Oldroyd Restaurant Upper Street London

Together with chef Tom Oldroyd and his bride Meryl Fernandes we turned a run down sandwich shop into Angel’s most buzzing restaurant. Driven by a tight budget and the need to maximise the number of couverts over 2 floors we kept the design to a minimum, optimised the seating plan and empowered operations with a machine-like kitchen and bar. The fully open kitchen and bar on the ground floor offer a peek into Oldroyd’s craft. The sight of a hard working team in a tiny space puts a smile on all entering guests and raises expectations for the treats ahead.

The ground floor offers the possibility to dine at the bar, along the window and a few tables in between. The main dining room is up the stairs on the first floor where we maximised seating and space by a bespoke bench with hidden storage all along the 3 walls of the dining room. Even turning the window into a fabulous place to have a bite. A lush grey velvet upholstery combined with Farrow & Ball’s Stiffkey Blue and the new brushed brass IC wall lights by Flos give this dining room a rich and welcoming feeling. To further enhance the intimacy of the room we sourced an antique rosewood cupboard with a marble top and turned it into a dumb waiter, found a suite of vintage 50’s dining chairs and made sure red wine is in constant sight.

Finally to ascertain Oldroyd Restaurant stands out from the crowd along Islington Green, we painted the entire facade Stiffkey Blue, just to make sure people don’t miss it. Tom’s cooking speaks for itself, Oldroyd was shortlisted for 2016 Best New Restaurant by the Evening Standard and awarded a 2016 Monocle Restaurant Award. According to Monocle Magazine Oldroyd is one of the best 50 restaurants in the world. Bookings at: www.oldroydlondon.com