North London Food & Culture

Review: Lure Fish Kitchen NW5

A destination neighbourhood restaurant has opened deep in the valley of Dartmouth Park. Wake up and smell the sea

Blackened bream. As simple as. Photo: Stephen Emms
Blackened bream. As simple as. Photo: Stephen Emms

The quality of small, independent food and drink openings in the neighbourhood this year has been phenomenal – and that’s what our new print issue, available free from 100 outlets, celebrates.

Welcoming: exterior
Dusk falls: exterior (SE/LBTM)

Just a few weeks after Pit Stop lit up the lower reaches of Kentish Town Road, this new diner has arrived in the northern heights of NW5 (or Dartmouth Park, if you prefer). Like nearby Chicken Shop, it’s a no-bookings kinda place with just enough seats and a speedyish service to make waiting not unimaginable. And a brief but well-curated drinks menu of local and London beers and lagers (Camden, Meantime and Bethnal Green) and perky wine list should resolve any impatience issues. There’s nothing a nice glass of Picpoul can’t alleviate, after all.

What’s the interior like? Well-lit by industrial pendants but not overly bright, it’s all distressed wood, salvaged furniture and exposed brickwork and pipes. Cosy booths line one wall, with counter seating at the window and tables for larger groups. A white tiled kitchen is open to view, and prints by the artist Peter Gander cover one wall.

The concept as a whole was designed by multi-talented chef-owner Philip Kendall, an Australian ex-events chef for M&S who left Sydney a decade ago after meeting his British wife. “A lure is a fishing instrument,” he says. “I had fished a lot in my youth and it continues to fascinate me.”


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Interior. Photo: LFK
Simple and stylish interior. Photo: LFK

Philip’s motto of “fresh, seasonal, sustainable” is reflected in the short but considered menu. Starters include a wintry Jerusalem artichoke soup and oysters, while mains list a couple of hot fishy sandwiches and simple grilled dishes. All are well-priced (under a tenner) with sides an extra couple of quid.

And yet. This is serious cooking. We’ve visited twice to date – once paying, once as guests – although our first taste was actually our least favourite: Szechuan salt and pepper Cornish squid may have been tender enough, but the accompanying ponzu dressing proved too dominant. However, our other starter, steamed mussels, more than compensated: its umami-rich sauce, simply made from ginger paste, white wine and chilli – and yet more than the sum of its parts – was a delight to mop up with bouncy sourdough.

Fish finger butty.
Dextrous: fish finger butty. Photo: SE/LBTM

Mains were extraordinarily good value for this price range. A pneumatic “fish finger butty” was anything but: recalling the soft shell crab burger at Shrimpy’s in King’s Cross, its fingers of cod lay criss-crossed in a shiny brioche bun smothered with crunchy fennel slaw and aioli. A good antidote if you’ve tired of streetfood fads.

But even the butty paled next to a superior fillet of gilt head bream, marinaded in lemongrass, sweet chilli and coriander and blackened on the grill. This was a delicious plate for £9, recalling Asian classics like miso cod. An accompaniment of carrots – also chargrilled and crunchy – would instantly rehabilitate the vegetable to the most ardent haters.

Guess who's already a fan. Milliband poses with chef-owner Philip Kendall. Photo: Sue A/Twitter
Not eating in? Miliband gets his takeaway. Pictured with chef-owner Philip Kendall. Photo: Sue A/Twitter

On our second visit we simply scoffed fish and chips (as endorsed by DP’s most famous resident, left). Well, it’s an essential part of what Lure is about, after all. And the good news is that it’s up there with the best in the postcode – and beyond. Haddock was cooked just opaque, and thus perfectly moist, its Camden Hell’s batter light and easy to finish. Creamy home-made tartare was chunky with crunchy gherkins, minted crushed peas bringing texture and colour. Of the two chip options, triple-cooked Maris Pipers had the edge on fries (incidentally, sides are big and meant for sharing).

On both occasions service was efficient, polite and swift. It may still be early days, but – as readers of our print edition will know – Lure Fish is already one of our favourite openings of the year.

56 Chetwynd Road NW5 1DJ, open Wed-Sun 12-10pm all day. Starters £2-7.50, mains £9. Sides £2.50-£3.50. House wine from £5.50 a glass. Eat-in and takeaway options. Kentishtowner Rating 8.5/10

21 thoughts on “Review: Lure Fish Kitchen NW5”

  1. Both kentishtowner and the Lure menu misspell “Gilt head bream”. Minor thing maybe, but hyper-annoying and doesn’t inspire confidence.

    Have eaten here a couple of times and while it’s ok would have two recommendations: firstly, there are two types of chips available, neither of which are proper chip-shop chips. Secondly, there isn’t a fish and chip shop in the world that charges the same for take-away as eat-in. Am sure they’d get more custom with dedicated take-away prices.

