La Muse

Went for lunch at La Muse last Sunday — it was lovely. The place looks great and the terrace, though we obviously didn’t have lunch of it at the end of January, seems like a great place to eat.
Had a massive cup of tea while my friend had a latte, and our dishes arrived in no time. We went for a sharing platter of cheese and charcuterie (as a French person I’m always a little wary of cheese platters in other countries but this one was just fine), a good onion soup with a cheesy slice of bread (£5.5) and some amazing spinach. And I do mean amazing — it is just barely cooked and seasoned to perfection. Well worth the £3 we paid for it.
They also have all the classic breakfast options available, and judging by the neighbouring table’s reaction they are good. All the breakfast dishes are around £7/​8.
If you’re curious the menu can be found on their website.
Plus it’s in an area that gets busy — but not too busy. Which is a great relief on a Sunday when you’re hungover and can’t face a crowd of loud people who obviously didn’t drink as much as you did last night.

Cosy little place with a laid back feel and it’s genuinely French, which is a good thing as far as the food goes. We had a super laid back brunch — I must say the burger is a knockout, really tasty, and the best burger I’ve had in a long while. Price a little on the high side but great quality and service. Will be coming back!

What rock have I been sleeping under? I happened across this little gem whilst walking back to my flat from the GP. «Secret garden» the sign said. Uh, hello, I’m sold. I walked in, not actually wanting anything, and ordered an iced coffee. First brownie point for La Muse — they have iced coffee!
Then I ordered some water. Then I ordered a glass of wine. Why not?
No, I have not yet eaten the food, but I am delightfully pleased with the service, the cleanliness, and the absolute charm of this place. Don’t be fooled by the exterior, La Muse has a lot to offer.

I hate to go very far from my flat for a brunch so La Muse is a winner. Slightly small menu but all the classics represented: full English, omelettes, benedicts and granola.
My full English was a lot more artfully arranged than your typical builder’s café and I appreciated the segregation of beans and eggs. The mushrooms were delicious and the bacon crispy. It was a solid breakfast and a decent price at that.

‘Can I get you anything else?’
‘Yes please, the bill.’ **Slightly awkward moment. That was the last thing I said to the guy waiting my table. That is, apart from saying sorry it hadn’t worked out, as I left sooner than I had planned. I’ve been to La Muse once before, it was sunny, there were herbs and tomatoes ripening on the vine in the garden area and the owner was really great with me. I wanted a mint tea with proper mint. No problem, my wish granted in a hot minute (less than).
So I thought I’d experience something similar this time round. It was so disappointing, I can’t tell you. I ordered the vegetable tagine and a single soy latte. I was kindly offered water which arrived in one of those nice kilner type bottles, with a cute tumbler. The coffee came next, in one of those ceramic highballs you get from Ikea. My goodness, talk about a long drink of scorched milk with only a vague taste of coffee (eew). Should have got the double shot. Really? But the single shot should at least taste of something. Good coffee is like or at least should be, the foundation of any café. It’s either the first, last or only thing you might have so you’re gonna remember it. Even Costa have decent coffee!
The tagine arrived. It looked like steaming dishwater, where most of the dishes had already been washed up. I asked if I could have a proper sized portion and that it in no way looked like £7 worth of food. That and a tiny bowl of slightly sour in odour bulgar wheat. Now these are not very expensive ingredients. It’s vegetables and a bit if chunky couscous for goodness sake! Go ahead and pile it up, right? So while I waited for him to return with a larger portion I hoped the bulgar wouldn’t give me food poisoning (I guess I was that famished). There were some additional carrots and the dish was rearranged to make a pile of veg. I already knew this was going to be a disaster, but I persisted and dumped the bulgar on top and dug in. It actually tasted of dishwater. It was dishwater with a little cumin added. I have eaten mediocre tagine in Marrakesh and I have eaten proper homemade tagine in said mecca of all tagine on the planet. But my God even the worst native tagine would wipe the floor with that dish of disgust I put to one side hoping I wouldn’t have to smell the sour scent from the bulgar for much longer. I wasn’t angry, just embarrassed and had to ask how long that bulgar wheat had been sitting in the fridge. It wasn’t fit to serve, so shame on the chef who put that in a bowl to serve to a customer, me!
I’m sorry, but I can’t wrap this up without describing the vegetables in the brown cumin dishwater. Some chunky, watery carrots, a piece of stringy sweet potato, fennel (or celery) and no word of a lie, something green and jelly like that could have been seaweed. I know, how could I have even put that in my mouth, but that’s the thing! There is not much I don’t eat (outside of meat as I’m a veggie)!! It was honestly the worst meal I have ever been served up, anywhere in the world, in my life. Now I’m not saying any of this to be cruel, I’m just incredulous, really. The whole thing felt… mean. Scrimping and saving with the tiny portion and the watery coffee. The customer shouldn’t have to feeeel the establishment trying to keep the costs down.
I took a photo of the dishwater veg with the sour bulgar on top, but I won’t post it, I think I have said more than enough. I had to get it off my chest. Sos :/​
The table I sat at was nice and cosy, there was a bookshelf next to me. I like books. There was wifi. The waiter was nice. I didn’t have to pay for the food even though I offered. I paid for the latte. I left a tip. The guy across from me had a large plate with what looked like an amazing slice of carrot cake. Should have gone for that.
Ps. I am writing this a day later and (thankfully) no food poisoning has happened.

