La farola in Islington

Tasty mocktails and food! The padron peppers were especially delicious

An absolutely gorgeous time here. The weather outside was grim, pouring with rain. Stopped in and were seated efficiently. Every plate was gorgeous, from the padron peppers (best I’ve ever had) to the squid ink risotto, steak, chicken thighs and cheese plate. Cocktails were fabulous and well made. A welcome and delicious visit on a rainy day in London and looking forward to going back again. Highly recommend. Espresso martini to finish off was beautiful.

The drink was pretty damn good but the cups were Small, not hipster small but not a normal size either.

The service, food, and atmosphere are good, but man, this place is expensive. The Spanish restaurant Barrafina (1 star michelin and probably one of the best Spanish restaurants in London) is just 10-15% more expensive and food is much better and fresher (as one of the reviewers said, their potatoes look like they were reheat). I would come back for the food if it was cheaper, but at this price I can much better value for my money elsewhere.

Fine food, some of it tasted a bit warmed up rather than freshly prepared ( for example the patatas bravas tasted as though they'd been fried at least a couple hours ago), nothing was absolutely delicious -- though the mushroom croquettes were pretty tasty. Most of the food was quite samey and not notable, which doesn't seem fair for the prices. Cost nearly 100 quid for three people and no drinks. I know London's expensive but that just seems like a price that would warrant at least some fresher ingredients idk. The salad was pretty good as well, but the pan con tomate was quite soggy and the crackers served with the manchegan (tasty) cheese were for some reason encrusted with sugar. Not really my taste I guess. Anyways, it was alright, but I just think for the price it's not worth it at all.

My favourite lunch and brunch place in Islington! the Spanglish breakfast on the weekends is amazing!

Unbelievable tapas...everything we tried was great...also a really friendly atmosphere

Highly recommend this restaurant. Met by Memhit, lovely, friendy and very accommodating. Food absolutely lovely. £45/ head. Lunchtime menu. Paul

Absolutely love it here. Food and vibe are great as is the service. That manchengo cheesecake is a winner as are the garlic prawns

Great food and staff, and it’s a good to dine in but also great delivered, the prawns are my favourite. Plus they very kindly gave us free popcorn for being loyal customers. A really good and reliable spot

Outstanding food, perfect ambians Recommended to all Mediterranian lovers

Food was good especially for the lunch menu. It has to be described as excellent value for money. Keen service & we were made to feel really welcomed. Cocktail was a bit expensive, but to be expected as it is London.

Warm welcome and friendly staff, quite an intimate little restaurant with a cosy vibe. Food wise I didn't think it was particularly special and found the menu to be quite limited compared to others I had visited. Meat balls were very average with little flavour, chicken croquettes were the same. We also ordered the prawns but they came out 40 mins after the rest of out food , by this time we had finished so sent them back. Wouldn't rush back and feel there are much better / authentic options in London when it comes to tapas.

They don't reserve a table even of you made a reservation in advance. Whoever comes first takes the good tables. Music choice through out the evening was not consistant. Food and atmosphere are good in general.

Fantastic early evening visit, cant fault anything it was all good especially the chorizo with beans.

This restaurant has a very pleasant atmosphere and decor. The food was also tasty and very fresh. Service was excellent. Only thing is that patatas fritas and the salad had too much salt.

Nice Spanish place on Upper Street. The ox cheek croquettes are fantastic. The food is good. The octopus and the squid ink rice are very good.

Benefits from a great location, but sadly the food falls flat. Have tried twice now with my Spanish friends and it's agreed it lacks flavour and authenticity.

Very good food, very good atmosphere a bit overpriced but worth a visit.

Great atmosphere and lovely food! The staff was very nice and accommodating for a late reservation as well. Can’t wait to come back.

A bit pricey but very tasty food cosy atmosphere friendly staff a good restaurant.

