Empress

Great food - great service - in fact I'd go so far as to say the best service I've ever had! Truly amazing food - fresh, seasonal vegetables well seasoned (didn't try the meat as I'm vegetarian). If I could afford it, I'd eat here at least a couple of times a week. I feel fortunate to have such a very special restaurant on my doorstep.

I visited the Empress a few weeks ago and was very disappointed. The complimentary bread was stale and fell of the plate as the hapless waiter delivered it, he didn’t pick it up and put it back or anything… never mind! then my starter arrived before my drinks!, I had ham croquettes which tasted nice but was lukewarm and flat cold in the middle, when our drinks arrived the wedge of lime had the zest removed I am not usually bothered when I get a wedge of lime like that... I understand they are not going to chuck a lime out because they removed the zest, but what I do mind is when it's so old that it's gone brown and dried up because it's clearly a few days old or left out all night. Me and my girlfriend were much underwhelmed and by this point we weren’t looking forward to what we had ordered for our main course, so asked for the bill and left. The staff were pleasant enough but inattentive, it just seemed very disorganized with long pauses between being served. All these things are forgivable if it had been rammed, but it wasn’t and I was left feeling annoyed and unwelcome.

How can T.O give this less stars than the nearby Britannia? Food and service here both excellent - as your review suggests but not your rating. You need to revisit them both.

Excellent Sunday lunch after walking in Vicky Park. I had roast pork belly and partner had roast beef - both first class. Chocolate mousse and home made (?) banana ice cream to follow. Very personable service. Liked

Having travelled up from Sussex to dine at The Empress last Friday it certainly lived up to expectations! The staff were friendly, welcoming and efficient, there was a real buzz about the place and, most of all, the food was varied, experimental and extremely tasty. We would highly recommend the mackeral with new potatoes, horseradish and beetroot! fab + the aubergine with tomato and fenel - perfect for veggies. The lamb was "melt in the mouth" . Several dishes were available in both starter and main sizes - to more chance to try different things! We will definitely be there again soon. Thanks to Elliott and the team for a true "dining" experience.

Eaten here a few times in the last couple of weeks and the food has been fantastic each time. In my opinion it is rare to find a place with such consistently good food that you feel comfortable exploring dishes you might not otherwise try. Highly recommended.

Massive improvement since the change of management last year. Loved the pigs ears and rillettes, and the snails and bone marrow were to die for. All rounded off with the best panna cotta I've tasted outside of Italy. Not super cheap, but still very reasonably priced, and our American waitress was attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. They also have Camden Pale Ale on tap! What more could you ask for? Thoroughly recommend The Empress, and intend to make it a regular haunt from now on.

Very few places this smart allow dogs - but they do here and made a fuss of them too. Started meal with great bread and rilltettes and finished withdamn near perfect apple pie. Everything in between was also damn good Very good all round

Went here last Friday and was amazed. Really outstanding food at affordable prices. The cecina especially was exceptional, but really everything was excellent. Venetian lambs liver was soft and the onions with it caramelised to perfection. Gorgonzola and radicchio salad far better than most in Italy. And delicious desert wine and affogato to finish. Will be going back often.

I've had a mixed relationship with the Empress, being a Victoria Park local and wanting to love it but always struggling slightly with the food (I often found it greasy and overpriced). I was sad to visit it last weekend - my first visit since its rebirth - and find the interior stripped of all character and turned into a minimal gastropub. The decor and bar there before were unusual, but had lots of character. Now everything is grey and cream, the bar has been stripped right back and the menu completely renewed. I missed the excellent cocktails that the Empress used to have, but the new Spanish-style menu is interesting and I would happily try everything on it. I ordered lamb, and my vegetarian friend had crispy polenta with mushrooms and parmesan (there was only one veggie 'big plate' and a couple of smaller plates, so I'd recommend the Empress to the more carnivorous only). My lamb was delicious - perfectly cooked - and came with roast potatoes and kale. The potatoes were tasty but extremely hard (I was slightly worried that in the attempt to cut into them I was going to send them flying off onto another customer's lap!) and the kale was, well, kale. I was disappointed that for £12/14 all I got was kale (and not one or two more veg) but I can't fault the taste and texture of everything. Service was fine, but there were no condiments on the table and none were offered at any point throughout the meal. We were also served still water and bread as soon as we sat down - without being asked if we wanted it, so assuming this was complimentary - and then discovered that we'd been charged £1 for the privilege when we came to pay the bill. Not an astronomical charge by any means, but I do think water at least should be free, if not the bread too. The food was very well cooked and presented, and fairly priced, but it's not somewhere I'd rush back to. It's like the new management has brought in what the old management lacked - good food - but sacrificed the great cocktails and the character of the place. A shame, but somewhere I'll give another chance.