On the corner of Liverpool Road and Richmond Avenue, businesses have come and gone. In the past 12 months, the space has changed from forgettable pub to art gallery and now back to pub, the Regent.
Jon and I have been eyeing the latest renovations for weeks, especially after we saw a wood-burning oven installed. Where there’s such an oven, there’s bound to be pizza!As many good pubs as there are already in our neighborhood (The Draper’s Arms, Albion, Barnsbury Pub, Islington Tap), none of them serve pizza. At least, none of them serve good pizza.
This past weekend, the Regent had a “soft” opening and started serving pizzas and beer in a clean, modern, warm space. There’s Peroni on tap, a fireplace area with big, cushiony sofas, a free jukebox loaded with Johnny Cash and Guns ‘n’ Roses songs, and friendly, helpful folks behind the bar.
Most importantly, the pizzas Jon and I tried on Sunday are pretty good. The crust on my pizza was thin, crispy and just the slightest bit smoky. Toppings on the vegetarian pizza and the porchetta pizza were generous and flavorful, and the pizzas were served from oven to table, so they were hot and fresh.
Even though my preference is for a little more sauce on my pizza, Jon says I’m on crack and that the pizzas were perfect. So there you go.
The Regent, 201 Liverpool Road, N1 1LX, 0207 700 2725; closest tube stations: Angel and Highbury & Islington
Hi – I just stumbled on your website and have been reading it for the past hour – it’s pretty addictive! My husband and I just moved here from NYC a month a go and live in Angel. We can’t wait to start traveling around and will try some of the restaurants you mentioned. If you’d like to get a pint sometime, drop a line!
Welcome to London, and I love hearing that my blog is “addictive.” : ) Meeting up would be fun.
hi. I just found your website and reading through it I found this entry :
next week i’m travelling to london (i’m spanish) and I’d like to know where is exactly “abercrombie & fitch”, if you could please let me know i’ll be very thankful.
thanks!
We just moved from San Francisco to Barnsbury and already love the Regent.
Our kids love the pizza and it’s a good place to hang out.
It has free wireless too (just need to ask for the password at the bar).
the sister pub The Lauriston in victoria park is well worth a visit as well…
We moved from Chicago to Islington earlier this year. The Regent, along with the Vietnamese place next door, have been staples since moving to the neighborhood. Love the crust and the toppings are very fresh. Have you found any more good pizza places in London?
Hi David,
Don’t forget the Barnsbury Pub, which completes the Liverpool Road Trifecta of handy, good places to eat when you’re too lazy to cook. No pizza there, but good gastorpub fare.
I haven’t found pizza I liked better than hose at the Regent. Fratelli La Bufala in Hampstead Heath gets rave reviews, but the pizza I tried there a few months ago had *way too much* mozzarella on it. I like pizzas with a lot more balance between sauce, topping and crust, but you might give it a try if you’re seeking other pizzas in London. [I was probably biased against Fratelli from the start because the resto seems to have branches all over the world – some kind of world domination effort.]
http://fratellilabufala.co.uk/index.html
Hi David,
I, too, just found your blog (through Chocolate & Zucchini) and have whiled away a memory filled couple of hours on this drizzling Estonian Sunday morning. Finally, your post on the re-re-opening of The Regent prompted me to write as I used to live on the Caledonian Road before moving to Estonia. I regularly walked up the hill to Chapel Market to do my weekly shopping and always needed a restorative before lugging my provisions back down.
I loved reading your restaurant reviews – especially of Italy, as I am going there in October. As a retired school teacher I will never be able to afford the places you write about, but I do enjoy dreaming.
Hi Martha, thanks for visiting. David is actually the name of someone who commented on my blog (and to whom I was replying). But in any event, I’d love to know what this neighborhood was like when you lived here. Even in just the past three years, I think Islington has seen a lot of change.
As for Italy and the expense, I’m hoping my reviews help readers spend their hard-earned money in the worthwhile places (or at least avoid the restaurants where it’d be a waste).
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