The atmosphere for this place was lovely and it had a great selection to choose from on the menu. I went on a weekend for lunch at 1pm and it wasn't too crowded at all. Service was quick and staff were helpful in recommendations. Food itself was well made but not WOW or memorable by any means. Portions weren't the biggest. Between the two of us we ordered four plates and two drinks and paid around £85. Great for family, friends or even date night. Would go again for a nice occasion.

⠀ A very delicious and quiet restaurant, with traditional Spanish tapas-type food. I feel like it's the perfect place for lunch/dinner on Sunday. The people are super friendly and I loved all the dishes I ordered. ⠀ Highlights: - Spectacular Iberian ham - Grilled chorizo -Sangria

Food was delicious! Spanish omelette was great. The vegan mushroom croquettes with dried black olives… best food I’ve had in a longtime. Lovely staff too.

Fantastic! Nice warm Welcome from Friendly staff. Interesting menu and specials board. Loved the seafood, jamon and cockle croquetas!

Being Spanish, I must say they have one of the best tortillas de patatas I’ve ever tried!! 100% recommended

Cena. Ci fanno accomodare fuori. 3 minuti e spengono le luci. Chiediamo di essere spostati all’interno per poter “vedere”. Ordiniamo ad una cameriera che sicuramente avrebbe voluto essere da tutt’altra parte. Assente! Ci vengono portati i piatti e ci viene detto che, se volevamo altro, avremmo dovuto dirlo subito perché la cucina chiudeva. Chiaramente abbiamo mangiato in fretta quello che avevamo ordinato, abbiamo pagato e siamo usciti. Sinceramente molto poco professionale e poco accogliente .lo staff

Great food, lovely staff and service. There’s music playing though and it can be loud if the restaurant is full, so if you’re looking for a calm, relaxed atmosphere this is something to keep in mind.

Friendly staff unfortunately the food is very bad on 6 dishes just 2 were ok . For 2 ppl we spend £47 and we left very disappointed

Delicious food, great selection of vegi options as well. Quite pricey but in line with other places in the area.

Superb spot on Islington road to enjoy tapas, mojitos, wine and sangria with friends. Superb ambience.

Good service and very nice food. I did not get the vibe with the choice of music in the restaurant. However, I still very much enjoyed my evening there

We were looking for a chill restaurant but we ended up in a trash disco music place with food provided. Very nonsense loud music that ruined our 15 minutes dinner. We ordered a fried honey glazed flower as a starter, the ox cheek on parmesan cream ,the black ink squid risotto (arroz negro) and a margarita and a Negroni to drink. The cheese stuffed flower arrived after 2 minutes. Over oiled, heavy but not very bad tbh. Ox cheek (alone) arrived 2 minutes after we finished the starter. I had that dish before and I was simply delighted by it in the past. Unfortunately that lovely experience belongs to the past. Finally they managed to deliver our cocktails (after the starter and ox cheek?!) Negroni was just too disappointing to be true and margarita just fine. The arroz negro arrived 2 minutes after we finished the ox cheek (yes, the 2 mains arrived one next to each others). Like the ox cheeks, the good taste memories unfortunately gone away. Rice overcooked, way too much lemon and not enough sauce to contrast it. For some reasons they decided we had to share the main dishes and then the cocktails had to be served nearly at the end of the dinner. This whole "fast food experience" finished in like half an hour. I appreciate it was Friday night (21:30ish ) but the place was nearly empty, so there was no reason for such a rushed service. We felt like they wanted to get rid of us asap. Sadly the quality of the food went significantly down and the disco club atmosphere was not what we were looking for and it doesn't definitely suit this place. + £27 each... It was one of my favourite places but I've been extremely disappointed about everything. I really hope it'll be back like it used to be. P.s. The picture of Ox cheek with peas is the "new version", the other ox cheek pictures is the one I fell in love with but no longer available apparently...

Great experience. Staff was very friendly. We didnt try a lot of tapas but the courgette with honey and goat cheese was nice. Lively vibe on a Friday evening. They had 2 for 1 offer on cocktails.