This is a tiny gem of an authentic French bistro/​café towards the Highbury Corner end of Holloway Road. The food is really tasty, made with fresh ingredients, as many locally sourced as is possible, cooked by a French chef and often served by the owner. It’s a tiny place; I doubt if they can seat more than 30 diners at one time but it has a relaxed, friendly, warm atmosphere. The menu is very small but gets changed regularly. It’s the perfect place to read the paper in comfort while drinking proper coffee with a selection of freshly-​made on the premises patisseries or croissants to hand, or enjoy an unhurried brunch either in the restaurant or out in the equally tiny but pretty garden at the back. My partner and I went there for our Valentine’s Day meal and were both thrilled and touched by their unexpected gesture of handing us menus printed especially on pink paper with our names on it! The food was absolutely gorgeous as it has been on each of the five times I have dined at La Muse; the only negative thing I would say is that the portions were a little on the small side, which makes me sound like a greedy pig! Mind you, if the food wasn’t so yummy, I wouldn’t have wanted larger sizes. I did comment on it though and the owner was most gracious and gave us massive portions for our puddings. We’ve been there several times and have never been disappointed by the quality of the food. Let’s put it this way: we took my French friend who never stops complaining about English food. Even going to French restaurants in London didn’t make him happy, he says they’d all be out of business if they served the same food in France. However, he was quiet for once after dinner at La Muse, which he described as bon qualite while eating everything on the plate — the ultimate in high praise from Christophe! So it’s a super little place if you want very reasonably-​priced proper French home cooking in an authentic bistro with no fuss or standing on ceremony. In all honesty, the premises could do with being a little bit bigger, as it must be hard for them to keep going with the high rents of the area yet be unable to cater to any more customers than they already do. It’s one of Islington’s best kept secrets because it’s so small (just a front window and a side door to gain entry) and its signage so low-​key that blink as you walk past and you will miss it. I kid you not. You really have to know it’s there or just happen upon it by chance, as I did. Also, it is not on the food mile aka Upper Street (La Muse is a five minute walk along Holloway Road from where Upper Street meets Highbury Corner). So if you do manage to spot the arty yet understated wrought-​iron La Muse sign, do your tastebuds a favour and pop inside. You will be patting yourself on the back for many moons to come for discovering this lovely little bistro with its fresh tasty food. Just don’t tell too many people about it or we’ll never get a table there again!

Love this place. Friendly owner, great breakfast (try the egg benedict!) and even a great little garden in the back for those rare nice sunny days…

Nadi is an exceptional gentleman. We go to this place now almost every weekend, and I love the coffee, the back garden in the summer. They now have a ‘grilled sardine on toast’ which is absolutely fabulous; a fresh, whole, grilled sardine (not the stuff you get in a can), rested on top toasts that are smothered with some sort of amazing ratatouille. Love it.

There’s something about a home grown herb and vegetable garden that fascinates me, maybe it’s because of my many failed attempts of having my very own vegie patch or my competitive nature in wanting to do things better. Whatever the reason, in essence, it’s the freshness and the use-​only-​as-​required mantra that I care for most. So seeing La Muse perfect it has re-​inspired me to grow my own. again. Side step the narrow walkway and step outside to a blissfully relaxing haven of an open air dining space where you are welcome to explore the garden or read the day’s paper under the warm summer sun. Sticking to the French theme which is manifested from the dishes on the menu to the ornaments filling up the kitchen/​dining space, I had Ze French breakfast; my croissant was perfectly toasted and generously spread with butter and jam. A nice and light start to the day, which signaled the beginning of a gastronomical adventure!

La Muse is a caff off Holloway Road ideally situated for a pre-​Arsenal game brunch. But be sure to book ahead because the place is rammed on days when the Gunners are on the pitch.
Simple, satisfying omelets are served firm and browned on the outside and come with a choice of chips or salad. They’re also chock full of ingredients so there’s no danger of you going to the game hungry after one of these.
The restaurant’s proprietor was very communicative and runs a tight ship so you’ll get your table when it’s promised and your water glass will be regularly refilled.
in a word? Solid.