The Pig and Butcher

Last Updated on July 16, 2026

The Pig and Butcher Gastropub in central Islington

3.8 out of 5.0 stars

The Pig and Butcher is a gastropub located on a busy road that cuts through Islington, in an attractive building that harks back to the mid-1800s when the surrounding fields were used by farmers to graze livestock due for sale at Smithfield’s Meat Market. The restaurant takes inspiration from its historic position,  and its meat is bought at Smithfield’s while its fruit and veg come from New Spitalfields Market.  The kitchen is inspired by European farmhouse tables and has a menu that changes daily. The Pig and Butcher is known for its craft beers and seasonal meats, butchered onsite. As we were visiting on one of the hottest days of the year, my companion and I were in no state for craft beer, nor the 60-day aged Côte de Boeuf, the 45-day aged sirloin, or the lamb pie for two, tempting as all these dishes were.  I am confident that these would all make for a delicious lunch at The Pig and Butcher on a different sort of day. As it was almost too hot to even think about eating, we chose some of the lighter dishes on the menu, comprising vegetables and fish, which we paired with a glass of Chablis.

The room is very light and bright, with huge windows overlooking the street. A bar runs down one side of the room, and there is an attractive wooden shelving unit dividing the back room from the front where we sat. It is filled with plants, ceramics, books and knick-knacks. Colours are muted and encourage a sense of calm. There were a number of parents with prams enjoying a lunch out. The tables are simple, untreated wood, combined with mismatched wooden chairs. The air-conditioning is excellent and encourages lingering long into the afternoon.

We refreshed with a brace of non-alcoholic cocktails. I enjoyed a Botivo Spritz, my go-to aperitif,  while my companion ordered one of her favourites, a Seedlip G & T.

The starter menu has several dishes to please pescatarians and vegetarians alike. I ordered the tempura courgette flower, lemon ricotta and romesco sauce. The lemon ricotta filling was light and delicious, but the coating was more of a batter than the light Japanese treatment that comprises tempura. The romesco sauce was very tasty with plenty of nuttiness and smoked paprika, although I thought it might pair well with a robust dish of grilled vegetables rather than the delicate courgette flower.

My companion chose crab, elderflower and cucumber crumpet. This looked very attractive, a perfect seasonal dish for summer. A large crumpet was topped with white crab meat, and pipettes of elderflower and cucumber gels. While the topping was very fresh and tasty, the crumpet would benefit from being made in-house, well-toasted, and slathered with butter before being dressed.

We both selected fish dishes for our main courses. As is to be expected at a restaurant named The Pig and Butcher, most of the main courses were meat dishes, although there is one fish and one vegetarian option. I chose the skate, which was the special of the day. Skate wing was served with sauce vierge and beurre blanc. Sauce vierge, which translates as virgin sauce, is a classic from the French repertoire and gorgeous on a summer’s day. It is also a welcome change from the ubiquitous skate wing with brown butter and capers. My skate wing was large, even though I chose the smallest portion on offer. It was served with a very generous topping of the chopped tomato-based sauce, and the beurre blanc was served in a small jug to be added at the table. This was a very rich dish, and the sauce vierge brought a welcome acidity to cut through the richness of the beurre blanc.

My companion chose the fish dish from the menu at The Pig and Butcher, which was plaice, spring salad and champagne foam. This looked very pretty, a ballotine of plaice perched on a fresh salad including fennel, radish and red onion. The salad was delicious and had a well-balanced dressing, while the fish was a tad overcooked.

We enjoyed a side of triple-cooked beef fat chips, large wedges of potato that were satisfyingly crispy on the outside and fluffy within. Hispi cabbage with brown butter and crispy onions brought a large wedge of cabbage looking most attractive, strewn with chopped herbs and crispy onions.

There was a good range of Coravin wines by the glass – eleven whites and eleven reds. We enjoyed a glass each of Jean Collett & Fils Chablis Récolte 2023. This crisp and dry Chardonnay from Burgundy has fruity notes and chalky minerality, which paired well with our fish dishes.

I can rarely resist a pavlova, so I happily selected the pavlova with rhubarb, bourbon vanilla custard and cinnamon ice cream for dessert. Here, there was a pool of vanilla-flecked custard in which fingers of poached rhubarb reclined, having retained just the right level of crunch. In the middle was a scoop of well-flavoured cinnamon ice cream, while up above was a round of meringue, dusted with what might have been sumac, adding a citrussy note. A perfectly lovely summer dessert, not overly sweet despite all the sugary components.

My companion chose the lemon posset, lemon curd and lime meringue. This too was a lovely dish for the summer season.  Lemon posset has an old-fashioned feel but is so enjoyable to eat that it is a classic dessert that deserves its place on menus. It looked so pretty served in a glass coupe, the posset topped with a layer of lemon curd and garnished with shards of lime meringue and microherbs. The dish had good citrus flavour and balance of sweetness, and the addition of lemon curd was a lovely touch. The shards of meringue looked impressive and provided good textural contrast. The posset at The Pig and Butcher was slightly under-set and would have benefited from an extra hour in the fridge.  We ended our lunch with a double espresso and a fresh mint tea.

The Pig and Butcher is an attractive gastropub with very good service and a warm welcome. It is a fresh and light space in which to while away a leisurely lunch. The menu, as is to be expected, leans towards meat eaters, but there are plenty of alternatives for pescatarians. It is a short walk from Angel tube station and well located for the residents of Islington.

 The Pig and Butcher, 80 Liverpool Road, Islington, London N1 0QD

Tel: 020 72268304

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