My girlfriend lost her key and when we quite reasonably asked the staff for help, one of the…read moresecurity guards spoke to us very rudely. We were taken aback and decided to leave the pub straight away. A strange and rather unpleasant experience overall.

I was lucky enough to get into an Arsenal/Chelsea match at the Emirates a few days before Boxing…read moreDay, but had no such luck on Boxing Day itself so after a nice tour of the Emirates itself I came down to the Tollington on the recommendation of two different people. I was not disappointed. A proper Arsenal bar with great fans and great food. Was even bought a pint as an "out-of-town Gooner." Next time I'm in town I will definitely be here.

This place was indeed our salvation as a hungry fivesome roaming the area in search of a bite to…read moreeat! This place looked busy, with an exposed brick hipster vibe but more importantly lots of delicious smells coming from the kitchen, so we stayed! The staff are amazingly friendly - the girl on front of house was so welcoming, and explained it's BYOB as they've lost their license due to a mix-up. Music to our ears! After a quick dash over to the Sainsbury's we were all happily cosied up in a booth with some very reasonably priced vino :) The service continued to impress, with our waiter doing that nonchalant I don't need to write anything down thing (and getting it spot on). The food was also fresh and tasty which always helps, and my goi ga chicken noodle salad was just the flavours I'd been craving. The others all got steaming hot bowls of pho that were slurped down happily around me too. Given we got a steal on the drinks it was all very reasonably priced for the healthy portion sizes, even after over-ordering starters to share. What topped it off for me was they even let us sit there nattering away for ages as we polished off the wine until what must've been past closing, cleaning up around us but never once making us feel like we had to hurry up and leave. Thank you!

This is a review for the newest branch in Finsbury Park. Places amidst the local middle eastern…read moreshops it's in a strange location but I'm all for it when the food is this good and is welcome addition as I love Vietnamese food. It's authentically fresh and vibrant in flavour. I shared a few fishes. The chicken wings are probably the best I've had in London. Coated wonderfully. The main soup bowls are great in size and they don't hold back on the spice which I like. A proper Vietnamese coffee is a great way to end the meal. Condensed milk is just so good in coffee.

Came to Xi'an Impressions on my first night in London on the recommendation of my friend who…read moreattends UCL. The dining space is small but packs a lot of people - this can make the space quite noisy so expect that going in. We were able to get seated and order very quickly. The food selection was fantastic with a variety of spicy, not spicy, vegetarian, and meaty dishes. We were able to order a variety of dishes including mushroom and chicken dumplings, hand pulled noodles, and smashed cucumbers. The cucumbers were in a great peanut-y sauce that wasn't expected but very welcomed. The noodles had a great ratio to its chili oil sauce and were really tender. All dishes were really affordable for the area.

As a Chinese person, this food is legit. Liang pi and bian bian noodles are spiced generously and…read moretasty. There's limited seating inside.

Amazing food, service needs some work…read more 5 minutes from Highbury and Islington Tube and overground this Vietnamese restaurant had taken a tough area to do business, where the previous two business closed, to stay afloat. There is a very good reason. The food is amazingly good and what you expect from a great Vietnamese so I would advise that they do their best to keep the chef! The reason I say this is there were some unnecessary errors on the part of the waiting staff who were sadly a bit sloppy on a Monday night. First do not give a bill to a customer who has just arrived. Second do not start eating your food when the customer is still waiting for theirs at 10pm. However I do agree that you were very diplomatic and were quick to realise that a grave error had been made and then made the necessary changes to the bill. Thank you Andy, you saved the night for us and we will be coming to sample the food again. The restaurant is the standard hipster hangout with brick walls, artistic graffiti on walls and pipes hanging out so it looks unfinished. Lighting was good and tables were well placed to make you feel that there is enough space to enjoy a quick meal in peace. Vietnamese food always makes me think of street food. It is quick, light and filled with so much flavour. Our pork spring rolls had a crunchy outer layer with a sumptuous pork filling. The vegetable pancake went perfectly with the lettuce leaves and the sweet sauce. Sadly we waited a bit too long for the mains so had to have them when I got home. The Caramelised braised pork belly (Thit Kho) was just amazing. The fat just melted in my mouth and both the meat and the fat was infused with the rich flavour of the sauce. A good restaurant for a quick meal whether you are a couple or a large group. I highly recommend it even though I hope that the service is on par on the day you visit.

