Only a couple of months into 2016 and Galley, which has just opened on Upper Street in Islington, might just be an early contender for one of our favourites of the year. It’s been opened by siblings Marcel Grzyb, who was previously Head Chef at Soho seafood restaurant Randall & Aubin, and Oriona Robb, a professional stylist. Galley is a perfect neighbourhood spot and the design is lovely with a mix of vintage fixtures and handpicked artworks that create the feeling that’s its already been open for a while. Even though its only been there a couple of weeks, word is clearly spreading quickly as it was buzzing on the Friday night we popped in.
The menu is mainly fish but there are meat options too and it’s pretty hard deciding what to have. We started with beautiful tempura oysters, scallops with carrot and cardamom puree, and tuna tartare with avocado and wasabi nori crisps. From there it was two perfectly cooked fillets of sea bass served with gnocchi and a Moroccan-inspired hake with chickpeas, chorizo and tomatoes – though this could have definitely done with a bit more chorizo.
Save room for desserts too. The white chocolate pannacotta with honeycomb was great but even better was the incredible salted caramel tart with green tea ice cream.
105 – 106 Upper Street, N1 1QN
www.galleylondon.co.uk