Food

From pricey to cheap.

• I don't love Frederick's but everybody else seems to. It's good food but not cheap.
• Otto Lenghi on Upper Street has won heaps of awards. It's great, super fresh foods. It's not the cheapest place save for it's not too posh either.
• Moro (restaurant) and Morito (tapas bar) on Exmouth Market are both great. Moro is pricey, Morito is more reasonable, the food at both is great.
• Byron is a rapidly-growing burger chain of which one is on Upper Street, they do pretty good burgers and in fact have good bottled beer, but it's not low-priced for what it is.
• There are a bunch of burrito places that are fairly trendy (Tortilla, Chilango, Chipotle which just opened) but depending on where you're coming from they may not be that interesting.
• Gallipoli has three Turkish restaurants, as well on Upper Street, which are good and pretty cheap. People also like Pasha close by which is also Turkish. I prefer Gallipoli but I was at Pasha once when Boris Johnson (who lives in Angel) and Ken Livingstone were eating together.
• Le Sacre Coeur on Theburton St is a hidden gem, reasonably priced french restaurant but I really like the chow and it has lots of character.
• Little Bay near Chapel Market is cheap and good european food (I think the owners are Serbian but they do all kinds of stuff)
• Alpino in Chapel Market is not fine dining, but very good for a fryup. low-priced and friendly. I think they might not be open on weekends though.
• Thai-An on Chapel Market also does good Thai takeaway for cheap.

Pubs

• For beer, there's a new Craft Beer Co on White Lion Street near Angel which has 30 or 40 beers on at a time, both British cask ales and imported keg stuff. Foodwise it doesn't have a kitchen but does have pork pies and scotch eggs which are good. Make sure you ask the workers what beers to try, they're very knowledgeable, and will let you drink three or four beers before you choose one. Useful because some of the 1/2 pints can be like £6.95 (not the average price, cask is much cheaper), and some of the stuff they have on is strange indeed.
• Hundred Crows Rising on the next street over doesn't have as wide a beer selection but usually has interesting cask beers on and the food is good. They have lunch deals.
• The Earl of Essex has been done up recently and does a great selection of beers (20 or so on draught plus bottles). The food is also good. A tad tucked away and gets crowded some nights but you should definitely check it out.
• There are other good pubs in the back streets near the Earl if you're there and want to start a pub crawl. Everyone seems to love The Charles Lamb, which does have a few worthy of note beers, but it's tiny and I'm not its biggest fan. There's also The Island Queen, The Narrow Boat (where I spent about 11 hours last weekend), and William IV, they're all very good pubs that all execute good food. The Eagle is also worth checking out, can be crowded but fun.
• You ought to go to The Wenlock Arms if you're there before it closes for refurb on 2 Mar 2013. It used to be attached to a brewery in the 60s, the brewery shut down, the pub is still open, and attracts all kinds of strange characters. They do interesting beers and ciders. When you first walk in you'll wonder whether you feel right but it's very fun after a few pints.
• I don't really suggest The Winchester as a place to go out for an evening as it shifts from half-decent pub to horrible discotheque at some point on weekends, but it's worth mentioning as they do a 2-for-1 lunch deal which is pretty good, and during the day it's not bad.
• The Mucky Pup is a favourite of mine but a bit polarizing. It's shit in a way but can be really fun, jukebox, good people, hidden away from the more commercial stuff closer to Angel. Don't be scared by the fact that they only have a Myspace page.
• Nearby, The Old Queen's Head is closer to Essex Road which you shouldn't really go for food or good beers, but it's very lively and can be fairly fun. I ran into Juliette Lewis there one time.
• The Exmouth Arms on Exmouth Market has a good choice of craft beer and the cuisine is pretty good too. It's also open later than a lot of pubs.
• Closer to St Pancras there is a Spanish bar called Camino and it has an connected sherry bar called Bar Pepito. The steak tartare is good and so are the sherry flights.
• Also close to St Pancras is The Queen's Head, I've not eaten there but they do have good/interesting beers on usually.

Other pubs to try:

• The Bull on Upper Street
• The Crown on Cloudesley Road
• The Duke of Cambridge (site seems to be down) on St Peter's St if you love organic stuff
• The Compton Arms near Highbury & Islington

Scotch

• I know less about scotch however Filthy Macnasty's Whiskey Bar can be fun, might be worth a try.
• The Lexington is also pretty fun for live music, don't know where you're coming from, if it's the US you might not be so excited as they do American beer and bourbon but it's awfully pricey for what it is. Open late, but becomes entirely clubby.
• Same goes for Slim Jim's Liquor Store which you will either love or hate. They have a jukebox and it's fun, but kind of terrible too. They're open late for Islington as well. It's a fun place to meet people. Bring jeans as won't get in if you're wearing suit trousers.

Cocktails

You didn't ask but here's what I recommend. These aren't all precisely in Islington but are nearby. In order of quality of cocktails. You should book if you want to go to one, they are mostly tiny.

• Happiness Forgets - 12th best bar in the world by Drinks International. They really know what they're doing. They hold back space for walk-ins even though it's tiny.
• 69 Colebrooke Row - This has won Timeout's Best Bar in London a few times. Also tiny, easier to book than Happiness though.
• Nightjar - Speakeasy with live music most nights. Impressive presentation but they do a number of questionable cocktails on the menu in terms of taste, best to get recommendation from the waiters.
• Lounge Bohemia - You have to book to go here and it's very hidden. Czech themed. occasionally amazing but the service varies a lot.

