Every successful food pop-up likes to graduate to become a fully-fledged restaurant and the team behind Dead Dolls House has successfully achieved that dream. They use to be a pop-up in Hoxton Square, Dalston but having done incredibly well; they’ve managed to secure a permanent home in a gorgeous building in Islington.
This three storey Victorian mansion is a must-visit if you are ever in the Upper Street area. It is divided into the Parlour bar on the ground floor and then other rooms above including The Drawing Room, The Ballroom and The Library. I would highly recommend requesting a tour of all the floors if they have the staff to show you around. The hand-illustrated wall is undoubtedly captivating from grandfather clocks to bookcases. They have DJs playing until 4 am during the weekends.
Food is of the relaxed, casual variety but meticulously prepared and thought-out. Forget about your waistline here, you need to go for the dirty, flavour-soaked options which are their specialty. Bad boy sweet chicken wings have an outstandingly crispy skin and so many spices packed in, that if it was made by Colonel Sanders, surely he would be getting a promotion right away.
The dirty angel burger is one of their best sellers and it’s not hard to understand why. The patty is juicy and tender and paired with divine bone marrow butter, smoked cheese and pancetta. Yes, you can’t eat this daily, but this is one of the best comfort food treats you can reward yourself. With a large bowl of crispy thin chips, this isn’t one of those restaurants where you will walk away hungry. They do offer chocolate brownie and treacle tart for desserts, but unfortunately, I was defeated by the starter and main course and wasn’t able to fit them in.
Cocktails are the top beverage options here from quirky options like Nordic fizz which uses aquavit, lemon, egg white and soda to rum punches like the dead rum punch, which has a mixture of fruits like apple, mango, lemon and passionfruit along with “lots of rum” which is a direct quote from their menu.
They serve a fantastic weekend brunch menu which is hugely popular with the Islingtonites along with bottomless Bloody Marys and Mimosas. They are part of the East Born Project, which also holds large scale private events in all kinds of stunning locations throughout London.
baldwin@townfish.com