The atmosphere – couple of other people in the cafe. Lots of tables tables, no comfy chairs which was a nice change to the generic coffee shop! There was a screen on the wall (could be useful for the early kick offs at the next World Cup in Qatar) which thankfully had a paused YouTube channel. There were lots of interesting pictures on the wall of what looked like the Italian seaside.

The service – quick and friendly.

The food – we hadn’t realised how extensive the menu was. Had everything from English breakfast to multiple types of vodka and whiskey! We just popped in for a coffee, hot chocolate and croissant. All of which were excellent. Will have to come back for food.

Value for money – I think best priced coffee on the street – very reasonable £7.

This is a welcome new comer to Stroud Green Road, and always seems to be packed out. In my memory this spot has previously been ice cream shop, deli, pizza cafe. Thankfully I think Volume is here to stay.

The atmosphere – chilled Friday night vibe. All the tables were taken and place was buzzy. Though not too noisy to have a conversation. Volume is meant to be for music lovers, however the music wasn’t very noticeable, the walls could have had more of a nod to the musical theme of the bar.

The food – well actually let’s start with the drink. The gin and tonic and aperol spritz were delicious; Generous glasses and tasty drinks. The sparking water by comparison was a little on the small side. Note those aren’t real size chess pieces!

The food was lovely – well presented and again generous portions. We just felt this fell shorty of excellent quality. Some pieces were really tasty and others could have done with an upgrade. There also could have been a bit more salad or pickles. This is being picky as the food was lovely and all eaten.

The service – started well. Quickly given menus and order taken. However there was only one person serving and they were run off their feet. Which meant it took a little while to get the bill. Teething problems I am sure. Which they will sort out when they realise how popular this place is!

Value for money – sharing platter and 3 alcoholic drinks for £50. (Thankfully we were not charged for the thimble of sparkling water.) Not the cheapest and on the edge of being good value…

What is not to look forward to when a menu is chalked on the bricks of a wall! The Arch cafe is located with a clear view of the bus station. Which is great if you want to impersonate the Inbetweeners by shouting at bus passengers!

The service – Very welcoming. We had not been before but we were treated like family. Even though we ordered a takeaway the owner told us to enjoy the beautiful weather and sit outside while our wraps were being prepared.

The atmosphere – a steady stream of visitors ordering coffee, wraps and ice cream. It was also a great spot for watching people desperately trying to make their bus!

The food. Really good and super filling! We both ordered chicken wraps, which came with loads of salad. Compared to the food on offer at Costa or Pret, this was a different league!

Even though our food was very substantial it still did not feel overly heavy and the wrap had all of the structural integrity of Finsbury Park railway bridge!

Value for money – £3 each felt very fair and definitely the place to stop when looking for food before getting on the train at Finsbury Park.

Quantity + Quality + service + cheap food = a great lunch on the go!

This one has always been intriguing. As you can see the “granny” cooking out the back.

The service – calm, laid back but efficient.

The atmosphere – great. While waiting for the food we saw England get two wickets against Australia in the Ashes. Fascinating collection of food on the counter. Wished we had got some banana loaf. Will have to go back!

The food – the flavour of the jerk chicken was excellent. Fully marinated through to the bone. Bones – there was lots of them. Although we ordered the large jerk chicken we didn’t feel there was much chicken.

The plantain was hit and miss. A couple of excellent pieces and others that resembled our own home attempt to make fried plantain. Finally, the goats curry was over powered by salt And yet more bones.

Value for money – £17.60 – felt quite a lot for the amount and quality of food that we got.

After a very disappointing first Chinese takeout we had low expectations for this one and were pleasantly surprised.

The service – efficient and fast.

The atmosphere – random. We popped in to pick up a Chinese takeout on the way home. Seems that most people get takeout as the area behind counter full of take out bags and a motorcycle parked inside!

The food – excellent. The starters especially. The prawn toast and spring rolls were tasty and not greasy at all. The bbq pork on rice was delicious. Hint of spicyness in the sauce. The chicken chow main again was not amazing. Not greasy but could probably have done with a bit more sauce. Didn’t match everything else.

