Deep in the leafy residential swathes of De Beauvoir Town – aka the St Tropez of Islington – you’ll find Goodbye Horses, yet another wine bar and small-plates affair. This one just so happens to also be a pour-over coffee shop called Day Trip, and is named in honour of the moody 1980s synthpop song by Q Lazzarus. So far, so north London.
This former pub has been spruced up accordingly. There are white-washed brick walls, swirling Marc Chagall-esque scribbles across a vast fabric lighting fixture that runs the length of the bar and sturdy, low wooden tables that you can’t quite cross your legs under. A vintage 1970s Tannoy Lancaster speaker hangs imposingly in each corner of the long room, and all must pass the wall of 4,000 vinyl records as they enter. Fancy Swiss architects have been involved in revamping the space and it looks sleek, clean and very, very expensive. Who needs comfort when you have style?
Charming and enthusiastic staff seriously know their stuff
This though, is a wine bar, not a toddler’s soft-play centre, and here the grape is king – especially those of the organic and biodynamic variety. Charming and enthusiastic staff seriously know their stuff, and sample sips and sloshes are dished out when trying to find a wine matched to a guest’s mood and fripperies. We begin with a perfectly pink and fabulously fizzy Bruno Rochard Folie des Grains served in a glass cutely etched with the bar’s endearing equine logo. It is liquid, x-rated strawberries and all the better for it. The cheapest glass on the menu is also one of the most quaffable; a perky £6 Valdibella Catarratto Bianco. There are carefully selected oranges, roses and reds, too – going up to £12.50 a glass, but with most around the £9 mark. At Goodbye Horses you can trust your server with your life (though maybe not your liver); gobble up their recommendations with shameless enthusiasm.
Food is more of a mixed (nose) bag. Peas and beans with goat curd is creamy, fresh and extremely pretty (but rather tiny) and oxtail ragout rice is a knockout; all funky, crispy rice shot through with a deeply musical umami hum. However, raw beef, chilli and mushroom rye crackers are far tastier than they look – grey and raw sliced mushroom covers the colourful tartare in a strangely stark fashion – and two red prawn dolma with an abundance of pickles and wrapped with fresh lettuce also look quirky, but taste – in the best possible way – like a Big Mac. A classic French dish of creamy egg mayonnaise was itself as rich and slutty as it should be, but was let down by the scattering of soggy crisps on top.
As a wine bar, Goodbye Horses is unsurpassed. As a restaurant, it might just need a little refining.
The vibe A sleek Islington wine bar with a classy, monied crowd.
The food Small plates with a deeply seasonal angle.
The drink Biodynamic and organic wine, with plenty of glasses to work your way through.
Time Out tip Can’t quite manage a fourth glass of plonk? Switch to cascara, a chilled coffee cherry tea which tastes like the most delicate root beer.