newington green

Newington Green is a medieval public space dating back some 300 years. Now, after years of neglect, it is at last coming to life again. Tree and shrub pruning by Islington Council has opened up the space so that one now has a good view of the historical buildings that line the square. But more important are the plans – after two years of consultations, the Newington Green Project has been given the go-ahead and the regeneration of the area will begin this November. The plans include a playground, a pergola, a café and even tree illumination, while reducing the traffic lanes round The Green will mean an end to ugly domination by traffic. Sounds too good to be true, but let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, new cafes, bars and restaurants are beginning to appear. The most sophisticated of the new arrivals is undoubtedly Cava Bar situated on the north side of the Green on what was once a derelict British Telecom site. Described by Time Out as ‘more Sydney than Stokey’, this restaurant and bar occupies the curved, street-level space in an award-winning apartment block known locally as The Lighthouse. Whether sitting outside under canvas parasols surrounded by rustling bamboo, or relaxing in the cool bar, one does begin to feel that things are looking up in the area.

Cava Bar was opened in 2002 as the first venture of Ian Frost, a baker and pastry confectioner, and his partner Roberto Cioccari. Many of their wide selection of Cavas, the Spanish sparkling wine, are sold by the glass and at least 20 Cava-based cocktails are on offer. The cuisine is modern British and Mediterranean with a strong French accent, offering dishes such as lobster, bouillabaisse, Scottish salmon fishcakes and fillet mignon à la carte, or set menus at £11.95 and £13.95. A house speciality is sausages and mash made with pork from the Wessex Saddleback pigs on Ian’s brother’s Suffolk farm. Drop in for the happy hour 4pm-7pm, for live jazz every Thursday 8pm-11pm, for breakfast at the weekends or for a Sunday roast. Open Mon to Wed 4pm–11.30pm, Thur 4pm-midnight, Fri 12pm- midnight, Sat 10am - midnight, Sun 10am -11.30pm.

In contrast, Fifty Six looks out onto The Green from the west side, its bright red-painted timber frontage providing a splash of local colour. This restaurant opened four years ago, providing European cuisine à la carte – try the smoked salmon muffins, Malvern Pork with mushroom sauce or blackcurrant crêpes - and there is a wide selection of ‘specials of the day’ with fresh fish, Scottish sirloin and vegetarian dishes always on the menu. A traditional Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding is very popular at only £6.90 and the food is complemented by carefully selected wines. Open Mon to Fri 5.30pm-11.30pm, Sat and Sun 12.00-11.30pm.

Travellers on the infamous 73 bus could not have failed to notice A Higher Taste, the bakery adjacent to the bus stop on The Green. Hüseyin Akpinar’s Turkish vegetarian patisserie has been a feature there for at least fifteen years and it is well worth interrupting your journey to pick up some of the freshly made specialities: take-away salads such as imam bayildi (stuffed aubergines), gozleme börek (large folded pancakes) or deliciously addictive olive and cheese breads, not to mention the wide assortment of little cakes (kuru pasta). All the breads and pastries are baked daily on the premises by three cooks working through the night. Antepliler Baklava Salonlari, the local ‘baklava saloon’, with its window decorated with ice-cream cones and ears of corn, has been offering delicious sweet pastries for eleven years. Take away or sit and enjoy Costa coffee, ice-cream and a wide selection of baklavas such as pistachio burma, kodayif, or cheese börek, which are shipped down Green Lanes from the main branch. The owner, Ahmet Ustunsurmeli, prides himself on the quality of his baklavas, pointing out that ‘We may be one of the smallest shops on Newington Green, but we have customers throughout Europe and even in the USA.’

A Higher Taste, 47 Newington Green, N16 9PX 020 7359 2338
Antepliler Baklava Salonari, 33A Green Lanes, N16 9BS 020 7226 9409
Cava Bar, 11 Albion Road, N16 9PS 020 7923 9227 www.cavabar.com
Fifty Six, 56 Newington Green, N16 9PX 020 7359 6377

(One of the newest and most attractive arrivals on The Green is the Belle Epoque Patisserie, a French café, bakery and patisserie opened by Eric and Hülya Rousseau on the north side of Newington Green. It will be covered in depth in N16 Christmas issue. Sariyer Balik, the little family-run fish restaurant a few minutes walk from The Green, winner of the Time Out Best Turkish Restaurant 2002 Award, was reviewed by N16 in issue 15)