Restaurants

Attached to the Candid Arts Trust theatre and gallery, this café still just about counts as a secret. In a dark, attic-like room, with battered floorboards and what seems like 100 years' worth of wax drippings, Islington's arty types lounge in red velvet chairs or sit and read at the stately communal table. Some rehearse plays over coffee, others whip out a drawing pad and sketch fellow customers while they eat. Candid is bohemian to a T; the only thing missing from the fit is bohemian-friendly prices. Homely meals of pasta, quiches, pies and curries are fine for what they are (own-made earlier, then heated to order and served with salad) but are very over-priced: expect to pay £8-£12 for a dish that should really cost half as much. Staff can either be very delightful or very curt, perhaps depending on the variable music. On our visit: languid French 1920s jazz, and they were lovely.

Time Out Cheap Eats in London Guide 2007