The Old Street Chinese Restaurant

You're walking past the brutalist tech offices and creative agencies of Old Street, and suddenly you spot this no-nonsense Chinese restaurant that's been quietly getting on with it for ages. The sort of place where the menu's worn at the edges, the staff couldn't care less about Instagram angles, and the food tastes like someone actually knows what they're doing in the kitchen. It's the type of spot you'd stumble upon and think: how have I not been here before? Cantonese classics done properly—dim sum that doesn't insult your intelligence, noodles with actual flavour, seafood that's fresh. Come here when you want good food without the theatre, in a neighbourhood that's changed five times over but this place just carries on.