Dalston’s Angelina restaurant will fuse Italian and Japanese food and ban phones at the bar

Dalston is known for its alternative scene, so it seems fitting that a restaurant serving the unusual fusion of Japanese and Italian food and enforcing a no-phone rule will be the latest addition to its culinary repertoire.

Angelina is set to open in February 2019 and will combine the two cuisines to form a menu that celebrates regional and seasonal dishes from the two countries.

The Dalston Lane venue will also host a hidden drinking den called Golden Gal, inspired by Tokyo’s famous Shinjuku district. The bar will seat just six people – making it one of the smallest in east London – and will operate a strict no phone policy.

Owner Joshua Owens-Baigler, who trained at the River Cafe, said: “Our great memory of exploring Shinjuku and the Golden Gai (in Tokyo) was the sense of freedom, placelessness and judgement free nature of these tiny bars.

"By encouraging a phone and social-media free zone at Angelina we hope to replicate the fun and freedom of Shinjuku and create a genuinely more sociable experience.”

Owens-Baigler will be joined by chef Daniele Ceforo, formerly of Italian haunts Bocca di Lupo and Murano, and Daphne’s ex-head chef Robin Beparry in the kitchen.

Angelina will offer an eight-plate sharing menu priced at £48 with dishes including unagi, risotto with burnt soy butter, tonkotsu, egg and keta caviar and a black sesame and milk chocolate panna cotta, with the option for a Italian wine pairing for £45. A chef's plate of the day will also be available for £9, or £12 with the addition of wine.

Although Japanese food has long been used in fusion food, it's somewhat more unusual to see it blended with traditional European cuisine, though not unheard of – in West Brompton, Bistro Mirey serves Japanese inflected French cooking.

56 Dalston Lane, E8 3AH, angelina.london