Sardine – Old Street, London

Sardine is a French restaurant, tucked away in a little street of that no-man land between Angel and Old Street. Sadly, the easy way to spot the street are a petrol station and a McDonald’s; thankfully, the food at Sardine is much better!

At the entrance there is a small bar with a few seating options available and then there is the relatively large, main dining room with a huge open kitchen. Unfortunately, they only put a couple of stools in front of the open kitchen, which is a pity as it is always a great experience. The dining room is basic, airy, there is a large wall-painting which I am still trying to interpret now.

On a Saturday night, the restaurant was relatively full yet it was easy to have a conversation without shouting. There was a good vibe, the crowd was mostly in their 30s.

The food was good but I cannot say outstanding: The salt cod brandade toast was nice, rich, definitely salty, of a good size. The toast was crispy enough, the cod was made into a very smooth texture; a bit too much oil for my taste but nice.

I then went for hake, saffron & tomato stew, potatoes & rouille as a main. It was nice but the cod was better. First, the saffron was (maybe?, as I could not taste it much) in a mayonnaise put on top of the hake fillet; I personally don’t like when chefs put mayonnaise (or any other rich sauce) in a dish that has broth / stew with it. The cockles were fresh and plump, the hake moist and flaky, the broth light but I felt the dish was missing a kick. Overall, still well executed

The young staff was super nice and friendly

The cod came at £4 and the hake at £17.5 which were reasonable prices.

Acoustics
Banqueting
Courtesy
Décor

Sardine
15 Micawber St, N1 7TB London
sardine.london