Food

From pricey to cheap.

• I don't love Frederick's but everybody else seems to. It's good food but not cheap.
• Otto Lenghi on Upper Street has won heaps of awards. It's great, super fresh foods. It's not the cheapest place save for it's not too posh either.
• Moro (restaurant) and Morito (tapas bar) on Exmouth Market are both great. Moro is pricey, Morito is more reasonable, the food at both is great.
• Byron is a rapidly-growing burger chain of which one is on Upper Street, they do pretty good burgers and in fact have good bottled beer, but it's not low-priced for what it is.
• There are a bunch of burrito places that are fairly trendy (Tortilla, Chilango, Chipotle which just opened) but depending on where you're coming from they may not be that interesting.
• Gallipoli has three Turkish restaurants, as well on Upper Street, which are good and pretty cheap. People also like Pasha close by which is also Turkish. I prefer Gallipoli but I was at Pasha once when Boris Johnson (who lives in Angel) and Ken Livingstone were eating together.
• Le Sacre Coeur on Theburton St is a hidden gem, reasonably priced french restaurant but I really like the chow and it has lots of character.
• Little Bay near Chapel Market is cheap and good european food (I think the owners are Serbian but they do all kinds of stuff)
• Alpino in Chapel Market is not fine dining, but very good for a fryup. low-priced and friendly. I think they might not be open on weekends though.
• Thai-An on Chapel Market also does good Thai takeaway for cheap.

Pubs

• For beer, there's a new Craft Beer Co on White Lion Street near Angel which has 30 or 40 beers on at a time, both British cask ales and imported keg stuff. Foodwise it doesn't have a kitchen but does have pork pies and scotch eggs which are good. Make sure you ask the workers what beers to try, they're very knowledgeable, and will let you drink three or four beers before you choose one. Useful because some of the 1/2 pints can be like £6.95 (not the average price, cask is much cheaper), and some of the stuff they have on is strange indeed.
• Hundred Crows Rising on the next street over doesn't have as wide a beer selection but usually has interesting cask beers on and the food is good. They have lunch deals.
• The Earl of Essex has been done up recently and does a great selection of beers (20 or so on draught plus bottles). The food is also good. A tad tucked away and gets crowded some nights but you should definitely check it out.
• There are other good pubs in the back streets near the Earl if you're there and want to start a pub crawl. Everyone seems to love The Charles Lamb, which does have a few worthy of note beers, but it's tiny and I'm not its biggest fan. There's also The Island Queen, The Narrow Boat (where I spent about 11 hours last weekend), and William IV, they're all very good pubs that all execute good food. The Eagle is also worth checking out, can be crowded but fun.
• You ought to go to The Wenlock Arms if you're there before it closes for refurb on 2 Mar 2013. It used to be attached to a brewery in the 60s, the brewery shut down, the pub is still open, and attracts all kinds of strange characters. They do interesting beers and ciders. When you first walk in you'll wonder whether you feel right but it's very fun after a few pints.
• I don't really suggest The Winchester as a place to go out for an evening as it shifts from half-decent pub to horrible discotheque at some point on weekends, but it's worth mentioning as they do a 2-for-1 lunch deal which is pretty good, and during the day it's not bad.
• The Mucky Pup is a favourite of mine but a bit polarizing. It's shit in a way but can be really fun, jukebox, good people, hidden away from the more commercial stuff closer to Angel. Don't be scared by the fact that they only have a Myspace page.
• Nearby, The Old Queen's Head is closer to Essex Road which you shouldn't really go for food or good beers, but it's very lively and can be fairly fun. I ran into Juliette Lewis there one time.
• The Exmouth Arms on Exmouth Market has a good choice of craft beer and the cuisine is pretty good too. It's also open later than a lot of pubs.
• Closer to St Pancras there is a Spanish bar called Camino and it has an connected sherry bar called Bar Pepito. The steak tartare is good and so are the sherry flights.
• Also close to St Pancras is The Queen's Head, I've not eaten there but they do have good/interesting beers on usually.

Other pubs to try:

• The Bull on Upper Street
• The Crown on Cloudesley Road
• The Duke of Cambridge (site seems to be down) on St Peter's St if you love organic stuff
• The Compton Arms near Highbury & Islington

Scotch

• I know less about scotch however Filthy Macnasty's Whiskey Bar can be fun, might be worth a try.
• The Lexington is also pretty fun for live music, don't know where you're coming from, if it's the US you might not be so excited as they do American beer and bourbon but it's awfully pricey for what it is. Open late, but becomes entirely clubby.
• Same goes for Slim Jim's Liquor Store which you will either love or hate. They have a jukebox and it's fun, but kind of terrible too. They're open late for Islington as well. It's a fun place to meet people. Bring jeans as won't get in if you're wearing suit trousers.

Cocktails

You didn't ask but here's what I recommend. These aren't all precisely in Islington but are nearby. In order of quality of cocktails. You should book if you want to go to one, they are mostly tiny.

• Happiness Forgets - 12th best bar in the world by Drinks International. They really know what they're doing. They hold back space for walk-ins even though it's tiny.
• 69 Colebrooke Row - This has won Timeout's Best Bar in London a few times. Also tiny, easier to book than Happiness though.
• Nightjar - Speakeasy with live music most nights. Impressive presentation but they do a number of questionable cocktails on the menu in terms of taste, best to get recommendation from the waiters.
• Lounge Bohemia - You have to book to go here and it's very hidden. Czech themed. occasionally amazing but the service varies a lot.