Since opening in 2019, Angelina has become one of London’s most distinctive neighbourhood restaurants, earning critical acclaim for tasting menus shaped by Japanese and Italian influences. For founders Joshua Owens-Baigler, Amar Takhar and Laura Horta, the seven-year milestone is an opportunity to sharpen, challenge and evolve the restaurant once again.
“We always want to challenge ourselves before change is forced on us, to keep improving, refining and pushing forward. After such an exciting 2025, with our strongest year yet in Dalston and the opening of Osteria Angelina, this felt like the right moment to build on that momentum. Kondate gives us more room to respond to the seasons and ideas coming out of the kitchen, while staying true to the restaurant Angelina has always been,” said co-founder, Josh Owens-Baigler
Angelina’s former Kaiseki-style tasting menu has been replaced by a menu grounded in the Japanese tradition of Kondate: composing a meal with harmony and rhythm while allowing room for spontaneity, flexibility and change. This first menu from Head Chef Khanh Tran-Thanh is a clear expression of that approach. Having been part of the Angelina team for five years, Khanh brings precision, a delicate touch and a simple aesthetic to the kitchen.
The multi-course seasonal menu is served in five sections: Antipasti, Crudo, Pasta, Binchotan and Dolci. The emphasis is on wild flavours, clarity and restraint. A pasta course of Raviolo, Asparagus & Yuzu features a green sauce of wild garlic, nettle and cavolo nero with white asparagus. A Pile of Spring salad features foraged leaves, herbs and flowers including borage, wild spinach, dandelion, landcress, gorse and redcurrant flowers.
Citrus flavours complement seasonal ingredients in crudo dish Hamachi, Rhubard, Kumquat and in a dish of sorbet and granita, Apple, Yuzu & Sorrel. A main course of Pork Pluma, Scallop with Bitter Greens & Salsa Rossa is cooked over Binchotan and accompanied by Rice, Butter & 4-Year-Old Parmesan.
The menu also pays homage to the suppliers who have held the restaurant in such good stead. Foraged British produce from Bello Wild Food features throughout, while artisanal fruit vinegars from Pojer e Sandri in the Dolomites bring lift and complexity. Elsewhere, the kitchen’s tare cooking stock is enriched with cold-pressed quince concentrate from the same region, underscoring Angelina’s longstanding interest in layering Japanese technique with carefully sourced Italian ingredients.
Angelina also enters its seventh year with a new trio leading the restaurant into its next phase. In the kitchen, Khanh Tran-Thanh continues as Head Chef after stepping into the role last year. Front of house is led by General Manager Andrea Marino, who joined this year from LIMA Shoreditch, having previously worked at Jason Atherton’s City Social. New Head Sommelier Elio Machine, formerly of Claude Bosi at Bibendum, now oversees the wine list at both Angelina and sister restaurant Osteria Angelina.
The wine programme remains uniquely Angelina, with a particular focus on Italian indigenous grape varieties and bottles that reflect the restaurant’s distinct point of view. Alongside labels selected to sit naturally with the food, the list includes wines unavailable anywhere else in the UK, imported especially for Angelina. Highlights include its own private collection Durello Metodo Classico Non Dosage 2020, produced in collaboration with Fongaro, based in the Lessini Hills of Veneto.
All photos, © Jodi Hinds