topped off with a 'Red Flannel Hash'. Only on discussion with the serving dude do we realise that's a type of beetroot, roasted to perfection with floury roast potatoes and delicate peas and corn, topped with a panko-coated soft-boiled egg. Perfect comfort food, if irritatingly undecipherable from the menu alone. Those burnt leeks were a smokey revelation, the flavour of the BBQ subtle but pervasive, mellowed out by creamy rich yolk. Tiny and delicately tempura'ed oysters were gone in a heartbeat, much like a large fresh dose of buttery crab with a wallop of fresh sea served on a slice of deep fried puffed-up pig skin more akin to a prawn cracker. Simple flavours combined well and packing a real punch. Genuine food that puts a smile on your face. The best for me was a simple salad of raw beef and apple, with a hit of chilli oil and a nutty sweetness from scattered sesame. A perfect small plate and bargainous at a fiver. For the same price we also enjoyed a riff on Canadian monstrosity poutine, here made with hunks of fleshy pork belly and softly warming kimchi. The couple packed in next to us were overheard contemplating a second portion of this, I wholeheartedly agreed with their ambition and would have done likewise if I hadn't known the reaction my suggestion would get from my guest. And that Bacon Panna Cotta to finish with was designed to fulfil almost all of my fantasies. Every bit as wrong (and as right) as you can imagine. Soft creamy panna cotta with just a hint of smokey bacon, topped with crushed nuts and maple syrup. Absolutely heavenly. I'm also delighted to say that it's very well priced for this quality of innovative cooking. Even with a (frankly poor and astringent) bottle of house white and (much better) service, the tab only came to £67. It certainly lived up to the hype, though I'm glad to say that it's not as crowded as expected (and as it deserves to be, but these are early days). Next time however I'll be going for a seat upstairs. Don't be put off by the cooler than thou menu, you can ask questions. Come and join the food spotters... read more

Bye-bye Keston Lodge, (and the lovely scrabble-board lettering). [Why,] Hello John Salt with chef Neil Rankin in residence. Crab and pork crackling. Raw mullet with blood orange. Burnt leek and pear. Kimchi and pulled pork frites. [It was a tough call on which small plates to go for, there were so many great options, I think we did well though.] Washed down with a couple of glasses of Chenin Blanc and some bitter cocktails (not as in acrid, bitter, on purpose, as in containing bitters...). Brandy and sage, spiced rum, lemon, hops and bitters. What a combo. That was two separate drinks by the way. The menu outlines the restaurant food, sharing plates, wine list, cocktails (which I must add are two-for-one before the hour of 8, as sad as were were to just miss this, the experience was not tainted) and DJ sets so you can note the music you like. Totally awesome Upper street! read more

Last time I was here it was the Keston Lodge bar. In the makeover to John Salt they managed to keep all the positives of the Keston Lodge atmosphere and feel but added an upstairs restaurant. We took advantage of the pre-7pm 2 for 1 cocktail offer. Decent cocktails so off to a good start. Dinner was upstairs. A smallish dining area with music from the bar downstairs, the volume gradually increasing as the evening progressed. The menu is short, really appealing and inventive. We got the usual pitch about the dishes coming as they are ready and two reminders (in the confirmation call and also from the waiter) about the table being needed at 9.15 or something, 'yeah, yeah, whatever...fine'. Crab with green peppercorns and grilled sourdough. Two large thick slabs of sourdough generously slathered with brown crab which had a Thai flavour in my mind and was very good with the green peppercorns adding texture and popping open on eating. This dish worked well. Chicken fried whitebait with harissa dressing was nice enough but nothing special. Breadcrumbed, fried whitebait, a tad on the dry side. The dressing was more mayo with siracha sauce stirred in. Jerk pork with charred pineapple and cornbread sounded great. It was a 'deconstructed' dish with the blackened pork tossed with torn shards of corn bread. The pineapple really worked well with the combo and the pork was tender. Chipotle rubbed lamb shoulder, mint yoghurt and crispy pita wasn't as exciting with plenty of pulled, tender lamb and was also deconstructed but a bit bland and couldn't really taste a chipotle flavour. The ratio of meat to sauce and pita was a bit too high so translated to a slightly heavy, blandish dish. New potatoes with charcoal butter and confit garlic with sorrel just didn't work for me. The potatoes were sliced and fridge cold with a charcoal taste that wasn't pleasant and only a small amount of butter, garlic and tiny granish of sorrel. Dessert however was a real highlight. Sticky apricots with caramel, yoghurt cake and salty almond brittle (also deconstructed) was perfect. Flavours and textures that worked and balance of sweetness. Maybe it was our choice of dishes but the meal was really substantial which is usually a good thing in my book but it was a bit heavy. The crab was great but much more substantial than I expected. The lamb and pork it needed some more balance with lighter flavours and perhaps more veg based options and our one veg dish was the least successful. At the same time I love the inventiveness and taking some risks means that some things will be successful and others not and the pricing was fair and service and ambience good so it's really about 3.5 stars for me, round up to 4. read more

