by Guy Dimond
Looking around, it's hard to believe you're in Kensal Rise. The bar's got more than its share of well-groomed and unseasonally tanned bright young things, and the dining room just doesn't feel like London at all: this could be Auckland, or Cape Town, or somewhere else a very long way from NW10. Yet instead of coastal views and dazzling sunlight outside, there's a terrace of badly modernised 1920s housing with abandoned microwaves as garden furniture. What's The Island doing here? Doing very nicely, thank you, judging by our mid-week visit, when the place was already turning away potential diners.
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Tucked away in a quiet residential area, Kensal Rise's newest watering hole is the creation of Olly Daniaud - one of the men behind The Pig's Ear - and sometime chef John Devitt. Good use is made of the odd space: the venue is spread out over three floors, connected by an Escher-like series of staircases. Upstairs is a darker, glossier space for dining. The light, bright lower ground floor, plastered with matchbox art and padding for the ceiling's lower parts, is the place to drink. Potent cocktails come alongside a handful of ciders, but with 60-odd bins (glasses from £2.90), this really is wine country. Vaguely global and big-portioned bar eats - meze plates and seafood soup, all from £4 - are unpretentious and swiftly delivered. Now, if only locals could look happier about the whole thing.
Karina Mantavia
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