North London’s Islington covers a large square footage containing countless cultural landmarks and diverse communities of Londoners. This makes the bustling borough an epicentre of arts, culture, and most importantly, really good food.
Whether you’re in town for business, pleasure, or a delectable medley of the two, Islington has plenty of unique and delicious cuisines to try from Angel to Clerkenwell. But in this central part of town, every hour is rush hour — so if you don’t fancy stepping out to find a restaurant, you’ll need to enquire with one of its excellent takeaways.
And that’s where we can help. These are our picks of the five best takeaways in Islington.
Best Italian Takeaways
Pasta Evangelists
Our Pasta Academy in Farringdon is based just within Islington’s boundaries and we also deliver artisanal pasta dishes straight from our kitchen to postcodes across the borough. If you’re looking for fresh, restaurant-quality pasta this side of the river, look no further.
Make your nonna proud and start with a buttery serving of nocellara olives, then graduate to the main event with a choice of slow-cooked ragù, fresh pesto and ricotta ravioli, or any one of our authentic oven pasta dishes, only ever a 15-minute delivery away.
Or, if you’re looking to upgrade your home cooking experience, we also deliver our bespoke pasta recipe kits in and around Islington with next-day delivery. In each of these handy kits, you’ll find the full works you need to prepare an authentic Italian dinner.
Think freshly made pasta, glorious sauces, and any of our delicious curated accompaniments to top it all off. This isn’t your standard midweek meal.
Oi Vita Pizzeria
Full disclosure, we think pasta is the premier Italian food — but we do have a soft spot for our doughier counterpart too. The pizza lovers in North London flock to the Oi Vita Pizzeria for their filling of deliciously melty pizza.
Oi Vita prides itself on best-in-class ingredients, with flour selected from sustainable sources and only the freshest tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. The famed pizzeria has earned its stripes and its loyal following — and it’s time you saw what all the fuss is about.
Best Vegan Takeaways
Tofu Vegan
The best vegan takeaways are in Islington. There, we said it. Tofu Vegan leads the pack, with its delectable blend of plant-based staples and tasty Chinese classics.
This charming little N1 eatery boasts over 1,000 reviews on Google, with an impressive average star rating of 4.7. Its menu tells of an extensive repertoire of authentic Chinese dishes, cleverly designed to imitate the tastes and textures of meat. Across an eclectic spread, Tofu Vegan delivers an exceptional flavour experience. Try street snacks like Dongebi sweet potato noodles, gong bao tofu, and sour-and-hot veg rolls.
Jam Delish
You can’t go wrong with authentic Caribbean food — but Jam Delish goes one step further and gets it oh-so-right. This hidden gem offers a unique combination of Caribbean cuisine delivered with a vegan twist. The bounty of rich flavours will impress your plant-based pals and meat-eating friends alike — and it’s all delivered right to your doorstep.
Jam Delish offers a tasty blend of soul food and lighter bites. Try out big plates like jerk chicken skewers, curry goat, callaloo and codfish, and oxtail stew alongside sides like mango slaw and tasty saltfish tostones.
Best Indian Takeaway
Sitara
Sitara is an upmarket Punjabi restaurant just a stone’s throw from Archway station, and if you’re looking for fine dining from the comfort of your living room, you’ll find it here. This ‘Indian jazz restaurant’ serves up an exciting menu of Indian takeaway classics cooked to perfection.
At the time of writing, Sitara has earned itself a place in TripAdvisor’s top 10 London restaurants — against stiff competition from some 15,000 others. Dip into tandoori, seafood, biryani, lamb and chicken menus, try out a veggie dish, or one of the many ‘specialities of the Sitara’. Karahi chicken take your fancy? King prawn masala? How about a mixed grill? We’ll take one of each, please.
