Cruse 9

My partner and I were very impressed with this restaurant, our second visit was on Valentine's night and we took advantage of the set menu which was good value at £65 including wine. The starter was a cream of beetroot soup, which didn't sound too appealing (I'm not the world's biggest beetroot fan) but was surprisingly tasty with just the right hint of spice...

The main course was a tender chateaubriand which we ordered medium rare, served with wonderfully crisp chips and tangy lemon spinach. Overall the meal was absolutely delicious, the wine was very palatable - the service was very polite and friendly but did seem slightly chaotic at times. The choice of music was also slightly questionable - I would have preferred something slightly more appropriate to the occasion & surroundings - however this will not stop us from making a return visit in the near future...
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M Anastasi - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, March 08, 2008

We went to Cruse 9 in its opening week and loved it. The friendly (and handsome!) host sets a good example for his staff in providing a welcoming and personal service. We went back tonight and had the valentines menu which was pretty good value at £65 per couple including a 3 course meal and nice aussie chardonay - with frequent offerings of fancy bread rolls (chocaltate & chilli, tomato and mozarella, wholemeal etc) and an interlue of lemon sorbet. This is a restaurant off the Upper St beaten track that is well worth supporting. I cant think why you will be dissapointed.
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Kevin & Leigh
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, February 14, 2008

The first thing that strikes you about Cruse 9 is the haven-like quality.

It's off the well-trodden Islington track, but you know you're within stone-throwing distance because it's such a classy joint.

Staff are charming, and slick from stepping through the front door and throughout service.

And then the food comes. The mouth-watering menu lives up to its descriptions.

The starters include tempura with the lightest batter, and tastiest goats cheese and chorizo salads.

The mains are sumptuous. A well thought-out menu, beautifully cooked, skillfully dressed dishes and expertly executed.

Monkfish is delicious, the steak is a treat, and there's a full veggie page on the menu too.

And you're helped with a good choice of wines for each dish to complement the meal.

You feel you are in safe hands with this young upcoming, and soon to be famous chef.

And the here have crossed all Ts and dotted all Is. Try it before everyone else gets there first.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, December 10, 2007

5 of us ate there on the 29th of Nov.

It's new and very local so we were hoping to find a gem and that's what happened.

All of the food was great but the tempura prawn starter for me was the star, very delicate and absolutely perfect. For main I had the surf and turf , again perfect . We had a selction of whites and red and finished off with a muscat.....deserts again were very generous and perfect and they had a great mix ...for choc lovers to those who like a bit of fresh ruit .

All of the serving are generous.

The bill including tip was just shy of £280 which included at least 3 bottles of wine , a Baileys anda glass of Muscat.

Great value , I feel a bit silly telling eveyone about this as we always want to get a table here
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Brian
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, December 10, 2007

Upper Street may be full of eateries but I've often found the favourites (I'm thinking Afghan Kitchen, Miso, Galippoli...) whilst serving incredible food, lack that touch of class and special treatment that you sometimes want. Cruse 9 hit the spot tonight; I've eaten a meal to die for but, more importantly, left with a sense that I was really looked after and that I ate a meal that was prepared with thought and a passion that is so often missing in restaurants in London.

Firstly, the bulding (a newly built, swanky three level joint) is impressive both to walk past and go into. The staff, attentive from the start, made us feel special and we were shown to a beautiful leather seated booth upstairs where we could watch the Islington world go by. We were talked through the wine menu (we settled on a beautiful, uncomplicated and surprisingly well priced New Zealand Pinot Noir) and the specials. The menu catered well for my vegetarian friend (she chose grilled goat's cheese on tomato and black olive crouton wih red onion chutney; I started with the seafood and saffron risotto); but I went the whole hog with the juicy and perfectly cooked fillet of beef (hung for 21 days, it said – and I believe them). It may have seemed pricey at first but really, and especially in this part of Islington, you get what you pay for.

After chatting with our waiter during the meal he invited us to take a drink in the underground bar, where we sat for longer than necessary, having cocktails made for us until we rolled home after a 3 and a half hour stretch at the restaurant. The thing that sticks out at me about this place, apart from the beautiful classy décor and the varied and, I'm sure, consistently good menu, was the staff and the experience of an evening in this wonderful restaurant. It's a new and young place but I'm sure it's a winner. Go there before you can't get a table.
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Aysha Tupman
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, December 02, 2007

This place must be one of the best-kept secrets in North London. A place so discreet that we had to hear about it via friends in New Zealand! In fact, we had a short but sharp discussion as to whether we wanted to risk loads more people finding out about it, thus making tables hard to get and parking impossible. But here goes…

On Saturday night, we had one of our best eating-out experiences in ages. We went to Cruse9 in Halliford Street Islington, just off Essex Road. Cruse9 is a stylish modern glass structure on a corner site which blends well with the more traditional surroundings. And unlike most restaurants in this area, parking was not a problem.

The welcome was genuinely warm and friendly. Before settling down to eat, we were offered a tour of the three floors which were clean-cut, bright, comfortable and modern. We started our evening in the downstairs cocktail bar where we sampled a variety of Cruse9 cocktails, best of which was an amazing Brazilian spirit-based Caparinha.

Fantastic food. We can really recommend the Tiger Prawn Tempura starter and the Sea Bass and Monkfish mains. The ingredients were really fresh and skilfully cooked. The wine list offered a good choice and was reasonably priced. Service was helpful and pleasant throughout. Excellent value for money.

We certainly intend to go again soon.
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margo & peter
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 26, 2007

I have also been waiting to see this wonderful gem of a restaurent appear so I can tell everyone to go there.

It's tucked away from the usual Upper Street drag, but is worth the extra 5 minutes walk, as it'sfabulous value for money. The cocktail bar downstairs serves tasty cocktails, and is very relaxed. They have an outside heated area for smokers aswell. The dining area is well designed, and service was excellent all night, without being in your face. They have 2 floors of tables, and can cater for large parties, who may make a lot of noise, leaving the more intimate cosy area downstairs.

We were offered a huge bread tray of little warm baked on site delights, plus olives. All courses were of good size, side orders of veggies were huge, and we were well advised regarding wine choice etc.

We shared a desert, and there was no problem getting a spare plate and spoon, and even the coffee was really good.

I can't wait to go again, and I wish the guys at Cruse 9 the best of luck.
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Cate & Martin
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, November 16, 2007

I have been waiting for Cruse 9 to appear with London Eating so I could have the opportunity to write about what a wonderful dinner my partner and I had there about 2 weeks ago.

Food: We ordered 2 starters (tiger prawn tempura, chorizo salad), 2 mains (duck magret, pork fillet), 1 ice cream desert (strawberry cheesecake), bottle of wine (pinot grigio). All fabulously tasty and the portions were perfectly generous! The chorizo salad was the best way to get the taste buds buzzing. I was particularly pleased with my duck main.

The staff were very friendly and even showed us around the joint! There is a cozy/trendy bar downstairs and my goodness do they know how to make a caparinha!!!

It's still quite empty during the week- but this will change in no time. So get down there before anything changes!

- Ana & Iain
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Ana Vav
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, November 12, 2007