Food was amazing and reasonably priced for the quality. Local fave and will deffo be going back a lot. Service was fab and drinks great too, 10/10

All the food was very delicious and the staff was very polite,,,(5 friends went to the restaurant,,, a friend made the payment and didn't tell us how much )

La comida estaba muy buena, aunque el pan tumaca sabía extraño por alguna razón. La camarera era muy maja y el ambiente era muy bonito

Great experience. Party of 3. Albondigas, croquetas and tortilla good and tasty. The Ox Cheek and the chorizo were amazing. Good service, kind staff... Music was a bit loud.

I had a drink and nibbles with a friend. Expensive restaurant, the music is too loud. But service is great and quick.

Visited again after a year as i had a lovely experience last time. Unfortunately it took a while for staff to notice our order (had to notify them we wanted to move inside so they finally got our food order). Tapas seemed too adjust to British cuisine which did not highliged the authenticity and vibe I got before. Alioli is not alioli, is garlic mayo and portions were rather small. I got to say that croquetas were on the spot also the tortilla but aside from that nothing else was outstabding (perhaps we did not order well)

Not authentic Spanish food. Slow service.

Para nada sabor a cocina española, un poco decepcionante porque el restaurante es agradable y el lugar muy bueno

Love the vibe and food here. Straight forward no complication kinda food yet delicious. Service was wonderful too. Would definitely come back.

Paid around £37 for two tapas dishes and a non-alcoholic cocktail. Way too expensive.

Lovely atmosphere and service but me and my partner got food poisoning, possibly due to the ink of the “arroz negro” wasn’t cooked properly. - been sick and bad stomach all weekend. If not cooked correctly can be poisoning. Food wasn’t amazing - overpriced for the quality. Wouldn’t repeat.

Really nice staff, excellent food and fast service. A little pricey but definitely worth it.

Booked based on the positive reviews here. On arrival you’ll notice the tables are tiny and you wonder how on earth your various tapas can fit in such a small area. The answer is that the dishes are commensurately minuscule, even by tapas standard, but are priced to make you expect much more. Three tiny chicken skewers £9; four modest prawns £14.50, plus service. The experience doesn’t match the price tag and the chairs are uncomfortable. Bavette steak is served to their liking, not yours, with no preference on ordering. I ask: medium rare apparently, which is fine. It arrives cold to the touch. Sent back, returns as the same piece of steak and equally cold, and so are the potato shavings with it. It’s meant to be that way, I’m told, because of the dressing. Coldness is the theme, as otherwise lovely, if small, ox cheek croquettes are similarly dampened with cold tomato sauce. The portions really are tiny, so much so that if you have a decent appetite you’ll want to be ordering four or five plates each to leave satisfied, but your bill will be well into three figures by then… which is fine, but not for a glorified cafe. Manager apologetic, steak removed from bill, and two aperitif on the house for which I’m grateful, but nevertheless out the door £80 lighter and still hungry.

The food was tasty, the service was decent. However, we felt the portions and prices were a different story. We even felt cheated with some of the prices. E.g literally 10 small calamaris for 9 pounds. Almost 1 pounds per calamari. Well overpriced.

Amazing tapas. Lovely service. Great environment.

Lovely food.great service.great atmosphere

Cosy place with very good food. Croquettes with Harmon were amazing. Recommend it.

Had some tapas there and food was soooo delicious and filling. Service was also super fast and staff were friendly. The squid ink paella was really good. Would definitely go again.

Very cute place. Delicious food and drinks

Place is a bit basic.. if you are a foodie don't bother. Just overpriced upper street.

Brilliant spot for lunch! A must if you are in or around Angel

Really delicious, good service. Not cheap but it is worth the price. Excellent veggie selection and high quality ingredients.

Came here for a late night dinner, amazing food! Very friendly staff, fast cooking and a great atmosphere! I had grilled chicken thighs and Spanish meatballs with patatas fritas, all absolutely delicious. Muchas gracias!🤩

I really had an incredible experience here this morning. Whoever the morning bar/manager is an awesome guy. Fantastic tapas here and very underrated breakfast. Get the Rotos. Get. Bloody Mary. 10/10.

