J Elliott

LOVE this place. Traditional butcher shop, and they have cheese too!
They carry great meat, can provide recommendations about what’s good and are really friendly and helpful. One of those places that makes you feel like you live in a neighbourhood rather than a faceless city.
And such great bacon. To be fair, mostly I’m in it for the bacon. But when I’ve branched out for sausages and steaks, that’s always been a great choice too.

Shop is lovely and full of delicious things. However, I called to preorder something earlier this week and was told fine /​I could pick it up on Friday. I then called midweek to confirm everything was ok, it apparently was.
When I went in on Friday I got a shrug of the shoulders and ‘we couldn’t get it for you’ (no explanation /​apology). Really frustrating, why couldn’t they have called me to tell me earlier in the week so I could have seen if another butcher could get the item for me? Now it’s too late.

Alongside excellent service from the very nice staff, this butchers offers an excellent variety of meat, sausages, poultry, prepared meals, etc.
Our couscous, tajines, lasagna are among the tastiest we ever cooked (says my mother-​in-​law from Morocco…).
Sorry to hear Robyn A.‘s comments, but it seems quite odd that we’re talking about the same place though…

Well, I hate to ruin the run of great reviews, but there you go.
Sent my husband in on Friday the 23^rd for a Christmas turkey. The man behind the counter finished tossing back a few pills and chasing them with an Irn Bru before barking «What’s yours?». Merry freaking Christmas to you, Mr. Butcher Man.
No turkeys, in spite of my calling 20 minutes earlier and being assured by the woman who answered the phone that there were plenty. My husband was instead sold a £45 crown roast of turkey in a vacuum sealed plastic bag. Ok, that’s fine, I can deal with that.
Roasted it up today, cooked it to juicy perfection (curtsies) and sat down to our lovely Christmas meal. Took my first bite, and… bland, non-​turkey turkey. Looked at my husband, who was staring at his plate in puzzlement. I asked what was wrong, and he basically echoed what I was thinking. «It doesn’t taste of anything. Certainly not of turkey, not really of chicken; it’s just kind of there.»
Before you get all riled up at the Yank slagging off your British fowl (foul?), my husband is English. Well, he *says* he’s English in a rather convincing accent, but he doesn’t drink tea and won’t eat black pudding, so I have my suspicions.
Aaaaaaaaanyway, I’m not impressed. £45 for a tasteless hunk of turkey is not small amount of money. Don’t get me wrong, we plan to finish all 8lbs of it, made more palatable by the drowning of it in gallons of gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.
Lesson learned! Next year I’ll opt for one of the beautifully prepared birds at Waitrose and pay about half for the trouble.

Awful. Called ahead for a saddle of rabbit, was told it was available. On arrival was rudely told I’d have to buy the entire rabbit. Fine. I then asked if the saddle could be filleted off. They made a pig’s ear of it and then told me off for asking for this as ‘they normally don’t cut up rabbit as it takes too much time’. Who would have thought it, a butcher that doesn’t butcher. AVOID. Go to the much friendlier and professional e. wood nearby on Liverpool road.

I’ve gotten some great meat, and meat advice from this place. When I’ve walked by or taken the bus, James Elliott Butcher’s ripe for rubber-​necking. The display window alone is awesome.
You walk in, and tell the butcher what you’re thinking of cooking, the kind of meat, and for how many people. The butcher gives you suggestions, and what cut, and away you go. Nice cheese to go with it, eggs, and also mustards. Excellent bacon and sausages too.
Love knowing that the best way to keep meat, if you’re not going to cook it that day, is to place it, clean and dry, on a plate, with a plastic bag loosely covering it. Meat was a living thing, so it makes sense that it needs to breathe still. Bacon keeps very well this way.
Step next door for your veggies, fruit, and fish.

First off, let’s get one thing straight: I got ham but I’m not a hamster.
Now that that’s on the table, it’s safe to say that all of this recent sausage talk reminded me of my meaty meat meatastic adventure in the butcherland that is James Elliott.
Not for the faint of (pig) heart, Mr. Elliott displays some amazing cuts of local free-​range meat, any way you slice it. But it was the range of specialty sausages that really filled my buns — venison and redcurrant, boar and apple, as well as a pile of amazing poultry-​garlicy goodness that I went through far too quickly. I just couldn’t help myself.
If you’re looking for Britain’s best banger, you might just find it here.
Plus, there’s cheese…
Soooo five stars. (I mean, right?!)

Beautifully presented with a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. I was looking for some filet steak for my boyfriend’s birthday and since he’s an ex-​Michelin chef I wanted to get him some top quality meat from a butcher rather than from the supermarket. 3 large cuts came to a reasonable £25 and they tasted absolutely divine. The butcher was friendly and we had a little chat about the vintage badges on my leather jacket as he cut and wrapped the meat. I will definitely be making more regular visits here!

Well I’ve mentioned before how much I love a gourmet butcher, and James Elliott is just that. Welcomed by a beautiful awning and ye-​olde-​school signage, venture inside and it’s a welcome treat from the rows of artificially-​grown ‘meat’ at Tesco.
The thing about gourmet butchers is they just don’t smell like regular butchers. You know, that over-​awing smell that, when hungover, you can’t even walk past such a butcher without runniing for the nearest bin.
James Elliott smells great (for a butcher!), and has such an impressive selection of free-​range and organic meats, all beautifully presented. Staff are so helpful, always happy to help you with cooking times, suggested sides to complement a particular cut of meat, etc.
Yes, butchers of this calibre are more expensive than cheaper butchers, but really only buy a couple of quid, which I think is well worth it. No argument at all.

James Elliot is the butcher I go to when I am cooking a special meal or want an excellent cut of meat. The butchers are personable and very knowledgeable. If I’m not sure what kind of cut of meat I’m looking for they offer helpful suggestions. For the last two years James Elliot is the butcher I go to for my Thanksgiving turkey. All the meat I’ve purchased from the butcher has been delicious and gotten raves. I admit, some of that has to do with my cooking, but without a solid foundation to build upon… well we know how the meal would turn out. The cuts, especially the beef are tender and only require seasoning. Buying meat from the grocery store can be a crap shoot, particularly if you are cooking a steak. With James Elliot I don’t have to purchase my steak a few days ahead and marinate to make sure it’s tender, I can buy their steak that day, season it and toss it on the grill and it taste as if it’s been marinating for days.

best butcher in Islington. Very good aged sirloin, and always go there for pheasants. Bacon nice. Beats the local supermarket hands down