Medcalf – Please Move To My Street

A delightful restaurant in Islington serving modern British food at fair prices, Medcalf is a seductive sort of place that draws you in as you go through your meal, until you leave thinking yeah, lunch, I really need to do this more often, like actually sitting down and eating lunch with a knife and fork. Maybe even a bit of pud. So why isn’t there more talk about it?

Never having worked in the restaurant trade I’m not sure how these things work, but I can’t help thinking that this place suffers from its location, and specifically its proximity to the mighty Moro, the undisputed Daddy (or should that be Mummy & Daddy) of Exmouth Market dining, and the equally charming Morito. If this restaurant was in, say, Hornsey Road or Tufnell Park, I dare say you would never hear the end of people talking about it. Witness the paroxysms of rapture (mixed metaphors? Whatevs) with which local foodies greeted the arrival of, say, Season Kitchen on Stroud Green Road and Trullo on St Pauls’ Road. Both of those are very good restaurants, but they benefit in reputation and general noise-level from being oases in the middle of relative culinary deserts.

In years to come we may well  look back and laugh or sneer at the whole “small plates” thing as a hilarious and outdated fad of our current era, and in fact there may be advanced, in-the-know foodies out there who have already started the backlash. But I have to say I dig it. I really dig it. I hope it’s here to stay. One of the first things I want in a restaurant is an appetising menu. Any time I find myself in a decent restaurant, I usually want everything on the menu, in fact that’s often one of the measures of what I consider a good restaurant. So to be able to order everything on the menu that takes my fancy is really just the ticket. This place has a kind of British take on the small-plates thing, less out-there and St John-ish than St John Bread & Wine, perhaps more Simon Hopkinson-y in tone if they will forgive me that comparison, which is intended as a compliment. There are a few larger 'mains' on the menu as well.

Those like me who are applauding the wresting of the brewing industry back from the corporate clutches of those who destroyed it (a fancy way of saying “people who like drinking nice beer”) are always cheered to see a decent beer range on offer, and Medcalf has a nicely balanced drinks menu with good wine and beer selections. The inclusion of real ale seems particularly appropriate given the British, hearty style of the food. A Kernel Porter was a perfect match for a plate of oysters on my last visit.

This is a great spot for a spot of lunch. Or dinner. The people involved may be happy to continue to quietly do their thing with skill and style. But I wish they’d move to my street.

Medcalf
40 Exmouth Market
London EC1R 4QE