The food is excellent, the bar has a great selection of drinks, the atmosphere is buzzing and the service is top notch, so basically it ticks all my boxes. We booked a table for 6pm for their first sitting, we arrived early so we could sample a few drinks, now I'm a craft beer fan and there is no shortage here, brews from all over the world, top quality beers to, and if your not a fan of craft beer they also have a small cocktail list and a selection of spirits and wines to keep your whistle whet. The food was special, we started with the potted beef brisket platter to share, melt in your mouth stuff. For my main starter I ordered oysters which were deep fried then placed back on their shells with a dollop of beef fat mayo, pure crispy beefy heaven. The main event was more meaty madness, skirt steak with kimchi hollandaise, wow just wow, steak was cooked to perfection and that creamy spicy kimchi hollandaise just added more flavor, I also ordered a side of kimchi pulled pork & cheese fries, YES! You heard me right, kimchi, pulled pork and cheese pilled up on crispy fluffy fries, foodgasim a go go. I was completely stuffed but I just had to have dessert, why you ask, because the bacon panna cotta screamed out at me, and it was a stroke of genius, really really tasty and after all that good food it stole the show. I was really satisfied with a food and the service matched up to the food, really friendly and very helpful, I would recommend this place to anyone, even the vegetarian stuff looked nice ;) So stop reading and GO!!! read more

Slightly disappointing for the awesome space and the cred of Pitt Cue which is my personal sanctuary in London. We had mediocre service including waiting 20 minutes for a glass of wine?!?! I had the pork hash--I just couldn't get excited about it. And my waitress raved about the cod with foie gras sauce but couldn't understand why she though it was amazing. I thought the fries were going to rock my world, but they were just average and had fat dripped into a corner--I was kind of confused. My friend had the green chili poussin which was essentially a chicken with sweet and sour sauce with some green chilies on top for decor. Maybe it was just an off night. I did like the vibe.....might give it a second shot. read more

Continuing the same impression as previous visits. Loving the service, space and coffee. I had a super tasty moist veggie burger; My friend's choice wasn't so lucky. She had an average salmon (fairly bland really) and really extremely salty kale. So I guess, the food is hit'n'miss. Free wi-fi spot is a definite plus. read more

I haven't had the food here recently, but I've heard that it's gone slightly downhill and depends who is at the helm in the kitchen, really. This place is well located on Upper St, making it a tempting stop if you're walking from one end to the other. The décor is a little bit try-too-hard, but it's comfortable inside so we'll let it pass. The beer selection is alright. Everything is alright. I'd come back and try the food, but the prices make me wonder why people don't just walk a few extra blocks and go to Pig & Butcher. It's a solid three star place. Nothing really special, for me. read more

Very impressive trendy and chic restaurant/bar in the middle of Upper Street, Islington definitely worth stopping by for a meal or a drink. Positives: - The atmosphere of the venue is very nice. Bright and colourful atmosphere with a good range of songs that are of the indie genre. The layout of the venue is predominantly open plan with general benches if that's your preferred choice of seat as well as the other choice of seating I had that evening which was on the sofa which proved very comfortable. - The price of a pint is of the standard London bar price. I purchased 2 pints which equated to £9.20. Couldn't complain. Negative: - A slow and not really bothered type of customer service. Bar woman was friendly enough, but you could just tell she did not want to be there ***Although I have not tested the food yet, my general outlook of this venue is that it is a trendy chic bar on Upper Street that provides a well lit and indie based atmosphere that anyone can nestle a drink or food and not even realise the time flying past*** read more

Would come again the food is hot the beers are cold the cocks have tails the staff are good deffo a place to come with your drinking buddy's read more

