RESTAURANT REVIEW: Oldroyd

Cornish seawood and cider salami

Smoked pork belly and pea croquettas

Mazzancolle prawn

Courgette fries

Cornish crab tagliarini

Confit swordfish

I feel it's a little redundant writing about Olyroyd as it was so long ago that I visited but I've had these photos sitting around in my saved folder for ages so it seems a shame to just disregard them completely. Note to self: write up restaurant reviews within a week next time.

Tom Oldroyd was one of the brains behind Polpo but now he's opened up his own restaurant slap bang in the middle of Upper Street, Angel. There's definitely a distinct Polpo vibe to the place, a sharing plates, Mediterranean style menu in a causal but refined setting but I'm not complaining because I adore Polpo. The menu is seasonable so I doubt anything I ate will be present at the minute but that doesn't really matter because well thought out, simple dishes with excellent ingredients will carry through from season to season.

We popped in for a very early dinner one Monday which is why the place looks so empty but by the time we were leaving every table was full. The restaurant is pretty small with a few tables around the bar downstairs and a slightly bigger space on the first floor. We had our pick of tables so sat in the covetable corner spot to survey the rest of the space.

We started with the seaweed and cider salami which didn't really taste like either seaweed or cider but I enjoyed it regardless. I didn't realise the dish was going to come with cornichons, I'm not a fan to be honest.

Next up were the pork belly and pea croquettas which were wonderful - deep fried fluffy parcels with a bright green interior and an earthy truffle mayonnaise on the side.

We probably should have ordered a mazzancolle prawn each but they're actually pretty big and meaty so you can just about share one.

I remember loving the courgette fries, crispy and not at all soggy which is quite often the case with these sort of chips. I love how wild they look in the bowl.

I was taken aback by the size of the crab tagliarini, it was huge. Essentially a massive pile of spaghetti tossed with shellfish with a tasty olive oil based sauce this was the probably the simplest dish we had but it was still enjoyable.

The confit swordfish was definitely a stand out plate. This was a big portion of food and the fish was incredibly meaty yet soft and succulent, the sign of a well cooked dish. Packed full of flavour from the herbs and bean salad this was delicious.

Oldroyd is great and I'm definitely keen to return again. With an ever changing menu and a fantastic set lunch option this is a fantastic North London destination that I'm sure will continue serving wonderful, simple yet talented dishes for a long time.

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