    The fennel slaw was very good though.

  2. “sides extra an extra couple of quid” – apart from the typo, this was my main beef with Lure: the children’s portions are a very reasonable price given the decent size (£5, I think), but as a single parent it’s very annoying to have to pay £5 or £6 (the latter, I think) to get peas and chips with my fish (which was £9). There were a lot of chips and peas, so it’s OK if you are sharing, but I won’t be going back when one portion of fish, chips and peas, however well done, costs something like £16.50 (including added service charge) – unless they can perhaps see the position you are in and suggest doing a combination of chips and peas, as some of the better restaurants I have been to have kindly done without having to be asked.

  3. Come on Clare!
    It’s no wonder there’s a dirth of newly opened independent restaurants if critics are hyper annoyed by / can’t see past minor spelling errors.
    I guess costa coffee doesn’t make such errors – maybe you’d prefer that or some other chain? Or another estate agent?
    Let’s get behind local residents setting up good new businesses lest we end up like Belsize Park.
    I thought their fried fish was delicious and the chips were just different to chip shop chips but also great.
    If you want chip shop chips, go somewhere else!
    Good luck to loor.
    Sorry, Lure.

    1. The spelling mistake was a personal annoyance and showed lack of attention detail, but is no big deal. Has nothing to do with whether it’s a chain or an independent, and I hope the place succeeds.

      As an ex-Yorkshirewoman I take my fish and chips (and value) seriously, and while Lure’s was ok – haddock a bit undercooked and floppy though – and their chips were not to my taste, the oysters and the fennel slaw were excellent and I’ll be going back to try the other non-chip-shop dishes. But I won’t be getting a fish-and-chip takeaway at £12-a-pop when Danny’s and the Tufnell Park Kebab house (yes, seriously, their fish and their frying is really good) offer better value in the area. That lack of decent takeaway pricing was my main point. Christ knows how expensive that Belsize Park chippie is if Lure counts as a bargain.

      1. Ooh you’re fierce!
        I do like that though. Perhaps we could share a plate of oysters one day? That’s if you promise not to pick me up on my grammar or discuss the price.
        Fuzz1!
        X

  4. This place is excellent – great food at a great price.. If you compare the price of the takeaway to Oliver’s in Belsize it’s a bargain and much nicer.. I will be going back soon!!

  5. dont know what fish and chip shop ‘mad dog’ goes to normally but this is the most stylish one place I have ever been too! this place is really welcome in the area and provides great food at affordable prices. I’m loving the specials board which had the tastiest kale dish ever known to mankind!

  6. I loved Lure, not pretentious and delicious dishes. Sure there will be some adjustments as time goes by but I think this place is here to stay.
    So refreshing in this world of frozen, pre-prepared offerings.
    Loved the chips, the fennel coleslaw, the miso salmon, the mussels……

    1. amazing place, amazing food, I woke up the next day still thinking of the great food I had.. I will go back AGAIN and AGAIN and replace my takeaway.. great job and congratulations to the owners! kiki

  7. I think that Lure is a complete winner, great, honest and really tasty food in wonderful surroundings. Visited with my husband and 2 young children, service was good, we were instantly made to feel very welcome and the kids loved it (especially the quirky ice-cream to finish). Very reasonably priced too. You can’t go wrong eating here, we’ll definitely be back very soon!

  8. I don’t usually leave comments like this but I think it’s important to support great local restaurants and Lure Fish Kitchen is my new favourite find! A perfect balance of casual dining and great food. The miso salmon is a must. Really reasonable prices and a great way to spend an evening with friends. I’ve already been back 3 times to try out the different dishes.

  9. Disappointed of Dartmouth Park

    Very excited that we have a new restaurant in the ‘hood and a fishy one at that, but Lure isn’t that. It’s a tarted up chippy without the “charm”.
    This is a restaurant hoping to become a chain: good graphics, clean, modern interior but to do so it needs to delivery on the food.
    Our fish was well over-fried, the fennel slaw made maybe the day before maybe even earlier, the chips nice and abundant but when we asked, we should have been advised that one portion would be fine for the two of us. At 3.50 a time, you’d like to know.
    The staff (perhaps all in training??) knew nothing much about the fish nor the beers and there was a lot of cringe making,” Did that taste good?”
    Won’t be going back and sad that it’s a missed opportunity for a real fish restaurant to fill this space.

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21 thoughts on “Review: Lure Fish Kitchen NW5”

  1. Both kentishtowner and the Lure menu misspell “Gilt head bream”. Minor thing maybe, but hyper-annoying and doesn’t inspire confidence.

