Ottolenghi (Islington)

As close as London gets to food porn — along with outdoor Borough Market [see entry] — this not-quite-snooty Islington mecca for exquisite, innovative Mediterranean-inspired savouries and ridiculously beautiful cakes and tarts has raised the bar for takeout (UK = takeway) possibilities, with also sit-down accommodation both here and at its sibling spots in Notting Hill (at 63 Ledbury Rd – a tip-toe distance from Portobello Rd), Spitalfields (50 Artillery Lane, opened 2015) and Chelsea (261 Pavilion Rd, opened January 2022). The name refers to Italian-Israeli owner, chef and food writer Yotam Ottolenghi, originally from Jerusalem, as is his Palestinian creative partner Sami Tamimi. And if you try just one cake, let it be the financier. The boutique-sized Kensington outlet closed summer 2013. Not cheap, but also not to be missed. In 2012 Ottolenghi opened an all-day full-on sit-down restaurant, NOPI, located at 21 Warwick St in Soho. And then the vegetable-mad Rovi at 49 Wells St, just north of Soho.