Roots at N1

This place is superb. If you feel like kicking back with friends/​a loved one/​visitors, or you’re looking for a top notch spot for a first date, this is the perfect place. I tried Roots recently with my fiancé and 2 friends. The décor is simple yet exceptionally elegant. The ambiance is relaxing, and because it’s a small restaurant one can happily chat comfortably. As for the food, the menu is short but tweaked to absolute perfection (approx 10 starters and 10 mains, each one with a suggested red/​white/​rosé to match). We also received (as did everyone else there) complimentary tasters of soup and sorbet in between courses, which were also delicious. Would recommend booking a table if you’re planning on trying it.

Absolutely amazig food and great wines not your typical indian restaurant and we loved it

Great service, pleasant atmosphere but not the spectacular food I was expecting

One of the great neighbourhood surprises — and an outstanding restaurant to boot. I walk past Roots at N1 every day to the bus… and judging from exteriors, it has looked more the part of a pub than an inventive Indian fusion restaurant. But after wandering inside with my wife for dinner, we both left with a distinct «wow», and look forward to returning again. I would put Roots alongside Zaffrani as my two favourite fancy Indian restaurants in Islington.
There are a number of highlights on the menu, but the best in my mind was the Samosa/​Wafer appetizer (drenched in tangy tamarind and sweet yogurt), the Lamb Rogan Josh main (literally a slow cooked lamb shank in a rich curry sauce), and the Chicken Tikka — which was cooked to perfection. Portions are large, and even if hungry, you can get away with splitting a start, then ordering your own main with a bread basket on the side. I’d also point out that Roots at N1 has a good wine list, including a number of excellent selections by the glass.
The only warning: prices are a bit richer than I would have initially expected, with mains coming in around 13 – 17 GBP. Don’t get me wrong… the food and ambience are well worth it. But not exactly a «cheap curry».

Went here for a birthday meal and could not have been more impressed. The food was truly excellent and the service was fantastic (they even brought out a complimentary birthday cake). I will definitely be going back.

What a surprise! Some houseguests were craving good Indian, and found Roots at N1 online. Notwithstanding having lived in the neighbourhood for years, we’d never heard of it, but are always game to try a new place. I am So. Very. Glad. We. Did. Roots at N1 is NOT your mother’s curry house. Housed in a lovely airy space, the food is modern, inventive and all around delicious. My starter of tandoori broccoli was perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the basil tandoori chicken was melt-​in-​your-​mouth delectable. They had plenty of veg options on the menu and most dishes are available in both starter and main size, allowing you to sample at will. All I can say is thank you very much, houseguests, for finding Roots. We will definitely be back.

This place is about 2 minutes away from the flat so I knew it was opening, had made friends with the restaurant on facebook and was following it on twitter, but didn’t get round to going to try it out until Thursday this week.
The welcome was very warm and genuine, the waiter seemed pleased to see us especially after I told him I followed him on twitter. Its quite small inside for a restaurant, which helps with the atmosphere as it feels more like the local neighbourhood pub or somebody’s house.
The first thing we had was a pre starter, which was sort of a lentil soup (I can’t remember the proper name). It was almost perfect, the lentil taste came through just the right amount whilst the texture was creamy but also light.
Then I had lamp chops with mint purée, and tomatos, red onion and beetroot. The lamb melted in my mouth, and was quite delicately flavoured with Indian spices. But the real revelation was the salad, this had also been spiced and flavoured so was sharp but also slightly sweet which cut through the fattiness of the lamb and complemented it very well indeed.
I had fish for the main course, which came with curried squash and a coconut sauce (in a seperate jug). Fish with a curry is quite often disappointing as fish has a less strong flavour the the meats, so it can easily get dominated by the curry sauce. Not so here. I thought the sauce might have come in its own jug for exactly this reason, so I could choose how much I needed to avoid overpowering the fish — however, the sauce was so tasty and light I had all of it. The surplus was soaked up nicely by the squash, which meant I hardly needed any rice. We had spinach with garlic and ginger as a side dish as well, this was more like a sauce and was also excellent, each mouthful tasting of a nice mix of the three ingredients rather than only of garlic or ginger.
We shared carrot pudding with vanilla ice cream for dessert. We had assumed this would be like carrot cake but it wasn’t, it was carrot flavoured but was warm and came with other seeds and spices, and a swish of raspberry and mango jams. Great. And they brought us a glass of muscat on the house to go with it.
I will definitely be back.