What an incredible dinner!! After a whole day working at the Business Design Center we were looking for a cool place to eat and have a few drinks! We found La Farola on Google and decided to give the restaurant a try! When we got to the restaurant was very busy with a very nice crowd of people, we were received by the very smiley and welcoming staff and cool upbeat music! Let’s Saturday Night Begin! We ordered Sangria and then we let the Chef send us whatever he suggested! What a feast!!! 🤩 We loved the food, the vibe and great service! 💃 My absolute favourite the Mackerel with the corn bread, the chorizo and the croquettes! 👏👏 Everyone loved it! Well done guys!

Good range of cocktails and staff always friendly, but food can be quite hit and miss. Often comes out very quick and lukewarm, and the food is generally pretty expensive vs the quality

Loved the food over here. The team is quite warm and welcoming. Only drawback was the toilet and kitchen being next to each other.

Food was delicious, I would definitely return for more!!

delicious, best spanish tapas in london i’ve had. Every dish was fire, from the serrano to the chorizo with butter bean paste to the anchovies and squid, all cooked and seasoned to perfection

Friendly staff and informative. Was willing to advise on menu. Food was ok. Best cheese cake I ever had...was chef personal recipe. Would go back just for the cheese cake and I dont even have a sweet tooth!!

Friendly staff, nice atmosphere and delicious food. I was there for a Sunday brunch and everything was amazing. Tasty food!!!

I've walked past so many times and finally went in, why didn't I go sooner?! It's so lovely, incredibly friendly fast service and the food was spot on. My favourites were the courgette flower and chorizo which was the best I've ever had 👌

The charcuterie and cheeses were nice. I recommend the rosemary manchego. Slightly overpriced for what you get.

Food was greasy, salty and considerably worse quality than I recall from several years ago. Ambience was pretty dead too. Prices have doubled in the meantime. I will be avoiding it.

Great place. Lovely staff (Even if some do Tey to clear the table too soon) Good value

Tasty food. Make sure have a reservation as its busy!

Bad service. It took forever to get a glass of wine. They forgot our orders multiple times. Ok food (not great, not terrible). I went to this place 5 years ago and it was great, so maybe it just had a bad day?

Very nice comfortable place and they are very nice with clients. Also, good negronis, which is a plus.

We had Valentine's dinner, and the food like always AMAZING... but my only issue, was with the member of staff, I can say the service was bad. As I work in a restaurant, I could see more than the others. I have been there by myself so many times... and never experienced the same vibe, some of the staff seems so fed up and the rest, don't care about what is called customer service. As I said, the food is amazing... if you could work a bit more on your customer skills, it will be amazing.

Went in on Sunday. The food came literally straight after we ordered. The patatas bravas tasted like it had been refried. The calamari was really chewy and we left a lot of it. Bread and tomato paste was soggy. Nice staff but you can get much better tapas elsewhere. Came to £96 and wish we’d complained. Couldn’t be bothered to complain. Never mind. Wouldn’t rush back.

Comida rica pero en platos bastante pequeños, recomiendo la carrillera y el calamar. Lo único horrible.. la música. No parece un restaurante parece un club. Fui con amigos, imposible mantener una conversación. Pedimos a los camareros bajar la música y nos ignoraron. No voy a volver porque me gusta cenar hablando no en un club. Tasty food but really small plates. I recommend the ox cheeks and the squid. But honestly, the music is SO loud that you can’t talk to your partner or your friends. I even asked the waitress to turn down the music and they just ignored us. I wont come back, I wanna feel in a restaurant not in a club.

The atmosphere of thr cafe is great, nice interior details and lightning, very cute. The food is quite average though, the prices are aon the higher side and some of it is not worth price (e.g. the asparagus tapas, four croquettes for 9 pounds). On the other hand, some are better (e.g. tortillas). There are better tapas places but not a bad place!

Second time coming here. Food is great but one word of advise - don’t show the £1 carton of juice you pour and then sell for £3.50 prices that are shown on the menu is different to the one you get charged

The food is amazing, especially the little mushroom bites. The menu is different from standard tapas bars and they have great cocktails as well. Service is friendly.