Nice restaurant away from the busy London center, just outside Highbury & Inslington tube station…read more Cosy environment, nice graffiti over the walls, friendly stuff, excellent food (of course pho!) & reasonable prices. Worth a visit for a relaxed dinner or lunch!

We can't deny it anymore, people. Holloway Road is becoming a hot spot…read more The inevitable spillover from nearby Upper Street means that the Guardian-reading denizens of Islington are starting to mill around the lower section of Holloway Road a lot more than they used to. Although there are all the usual mixed feelings about gentrification, I can't say I'm not excited about the current influx of posh cafes and coffee shops just outside my door. EZ & Moss is a delightful new addition, serving up vegetarian & vegan fare (fantastic brunch!), great coffee and wonderful baked goods in an atmosphere that isn't "too" hipster - nowhere near the level of extreme hipster you'd find a few miles east. (Part of the reason I love Islington -- cool, but not too cool). The *only* reason it loses a star is because of the lack of meat on the menu -- I'm an unapologetic carnivore who is partial to a bit of bacon with my weekend brunch. Islingtonites, check this new spot out! PS - Unlike nearby Vagabond N7, these guys take card payment, hurrah!

I love this cafe. The southern end of Holloway Road has some real eating gems and this is one of…read morethem. I've stopped for lunch a few times and sampled very good quiche, an excellent falafel platter with shredded beetroot inside and today's lunch special: a quesadilla with guacamole, salsa and a poached egg. Mmm. The coffee is good, staff are super efficient and friendly and food comes quickly and is made with care and attention. Prices are reasonable. The cafe is compact, clean and airy so top scores all round. Oh and it's vegetarian and vegan.

El Rincon Quiteño is a charming, family-run Ecuadorian cafe with wonderful service and tasty…read moreauthentic cuisine. I got the salteña and the pork knuckle soup, which were both delish. The server ran the place and was extremely friendly and welcoming--even offering me a traditional drink (though I didn't love it TBH...). The decor is stylish, but the prices are remarkably affordable. Overall a fun place to eat.

Authentic, personable service and cheap food, oh this is my kind of place. The sweet cosy cafe that…read moreis El Rincon Quiteno has been a stalwart on Holloway Road for over a decade. The reason they have been around so long, is because they are fantastic. They have a mixed selection of cultural foods from England, Spain, Portugal, Italy and South America. You can mix and match the items in your meal so you can have exactly what you want. Best of all the prices are so reasonable. I paid £4 for a full English breakfast. That is good business in my book. Love this place.

Went with some friends to OA ComTam after a badminton sesh and ordered the following:…read more - Grilled Beef Bun If I could give this three and a half stars I would, it does the job but just lacks a bit of star quality overall. With that said, the beef is very impressive coming wrapped in betel leaves with just the right amount of chew and a well judged sweetness to cap off its aesthetic qualities. The rest of the bowl is slightly underwhelming though with the noodles the main culprit. It feels like if some of the basics were covered, they would have been fine but they were cooked a touch too long to rob them of that pleasing mild crunch you often get with these dishes and they came mildly warm as well. Eating them cold would have hit the spot for this particular customer. It is nitpicking on my part but I just feel these two minor adjustments would have elevated the meal. Three stars sounds harsher than is meant and I would actually go back after another couple of hours chasing a shuttlecock around a court. A decent bite to eat with a strong Vietnamese coffee near the station; perfect recovery routine.

