Restaurants

By Jenni Muir

It's a long way from Bond Street, but Kentish Town Road has never looked smarter, or more foodie. This bright, spacious café, restaurant and deli is the latest addition to the rapidly improving strip, offering a charming place to relax with a cup of coffee, or grab a healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Set over two floors, Café RED is the brainchild of Harry Dasht, who owns nearby B&M Seafoods, a quality fishmonger and organic butcher. As the menu's mission statement emphasises, freshness and provenance are prime concerns. The fish is wild (except salmon and trout, which are organic), and the organic, free-range beef, lamb and pork come direct from farms in Cornwall.

On our first visit, at 12.15pm on a Saturday within a few weeks of opening, we weren't the only customers disappointed to find that cooked breakfasts were no longer being served. Instead we were directed to the cafeteria section to choose from ready-made offerings such as smoked salmon and cream-cheese baguettes, blue cheese quiche, kuku (a Persian version of frittata) and hot dishes of chicken and monkfish. Confusingly, coffee was still table service, but cold drinks had to be collected from the deli's chiller cabinet. It was chaotic, but worth persevering.

A return visit on a weekday evening saw a menu of simple, rustic dishes on offer: four fish, plus steak, chicken and a vegetarian option for mains, while starters included smoked salmon with beetroot, rocket and horseradish, and vegetable pasta. There was no denying the freshness of our bream and dover sole, and the dill-flecked rice accompanying them was delicious.

The enthusiastic, purple-shirted manager didn't hesitate to recommend the filtered tap water over bottled and invited us to sample a few of the white wines before deciding which to choose. The wine list is brief, but entirely organic; there is also a choice of beers (Samuel Smith's organic ale is superb) and boozy treats such as a light, refreshing organic amaretto. Regular live music is planned and the late opening hours make it an attractive place to wind down after a show at The Forum.

Time Out London Issue 1909: March 21-27 2007