AMAZING tapas. Best crispy squid in the area and great service.

Visited for the first time on a Saturday night. Food was served quickly and was all excellent. Definitely a must try but make sure you book!

I absolutely adore La Farola! The food is so genuinely delicious and consistently so. I always worry that I won't be full after going to a tapas place in London when I don't want to be spending copious amounts of money. However, I am always so satisfied and often actually full after a decently priced variety of dishes here! Granted, I don't drink so that detracts from my bill at the end. I adore La Farola.

Stopped in for brunch here and had the spanglish breakfast. The whole thing was cooked perfectly and the flavours were excellent, the sourdough bread was great and the coffee was lovely. All quite reasonably priced. Reccomend.

What a beautiful, rustic find in angel/Islington. The staff were helpful, welcoming. The food was fresh and authentic to the Spanish cuisine I have been exposed to on my travels. I would highly recommend. Not too many vegan options but I’m sure the place will be able to accommodate when asked. Nice Way to start the day!

Heel erg leuk tentje om wat lekkers te eten.

Delicious tapas and lovely service. Great value

Great food and a great atmosphere, too.

Staff are always so friendly and welcoming. The food is great. I come back here time & time again.

Just Amazing food! Service decent. Atmosphere is okay, very squeezed tables, and toilets downstairs next to the kitchen doesn't look appealing to be honest. But when it comes to the food quality - can't give anything below 5 stars - it's that good!

Fabulous & high quality Spanish food and great atmosphere. Definitely one of the best tapas restaurants in North London: I tend to visit on a fairly regular basis as the food, wine & hospitality are always top notch. One small issue is that it’s quite a small restaurant and can feel a little crowded at dinner time (tables are quite close to each other), but it doesn’t really matter since the food is honestly so worth it. 🙂

Excellent espresso martini. Everything else was just okay. Staff is on autopilot. Nice but not friendly.

Veggie options a bit limited. Good atmosphere and sangria.

La Farola was a great experience. The service was warm, friendly, and fairly quick. The atmosphere was good despite it being a quiet and rainy Monday night. Tables were on the small side which contributed to the intimate feeling but meant some interesting geometry when the plates were all brought out! The food was fantastic, with excellent daily specials and small bites to supplement the tapas mainstays.

Such a lovely restaurant, food and service were great!

Amazing, tapas been twice had lovely food and lovely services

We went for Sunday breakfast. It was absolutely delicious, I do recommend. All ingredients were top notch and tortilla was authentic. Also suggest booking as the place started to get filled up after 11.30 Nice ambience and pleasurable street view if sitting near the window.

Sorry to go countercurrent. The environment is cozy indeed. We dined there tonight, but unfortunately we both didn’t feel well at all after the dinner. We took fried squid, tortilla, meat balls and cuttlefish rice. Also we found it a bit loud, even though this was a minor thing

Sitting outside was very very nice. The food was good and quick. Service was okay. Noise inside is high but outside it was really good. Papas bravas were not good. Just regular fries. Overall, I liked that place and can come back anytime.

This is a surprisingly good little Spanish restaurant offering an ecclectic variation of tapas to share between several customers. Stuck with nowhere in mind to eat, we settled upon this restaurant as a party of four having just briefly perused the menu. Nobody in the group was confident in the restaurant from the outset but, too, nobody assertive enough to state we ought to go elsewhere. I can now confidently assert that we were all pleasantly surprised by both the quality and portion size of the food available here. We received around 6 different tapas in total, none of which disappointed. The prices were reflective of what you would typically expect to find in London. The service was fine, and so was the atmosphere. Both aspects of the meal were acceptable and nothing I would think to complain about, though also nothing to boast about in the restaurant's favour. If you are in the area and looking for tapas, I would recommend giving this rsstaurant a try.

Fantastic food, very pleasant staff. Good value for money.

Come to visit Chef Ricardo! Very nice place