Culture Food & Travel Restaurant & bar reviews

Brunch at Galley in Islington

Brunch at Galley in Islington | Restaurant review

Founded by the ambitious brother and sister team Marcel Grzyb and Oriona Robb, Galley is a stylish venue in the heart of Islington. Reminiscent of a chic Parisian bistro with a modern twist, Galley serves an exciting and inventive all-day menu along with a smaller brunch menu, available Thursday to Sunday.

Everything in the diverse brunch selection, which caters to every taste — sweet, hearty, vegetarian, or pescetarian— sounded fresh and tempting. The menu comprised a mix of more traditional options such as Baked Free-Range Eggs with North African Merguez Sausages as well as more experimental fish and meat dishes such as Red Mullet and Soft-Shell Crab Brioche or the Galley Burger with dry-aged beef and foie gras.

Ultimately, we decided to try the Burrata and the Duck Benedict to start with, followed by the Silky Chocolate Pancakes with Mascarpone and Warm Blueberries. The presentation of the dishes was modern and pleasing to the eye, yet did not neglect to put the taste experience at the heart. While the Burrata itself might have been a bit overshadowed by minty broad beans and crushed peas, the chilli oil balanced out the milky flavour of the cheese perfectly. The dessert-sized chocolate pancakes were slightly too spongy, but were also elevated by the combination of well-sourced ingredients that turned these two dishes into an enjoyable brunch option.

 

The Duck Benedict, however, was a rounded and truly surprising taste experience through and through. Not knowing what to expect from this modified classic, an artisan sourdough bread arrived, which was stacked with a duck egg cooked to perfection and wrapped in duck meat, drizzled with a rich and savoury hollandaise sauce. The dish created the definite highlight of our visit and demonstrated the immense potential of the kitchen.

The smoothies that accompanied our meals were in comparison rather disappointing. The chilli and mango smoothie, made with dried chilli seeds, overpowered the dishes with its hotness, while the spinach, kale and blueberry smoothie was bland and could not keep up with the standard the food set.  

 

Overall, despite its minor flaws, the eclectic yet harmonic Galley Restaurant, led by a high sense for fine design through to the last detail, created the perfect ambiance to enjoy these imaginative dishes and turned brunch in to an elegant affair worth repeating.

Luisa Kapp
Photos: Daniel Donovan

Food

Drinks

Service

  

To book a table at The Galley, 105 – 106 Upper Street, London N1 1QN, call 020 3670 0740 or visit here.

More in Food & Drinks

Borough 22 and chef Kerth Gumbs launch limited-edition soursop doughnut

Food & Travel Desk

Coworth Park launches al fresco dining terrace Tide

Food & Travel Desk

Yotam Ottolenghi returns to Ibiza for one-night garden dinner at Atzaró this August

Food & Travel Desk

Bar Valette brings Basque pintxos hour to east London

Food & Travel Desk

Michelin-starred chef Taro Noguchi to debut in London with exclusive omakase collaboration at LUNA

Food & Travel Desk

Dom Pérignon and chef Liam Dillon to host champagne pairing dinner at The Boat in Lichfield

Food & Travel Desk

Ta’mini Lebanese Bakery to open largest branch in Kensington this July

Food & Travel Desk

Madrid’s Chispa Bistró to make London debut with five-night residency at Carousel

Food & Travel Desk

Renais Gin and Quaglino’s launch new cocktail menu and pop-up for Cocktails in the City festival

Food & Travel Desk