Tucked just off Upper Street, the Almeida is a long-standing Islington eaterie with a loyal clientele. The interior has recently been refurbished and now features lots of plain cream walls, oak and modern art, delivering a pleasantly unfussy and unpretentious dining space. Formerly owned by the Conran group, it is now part of the D&D restaurant chain following a management buy-out in 2006.

The food is broadly French brasserie in style, with a varied selection of meat (including offal), seafood and some vegetarian items (there’s a vegetarian menu available on request - a nice touch often lacking in French restaurants). The quality of the cooking is excellent, although the portions go for quality rather than quantity - the French influence means that main courses are low on carbohydrates, so if you like British quantities of starch it’s best to order some additional sides of veg. The upside of this is that you have room for dessert, and I for one quite like leaving a restaurant feeling satisfied rather than stuffed. On my most recent visit, the steaks, suckling pig and scallops were all very highly praised. My main - a pithivier (puff-pastry pie) of St Maure cheese with pumpkin and grilled winter salad was delicate and delicious.

A high point is the wine list, which is superb. The choice ranges from perfectly acceptable (and affordable) house wines at £14.50 to an eye-watering 1999 Burgundy at £425. The full wine list features a good selection in the £25-£50 range. The best way to sample the food is to try one of the set menus at lunchtime and pre- and post-theatre, at £14.50 for two courses: otherwise, the ‘fixed-price a la carte’ dinner menu is £25 for two courses, £29.50 for three. Service charge of 12.5% is added on top, so expect a meal for two with wine and coffee to come to around £50 a head.

The service is one area where the Almeida’s reputation is rather mixed, although I have never had any problems, and the waiter on my last visit could not have been more helpful. It’s worth booking ahead in the evening - this can be done via their web-site.

Before the Almedia refurbished - it’s now re-opened in early 2008 - it was one of my favourite restaurants. It’s just opposite the nicest part of Upper Street, the food was usually flawless, the service was attentive, and you could escape without having to take out a second mortgage.

Sadly, for a curmudgeon like myself, the refurb seems to have done nothing to dampen either the cooking or the atmosphere. It’s still a pleasant, welcoming place, if you can ignore the gruesome hunk of “art” behind my dinner companion (apparently the unholy lovechild from an orgy featuring Rothko, Pollock and a chimp). And the food is still bloody good.

We both passed over the tempting and much-vaunted plate of charcuterie to start, with my partner proclaiming the foie gras a triumph and myself steadfastly refusing to share my Cornish crab. To be fair, the portion could have been a little bigger. But my main of Anjou squab was spectacular and I barely had room to stuff down my blood orange sorbet. I’m told the suckling pig and creme brulee was excellent but you’ll have to take my partner’s word for it. I didn’t get a sniff of either.

So, still every bit as good as I remember. I know 5 stars is a bit of a stellar rating: please bear in mind that the crucial final half a star or so is awarded strictly because I’m able to walk home from this place in 10 minutes. If you live in Wandsworth, you might think the cab fare a little prohibitive for a genuine 5-star evening. To which I can only say… well, if you WILL live South of the River.