Value for money – £17 felt good value. Been back since for the pork and rice which is good for a cheap dinner at £4.70.

The atmosphere – excellent. Chilled and buzzy vibe for a Wednesday night. Sat outside for a drink and then moved in to one of the booths for food.

The service – Very good. The barman offered advice on drinks and food. Staff built a good rapport with regulars, hipsters and first timers alike!

The food – disappointing. Always happy to try something new and was intrigued by the vegan burgers. We were conflicted, Jo is not sure about vegan food pretending to be meat and “normal” would rather just have a good vegan dish. Jon thinks that the quality of the ingredients could have been better. We both agreed however that significant improvement was needed in the chips. That said the “pulled pork” was tasty and nice pickles. The bun was a bit hard at the corners.

Value for money – 4 beers and two burgers was £30. Though watch out for the £10 beers!

Will return for the beers but not for the food at the moment.

This is one that we have been meaning to come to ever since we moved here. Notoriously hard to get into. No bookings. Turn up and see if there is a table available. We went early on a wet Friday evening – pre going to a show at the Park Theatre.

The service – prompt and no frills. I think the waitress had to come back 4 times before we figured out what we wanted on the massive menu! No time to take pictures of empty plates before they disappeared.

The atmosphere – packed. Even at 5:30. Not somewhere that you would sit around for the evening but warm and welcoming.

The food. Fantastic. We had a combination of food from the Korean and Japanese menus – with some sushi on the side! We did have a bit of a problem fitting on the table.

The Korea. beef stew was hot and moreish, sushi melt in the mouth and chicken teriyaki lovely. We also had a Korean pancake that was super tasty.

Value for money – not cheap but for too much food and a beer each £44 seemed reasonable.

The problem with all this delicious food is that it makes you realise how rubbish the handy versions are – itsu / wasabi / Wagamama.

A wet and windy Wednesday evening meant that it was perfect for a takeaway pizza from ‘London’s only authentic wood fired pizza’ (according to their website)

The service – an art in multi-tasking. The chef was tossing fresh pizza dough, cooking pizza’s in the wood fired oven, taking orders and directing delivery drivers!

The atmosphere – came in to collect the pizza and there were no other customers eating inside, but plenty of takeaway delivery drivers collecting orders. The pizza oven definitely made it look cosy.

The food – Excellent pizza! Not greasy, freshly made, with good quality ingredients.

Value for money – £12 with a much deserved tip for the hard working chef was excellent value for a top takeaway pizza.

The pizza was so good that it rivals the great Pappagones

So having not been able to go to Seasons for Jon’s birthday we went to Patek instead. And we weren’t disappointed

The service – peculiar. I think we kept asking the wrong person for the wrong things. Definitely a family run affair where everyone has their role.

The atmosphere – we were there early on a Tuesday night and the atmosphere was nice. Not noticeably quiet or noisy.

The food – Delicious selection of starters humous, aubergine dip, spicy sausage and borek. With tasty Turkish bread. Though the aubergine was more tahini then aubergine. There was four of us before you think we have gone mad and ordered a ton of food! (Though we do do that sometimes.)

The mains were great too. Quality over quantity of meat which definitely pays off. Lamb shish was tender and tasty, chicken shish the same. Jo’s parents shared the lamb cutlets. Which looked good too. Once they sorted out if they needed an extra plate or not!

Just in case we hadn’t eaten enough we had Baklava and fresh mint tea to finish of the meal.

Value for money – for us was great as this was a birthday meal out/present. So we don’t know how much it cost.

No this isn’t a Sheffield Wednesday supporters bar in N4, but a top Turkish cafe!

The service – What you expect, also good at clearing tables outside to deter any brave pigeons!

The atmosphere – continental cafe culture. Most of the other customers were outside as well watching the world go by. On the table next to us included a mysterious character that spent his time at the Blue Owl drinking Turkish coffee, chain smoking and making business deals!

The food – Immense chorizo hash and best working from home lunch yet! It combined the best of flavours with giant portions – always a winning combination through the ages! Milkshake and orange juice.

Value for money – £22.50 seemed good value for bread, two giant and excellent lunches with drinks.