Albert & Pearl

Quirky vintage fittings, check. Retro wallpaper, check. Wood panelling and squidgy sofas, check. Yup, the new incarnation of what used to be the Medicine Bar has all the prerequisite bits and bobs we've come to expect from our local tavern.

If you're looking for steak and kidney pie or chunky chips this is not the place for you, however. The food is taken care of by Liliana Tamberi, who grew up on the Tuscan coast and went on to open Food Lab deli on Essex Road, so there's a vast selection of charcuterie, olives and dips - we particularly liked the 'candle-warmed' cep dip - then there are smaller, sharing plates of things like warm chicken liver pate with capers, anchovies and toasted Tuscan bread and croquettes of monkfish and prawn with deep fried artichokes and tartar sauce.

With juices freshly made on the premises, the cocktails on offer are tip-top - choose from an Upper Street Spritz (like a spritzer but with the addition of peach puree and lemon juice) or push the boat out and share a Pearl's Punch, designed for two, made with passion fruit and mango vodka, fresh strawberries, raspberries and apple juice and topped off with champagne.

You'll have to pay a couple of quid to get in after 9pm on a Friday or Saturday but we think it's worth it.

Hours: Sun-Weds 12pm-12am • Thurs 12pm-1am • Fri & Sat 12pm-3am
Place: 181 Upper Street, N1 1RQ
Cost: £30
Web: www.albertandpearl.com
Book: 020 7354 9993

by SL

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.