Good Vietnamese food! Fresh ingredients and nice staff…read more Its quite rare to find banh khot in Vietnamese restaurants so I had to tried them. They could ve done with a few seconds morw cooking but they were very tasty and the mix chicken and prawn was very good I recommend this. I had the bun (rice vermicelli and not the Chinese bun style) with char-grilled goat and it was very tasty. I would definitely comeback if Im in the area

Very good restaurant, delicious and great environment. Service was excellent and servers were kind…read moreand fast.

although the food is good it's usually noisy and when I ordered a delivery even though I'm 1.9…read moremiles away which qualifies me for free delivery the driver goes the long way wich is over 2 miles so they say I ordered the food I wanted and got charged for delivery when I was about to eat one of the dishes was wrong so I rang them they sent the right dish and char me for delivery again so I had to pay twice for the mistake that they made so because of that I will not order food from them again and very rarely will go to eat at the restaurant considering the prices they charge they have lost a customer sometimes it was 6 of us going there to eat as everyone knows there are plenty of good chinese restaurants serving good food

A pretty basic, but excellent value, local Vietnamese cafe, and the locals know it, so be warned,…read moreyou may have to wait for a table at peak times, and if you arrive late in the evening, they may have run out of some of the most popular dishes! I'd especially recommend the delicious and healthy crunchy fresh salads, soft shell crab and bun hui (spicy noodle soup), although in my experience the standard pho can be of a slightly variable quality. Another thing that can disappoint slightly is the often pretty cheerless service, however, this is still my favourite Crouch End cheap eat.

Love the soups, summer rolls and shaking beef! Cheap too. :))…read moreGood service.

Recommended as a good option for dinner while in town…read more Stopped by to add our name to the waiting list as we were told it would be an hour wait (actually 90 minutes). Waited at a pub across the street as suggested. We checked back a number of times and felt others were called in before us. We finally got in at 9:30pm and escorted to the bottom section of the restaurant, small but happy to be sitting down. Vibe was quiet but not bad, just not the same as upstairs. Our wait staff advised us that it would be 20-30 minutes add'l for any Sushi or Sashimi, which is what this restaurant is known for as well as Korean? ? ? OK, so we wait since we're highly invested now, we finally get very simple items: edamame (lacking rock salt), a roll, a few sashimi and soft shell crab. The food was simply "just" OK but not worth 115 minutes of my life. All of the sudden @10:15 on Friday night, the wait staff drops the ticket on our table. We are not finished, called her over and asked why we have the bill. She says it's time to close & the Sushi chef turns off the works light. We call the manager (who has a very uncaring attitude) and ask what's going on AS we just sat down? He says that it was last call and we said we were not made aware of this. He reluctantly said OK & another staff member with even more attitude literally says nothing and drops the food on the table with no thank you, no enjoy your entree or did she bring any sauces. I try to avoid negative postings like this but I'm unsure how to improve this. The facts are the facts!!! The staff needs some classes in "customer care". These guys clearly have more business then they know what to do with. I will take my hard earned money to one of many other similar restaurants in the area,

I seeked this place out because of its great yelp reviews and it also gave me an excuse to invite…read moremy friend along who lives around the area. When we first arrived, the small little restaurant was packed, and they kindly let me know it'd be about a 20 minute wait so we decided to go grab a drink elsewhere and come back. With Korean and Japanese on the menu, I went with ordering a Shrimp Tempura Crunch roll, Bulgogi Bibimbap, Dakbulgogi, and Jap Chae. The crunch roll was very good, and the great thing was that it tasted very fresh, which is always a plus. The Jap Chae was okay, not exactly sure what was off about it but it needed a little something. The bibimbap was very tasty, however, Bibimbap in Soho beats them on this one in my opinion. The Dakbulgogi was delicious. Succulent chicken drenched in spicy sauce, I love it. We also ended the dinner on a good note by getting some green tea ice cream. Overall, a lovely place with very good food. A bit out of my way, but if I'm ever craving some Korean, Dotori is a nice spot to go to.