John Salt - On the tables - New American Near Me - London, XGL

Came here for a private party in the John Salt upstairs bar. Relaxed venue, good selection of craft beers. Not a super sexy or loungey place, but a good place to catch up with friends. Didn't have any of their food, so can't comment on that. Took my American credit card, no minimum. read more

John Salt was a massive letdown. A promising setup - great food descriptions and a nice space with plenty of room. The waitress at the bar didn't know the menu, and couldn't be bothered to answer any questions. 20 minutes after ordering/paying, she came to tell us they were out of the item we had ordered so we would have to pick something else. One burger (the hardest, most burnt meat I've ever tasted on a sad damaged bun), two ox cheeks and mac&cheese (both missing ox cheeks), and two bacon-wrapped chicken (completely dried out chicken, flavorless). An absolute disappointment. We will never return. read more

My friends have been asking me for bar recommendations around Islington, and this is a place I've heard of a few times. We finally went on a Saturday night on our way home, and it was packed downstairs but we made it upstairs where there was no queue for the bar. I got a raspberry mojito and sat down on the couches with my friend where you can see all the action downstairs without getting pushed around in the crowd. There is a long table upstairs too which can be booked out for parties, as it looked like most of the other people upstairs were just enjoying drinks after their meal. read more

I've been to John Salt a few times, twice to eat and once just for drinks. It has a good vibe, especially for drinking. Though, when ordering food you feel out of place, as there aren't many people eating during meal times. I have ordered the buttermilk chicken burger (surprisingly very spicy) and the mac and cheese burger (a little over cooked and just alright). Fries come with the burger and there are lots! My husband ordered sweet potato fries for £1, and it was worth it. The service has always been good and they have a fairly average beer selection. So, all in all, I would return for drinks but will find another place on Upper Street for burgers. read more

I stopped in here with a friend on the way home one night. It was a Saturday night and there was a 5 - 10 minute queue to get in. I liked the overall vibe of the place inside. It reminded me a bit of New York and had fairly trendy fixtures and exposed brick. The downstairs was crowded but my friend and I headed upstairs to get a drink where the bar was considerably less busy. My cocktail was good and definitely interested in trying the 2 for 1 happy hour deal. Will definitely try this spot again read more

Atmosphere was nice and service was excellent. We ordered dinner and the food, though tasty, was underwhelming. I would return for a drink, probably not to eat. read more

They have changed their chef! This one is rubbish! The waitress told us the previously (well reviewed) chef walked out and this new one isn't coping and they've had lots of complaints! Read this before you go as you may be expecting greatness like I was! It's a bar not a restaurant, so you go up and order your food - the staff are helpful and friendly and chatty, and the cocktails are great (happy hour 2 for 1 cocktails is a great start to your Friday night!) but if I was you I'd leave it at the drinks. To start we had squid which was delicious but cold. The mussels were average and also cold.for main we had cheeseburgers with pulled pork. The bun tasted like charcoal (not in a nice way) and the meat was so so overdone and the pulled pork addition was minuscule. The chips were crap. We sent back the burgers and the waitress said she tried one in the kitchen and agreed with us that they weren't very nice. The chef then sent back two very very rare burgers and not only did I not eat mine I had it taken off the bill. The manager then came over and scrapped the whole bill altogether. We got pizza on the way home. Drinks: yes Food: don't even bother read more

I haven't eaten here before, but their cocktails are great and I love the atmosphere, so it's always on my list for a Friday/Saturday night in Angel. Spacious, great drinks, averagely priced, why not. read more

I enjoyed the chichken very much, very well prepared. Had a specific taste that I enjoyed very much.

Went for late lunch - we were the only 2 people there but took 45 min to get a burger and a scotch egg! We had to ask where the food was. Food was good but after all the wait it came out tepid. We were given a free beer though but probably will not go back due to disappointing service read more

First impressions...Phenomenal vibe with a rocking indie drama music vibe. The nachos are humorously bad though.

We went on a Wednesday lunchtime and surprisingly we were the only people in there. This was a bit of a concern, but we needn't have worried. The food was outstanding. Quirky takes on classic dishes. I haven't stopped thinking about it since. The service wasn't the best - even though we were the only table in there it took ages to order anything because the staff were standing around chatting. The food more than makes up for this minor frustration. read more