The Best Clerkenwell Restaurants

We’ve added two Clerkenwell gastropub dining rooms serving on themoney restaurant food: The Coach is home to seasoned chef Henry Harris and his gutsy bourgeois French cuisine, while The Green (from the folks behind The Culpeper in Aldgate) turns heads with its fad free seasonal grub. Elsewhere, hipster hangout Ask for Janice also does some very decent food, while ‘Britalian’ cooking is the deal at Luca (a casual restaurant and pasta joint from the Clove Club team).
Upping the foodie ante even further, Anglo is for gastro pilgrims seeking experimental, envelope pushing thrills. Catering to the tastes of trendy office workers, late night ravers and residents nearby, this uber trendy part of London has it all. Whether you’re looking for a lovely brunch spot, a gussied up boozer or an old school French dining room, there are loads of classic and contemporary eateries worthy of a visit. Let’s exploce The Best Clerkenwell Restaurants below.

The Best Clerkenwell Restaurants

Anglo

I hate the word ‘foodie’. It makes me feel like I’ve accidentally used the wrong kind of washing powder: faintly itchy. But sometimes, naff though it is, it’s necessary. Here, in a small Clerkenwell dining room, the boundaries of what, lest we forget, is ultimately a form of fuel for your body are pushed into the arena of high culture. Of culinary artistry. Anglo is a restaurant for ‘foodies’. At dinner, there’s only a tasting menu (it’s à la carte at lunch), billed as ‘intros’ plus seven courses. Make that three intros, plus bread (with yeast butter, obvs) then a further seven courses. That’s eleven courses for £45, which is pretty decent. Amazingly, you won’t finish feeling like Mr Creosote at the end (google it, kids).
That’s because even the progression of plates is all a part of the masterplan: to deliver up a careful, masterful composition. This is not a meal, it’s a symphony. It’s Beethoven’s Ninth. One elegant dish saw a sous vide piece of cod cooked to just the right side of translucent, topped with a delicately briny blob of roe and tendrils of sea fennel, then served with a golden cube of not just potato, but sublime smoked potato. Around it, a single circular swirl of black as the night, sticky squid ink reduction was painted onto the plate. Later, there was Hebridean mutton served three ways, accompanied by a small heap of black olives brunoise (as in, cut into teeny tiny, absurdly pretty little cubes) and half a roasted apricot, itself under a tumble of Liliputian petals.

Breddos Tacos

Space wise, Breddos Tacos’ spanking new Clerkenwell hub may only be a slight upgrade from their former home at Dinerama, but the teensy spot still marks a helluva leap from those market origins. Potted succulents, bold prints and a wall of disco records colour up the busy room, with informal, communal seating options to suit what is still ostensibly street food. A wood grill adds further intrigue. We shared smoky ribeye beef, pink medallions splayed across two tortillas, served with shiitake mushrooms and a tangy IPA salsa mild and earthy flavours in place of your usual chilli and lime.
The standout was a pulpo topped tostada, the crunch of the tortilla clashing beautifully with slippery chunks of octopus, punchy Sichuan flavours balancing with rich bone marrow and acidic black vinegar. Yup, these guys are tearing up the cookbook. Breddos is still getting up to speed (quite literally when it comes to the music, with long silences between tunes), and some of the staff lacked a grasp of the menu’s fundamentals. But holy guacamole, are they shaking up an already healthy taco scene. Never mind Mexican, this is cross continental food geekery.

Lino

Chef Richard Falk’s CV lists stints at some of London’s best loved restaurants, including Clapham’s The Dairy, where he was head chef, and Michelin starred The Ledbury in Notting Hill. Now he’s opened his first solo joint, around the corner from St Paul’s Cathedral. The location is a bit off the beaten track (we got lost trying to find it), on a quiet street away from the Square Mile suits and tourists. When it comes to the space, the clue is in the name: the restaurant has revamped what was once a linoleum and carpet factory. This is once of The Best Clerkenwell Restaurants.
Plenty of exposed brick and super high ceilings give it a stripped-back, industrial feel. You’re drawn to the bar (never a bad thing), a huge island sitting plumb in the middle of the restaurant. Low slung velvet sofas are arranged around marble tables, and smaller tables for two and four set near the sweeping staircase. The kitchen is open, but not at the centre: if you wanted to watch your chef cook your meal, you could, but it’s not prescribed.