Since alighting in Kentish Town in 2023, the Parakeet has established itself as one of the leading gastropubs in the capital. I’ve drank there a few times: you can always spot the place from the hordes of drinkers massing on the outside pavement, clutching the ubiquitous Guinness. Other beers are available but Guinness is very much the Parakeet drinker’s order of choice.
It’s a beautiful building, dating back to the 1770s. The windows are stained glass, the exterior a handsome green that naturally calls to its avian namesake. Owners Steve Ball and Riz Shaikh are local lads, the team behind Blues Kitchen and the Jazz Café up the road in Camden. While the pub is incredibly fashionable, the place still has heart, character. You can’t fake that stuff.
Previously, I’d only visited for the booze. Yes, I had Guinness; yes, I drank outside. The bar gets packed, even on weekdays. This would be my first experience of the much-hyped restaurant at the rear of the pub. My friend Owen and I practically share a birthday so I invited him along as a joint present to us both. It turned out to be rather a good one.
The restaurant smells absolutely fantastic, a mixture of incense, oak and whatever coming from the kitchen. It looks even better, dark wood and white brick, stained glass and incredibly cool artwork. (Jimi Hendrix with parakeets.) Oh and there’s a whole army of wine bottles along one wall. It's like the dining room of a stately home has somehow been bolted onto the nicest bar in Ireland.
The food? Nothing short of phenomenal. Head chef Ben Allen and sous chef Ed Jennings both worked the kitchen at Brat so the quality was always going to be high but I wasn’t prepared for quite how skyward the meal would take me. Owen has reviewed some very good restaurants with me – the freeloader – and he described the meal as the best we'd shared. I think he's right, too.
Oysters and olives are both as good as I’ve ever had. The duck tartlet is sinfully delicious, a shot of warm hoisin duck mainlined to the tastebuds – we literally started grinning at each other after the first bite. The prawn version is a little more subtle, but the freshness lingers for longer.
Then come the showstoppers. Stuffed squid in curry butter sauce goes down like the best massaman curry you've ever had. Braised leeks are slathered in a pecorino sauce so rich it plans to buy Facebook. Mackerel in a red onion vinaigrette is a trifle less decadent but equally as delicious. For the main, we shared the sea bream, split down the middle and glistening with butter. A heavenly piece of fish, one that not only elevated our birthdays but quite possibly Christmas as well.
But it wasn’t just the food – and yes, the wine – that made the Parakeet perhaps my favourite dining experience of the year. The service was wonderful. And vibes – the vibes were immaculate. Every table is full. Every person on that table is happy. Nobody – other than me, taking notes – is looking at their phone. It's warm, it's cosy, it's familiar. “I feel at home here,” said Owen at one point. I couldn’t agree more.
At a time of immense pressure for the hospitality industry, places like the Parakeet need to be celebrated and supported like never before. Whether you're popping in for a drink – let's face it, Guinness – or enjoying a blockbuster dinner, I cannot recommend the place enough. Sometimes it really is easy being green.
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256 Kentish Town Rd, London NW5 2AA; The Parakeet
