On a cold wet Sunday evening we found ourselves walking the dog around the back streets of Islington, looking for somewhere to get a nice dinner and a couple of drinks. We have walked past Halliford House * since it had been under development and then it opened in March, we kept threatening to go in.
So on this night we took the plunge.
The previously named Oxford arms, closed in 2007 and since then has sat mostly empty, a conversion to luxury flats seemed to falter and then at the start of 2017 work seemed to start back up again to turn it back into a pub.
Then around March 2017, it finally opened its doors, this time around known as ‘Halliford House’ It looked well decorated but seemed mostly early suppers for families. After 9pm it seems to empty out and become almost dead in there.
Finding ourselves in need of food and a drink, we looked about trying to find somewhere that was serving food after 8pm (There’s not that many) Though it seemed almost completely empty (one couple sat in the corner) we figured we would give it a try.
We were welcomed by all of the staff and in perusing the menu realized that we didn’t have a lot of choices due to allergies and a lack of vegetarian options. The chefs were more than happy to adapt the menu and offered a few options to suit our needs.
Ash ordered the Grilled Octopus with potato.
Bob ordered the Gnocchi with mozzarella (partially because there was literally no other option)
Along with a couple of pints of stout (again there was not a lot of choice) unless you wanted lager, they admitted that they are having trouble with deliveries currently.
So what did we think?
Ash: There was a long wait for both food and drink and when it came up, the food was reaaalllyyyy small! Two pieces of octopus and a small baked potato that had been mashed/chopped. The octopus tasted burnt, like it had been left on a barbeque for long and the potato was okaayy but it was literally two mouthfuls. Honestly the best part was the stout, but it was not worth the 29.00 for the food and the 12 pound for the drink!
Bob: I know I have some allergies and I know it’s harder finding good food for vegetarians but there should be some options other than pasta! I am not a big fan of Gnocchi and I’m allergic to aubergine but they were my only options. I ended up having the Gnocchi, which wasn’t that great (again I’m not a big fan of gnocchi) The sauce was peculiar though, there was a mixture of Mozzarella and vegetarian Parmesan which when together made the sauce taste rather sickly and overpowering. Also sneakily they add a 13% Service charge to the bill. I don’t think the food was worth that amount of money, sure the service was good but as a whole it all wasn’t worth the trip.
Overall we might go back for a Beer at some point but we certainly won’t be making it our local or going food anytime soon.
* I would say check out the website for more information and the menu but there doesn’t seem to be anything on there at all.
Climbing Moss 