The story

The Plimsoll: Modern British Dining and Dexter Burgers in Finsbury Park

The Plimsoll serves Modern British dishes from a compact spot in Finsbury Park, London, securing a Good Food Guide 'Good' rating and drawing crowds well beyond the neighbourhood.

The Room and the Rhythm

Residents and creatives alike scramble for spots at this tiny corner pub, often squeezing into bar corners or booking tables up to a month in advance. The scruffy dining room opens onto an open kitchen, creating a lively backdrop where guests can watch the team work against walls adorned with vintage floral china. Outside, the ledges fill quickly as people jostle for air in the residential street.

The Burger and the Board

The one-page menu rotates regularly, yet the Dexter cheeseburger remains a constant anchor that rarely leaves a table unvisited. Patrons flock to this dish for good reason, praising the balance of flavoursome aged beef paired with a shiny brioche bun.

Kitchen Alchemy and Produce

The open kitchen delivers plates with a faint Spanish accent, blending that influence into a broader Modern British framework that distinguishes this spot from nearby siblings. Simple preparations let quality shine, seen in whole plaice grilled with 'nduja butter or lamb rump arriving juicy and pink beside spiced yoghurt. Even vegetables follow this restrained path, where Vesuvio tomatoes appear with olive oil and a generous heap of grated Tomme de Chèvre goat's cheese rather than heavy sauces.

Sweet Finishes and Pourings

Dessert keeps things straightforward with a strawberry jam tart accompanied by custard and cream, proving that the kitchen knows how to close a meal without overcomplication. The drink list matches this accessible energy, featuring plenty of choice across orange wines, sparklers, apéros, and ciders. Guests round off the evening with a reliable pint of Guinness.

Recognition

Awards & accolades

2026

The Good Food Guide

Good

Details

At a glance

The Good Food Guide 2026 — Good

Cuisines Modern British

Services Gastropub

History

On the record

2026

The Good Food Guide — Good

London’s 'tached and tattooed creatives have called it: the Plimsoll is cool. So eager are they to get into this tiny corner pub in residential Finsbury Park, they’ll squeeze into any unoccupied corner of the bar, jostle for a spot at one of the ledges outside, and book up to a month in advance for a table in the scruffy dining room. The one-page menu changes regularly and is appealing. There’s no rule that says you have to order the Dexter cheeseburger but there’s barely a table that doesn’t. And it is a good burger, well-balanced, with flavoursome aged beef and a shiny brioche bun. Otherwise, there’s a faint Spanish accent to the plates coming out of the open kitchen, albeit less pronounced than at the Plimsoll’s nearby sibling, Tollingtons. Most of what we ate was just a whisker off excellent: ripe early-summer Vesuvio tomatoes with olive oil are perfectly good as they are – even the snowdrift of grated Tomme de Chèvre goat's cheese over the top is too much. The same goes for the oakheart lettuce; it just needs a lighter touch with the mustard vinaigrette. Presentation throughout is winningly simple; decorative details being limited to the vintage floral china. Whole plaice, a scrawny specimen, comes grilled and drenched in 'nduja butter, while lamb rump (juicy and pink) arrives in thick slices with mint and spiced yoghurt. Pudding is the highlight: a slice of strawberry jam tart with custard and cream. Drinks-wise, there is plenty of interest including orange wines, sparklers, apéros, ciders and, of course, Guinness.

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Established

Location

Find us

52 St Thomas's Road, Finsbury Park, N4 2QW
London, United Kingdom