Turner & George

Great place. They do whole animal butchery, so they are able to cater to the slow food and nose-​to-​tail movements. I’m able to but their odd cuts and offal at a reasonable price as well as their more conventional cuts. Their website is easy to use.
If I had a complaint, their staff seem a bit surly, but Im not there for the conversation.

First of all, they sold me badly butchered, overly fatty lamb shoulder. I was making a stew for guests — one I’d made before successfully with lamb from other butchers — and couldn’t serve it for dinner as there were huge, unappetising chunks of fat on the meat. Lamb shoulder has more fat than other cuts — I know how to cook it — but this was unusually fatty and just not properly prepared.
I could kick myself for going here instead of heading down to Smithfield Butchers, who are real pros — the most experienced and best value place I know — but Angel is more convenient. I used to sometimes go to M&R meats, which was a good, serious butcher now sadly gone and replaced by the gentrifying flashiness of Turner & George. This place is totally style over substance.
The lamb was over £12 a kilo, compared to £9.90 at Smithfield Butchers. Lastly, when I went back to let them know how fatty and poorly butchered their lamb was, they were not only unhelpful but positively rude. I have learned my lesson, and I’d advise all other Islington meat lovers to avoid Turner & George and go down to one of the butchers in Smithfield, where you can get great advice, excellent meat, and fantastic value — it’s completely worth the short extra trip.

Loving my local butcher!
This place (formerly M&R meats) is a very cool place. When I went in to order my turkey they had an awesome sample plate of their meats and were serving up a wine that they had made. So yes, butcher, winemaker and saucemaker!

The staff was awesome – really helpful, friendly, modern and cool. The cuts of meat looked divine and on their bookshelf are books like the Pitt Cue cookbook.
I thought it might be a chain, but it is a one-​off. I hope people will support this local business – I certainly will.
Oh, and the free range turkey they got for me was delcious.