    Have eaten here a couple of times and while it’s ok would have two recommendations: firstly, there are two types of chips available, neither of which are proper chip-shop chips. Secondly, there isn’t a fish and chip shop in the world that charges the same for take-away as eat-in. Am sure they’d get more custom with dedicated take-away prices.

    The fennel slaw was very good though.

  2. “sides extra an extra couple of quid” – apart from the typo, this was my main beef with Lure: the children’s portions are a very reasonable price given the decent size (£5, I think), but as a single parent it’s very annoying to have to pay £5 or £6 (the latter, I think) to get peas and chips with my fish (which was £9). There were a lot of chips and peas, so it’s OK if you are sharing, but I won’t be going back when one portion of fish, chips and peas, however well done, costs something like £16.50 (including added service charge) – unless they can perhaps see the position you are in and suggest doing a combination of chips and peas, as some of the better restaurants I have been to have kindly done without having to be asked.

  3. Come on Clare!
    It’s no wonder there’s a dirth of newly opened independent restaurants if critics are hyper annoyed by / can’t see past minor spelling errors.
    I guess costa coffee doesn’t make such errors – maybe you’d prefer that or some other chain? Or another estate agent?
    Let’s get behind local residents setting up good new businesses lest we end up like Belsize Park.
    I thought their fried fish was delicious and the chips were just different to chip shop chips but also great.
    If you want chip shop chips, go somewhere else!
    Good luck to loor.
    Sorry, Lure.

    1. The spelling mistake was a personal annoyance and showed lack of attention detail, but is no big deal. Has nothing to do with whether it’s a chain or an independent, and I hope the place succeeds.

      As an ex-Yorkshirewoman I take my fish and chips (and value) seriously, and while Lure’s was ok – haddock a bit undercooked and floppy though – and their chips were not to my taste, the oysters and the fennel slaw were excellent and I’ll be going back to try the other non-chip-shop dishes. But I won’t be getting a fish-and-chip takeaway at £12-a-pop when Danny’s and the Tufnell Park Kebab house (yes, seriously, their fish and their frying is really good) offer better value in the area. That lack of decent takeaway pricing was my main point. Christ knows how expensive that Belsize Park chippie is if Lure counts as a bargain.

      1. Ooh you’re fierce!
        I do like that though. Perhaps we could share a plate of oysters one day? That’s if you promise not to pick me up on my grammar or discuss the price.
        Fuzz1!
        X

  4. This place is excellent – great food at a great price.. If you compare the price of the takeaway to Oliver’s in Belsize it’s a bargain and much nicer.. I will be going back soon!!

  5. dont know what fish and chip shop ‘mad dog’ goes to normally but this is the most stylish one place I have ever been too! this place is really welcome in the area and provides great food at affordable prices. I’m loving the specials board which had the tastiest kale dish ever known to mankind!

  6. I loved Lure, not pretentious and delicious dishes. Sure there will be some adjustments as time goes by but I think this place is here to stay.
    So refreshing in this world of frozen, pre-prepared offerings.
    Loved the chips, the fennel coleslaw, the miso salmon, the mussels……

    1. amazing place, amazing food, I woke up the next day still thinking of the great food I had.. I will go back AGAIN and AGAIN and replace my takeaway.. great job and congratulations to the owners! kiki

  7. I think that Lure is a complete winner, great, honest and really tasty food in wonderful surroundings. Visited with my husband and 2 young children, service was good, we were instantly made to feel very welcome and the kids loved it (especially the quirky ice-cream to finish). Very reasonably priced too. You can’t go wrong eating here, we’ll definitely be back very soon!

  8. I don’t usually leave comments like this but I think it’s important to support great local restaurants and Lure Fish Kitchen is my new favourite find! A perfect balance of casual dining and great food. The miso salmon is a must. Really reasonable prices and a great way to spend an evening with friends. I’ve already been back 3 times to try out the different dishes.

  9. Disappointed of Dartmouth Park

    Very excited that we have a new restaurant in the ‘hood and a fishy one at that, but Lure isn’t that. It’s a tarted up chippy without the “charm”.
    This is a restaurant hoping to become a chain: good graphics, clean, modern interior but to do so it needs to delivery on the food.
    Our fish was well over-fried, the fennel slaw made maybe the day before maybe even earlier, the chips nice and abundant but when we asked, we should have been advised that one portion would be fine for the two of us. At 3.50 a time, you’d like to know.
    The staff (perhaps all in training??) knew nothing much about the fish nor the beers and there was a lot of cringe making,” Did that taste good?”
    Won’t be going back and sad that it’s a missed opportunity for a real fish restaurant to fill this space.

Leave a Comment

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The award-winning print and online title Kentishtowner was founded in 2010 and is part of London Belongs To Me, a citywide network of travel guides for locals. For more info on what we write about and why, see our About section.