A little piece of Italy in the heart of Islington
Mangia Bene had rave reviews on trip adviser, so we decided to check it out. The restaurant opened 6 years ago, so is well established.
Lovely small independent Italian restaurant in Chapel Market, Islington, London. Good basic Italian cooking. The dishes are quite simple, but well made and presented. It’s not quite a budget restaurant, but prices were reasonable for central London. Very unassuming from the front and inside the tables are very close together.
The toilets are downstairs reachable via steep stairs, so if you have difficulty climbing stairs or other mobility issues, this is not the place for you. The food is brought up via these stairs, so lots of traffic behind you if you sit at the table near the stairs.
The restaurant is within easy reach of the Sadlers Wells theatre, so perfect for pre-theatre dinner. It is close to Islington high street, so you can combine a shopping trip with nice lunch.
I ordered liver and it was cooked well –very tender . We both had fried calamari for starters and they were ok. Nothing to shout home about but good, honest food.