Granita (restaurant)
| Granita | |
|---|---|
 Desperados restaurant (formerly Granita) in 2009 | |
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1990s |
| Closed | 2003 |
| Previous owner(s) | Hüseyin Özer |
| Food type | |
| Street address | 127 Upper Street |
| City | Islington, London |
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°32′20″N 0°06′09″W / 51.5388°N 0.1025°W |
Granita was a restaurant at number 127 Upper Street in Islington.[1][2] It was founded in the early 1990s by Vicky Leffman. Its decor was bright and light with a Scandinavian style of pale wood.[3] Its cuisine was modern British, fusing classic dishes such as mussels with exotic ingredients such as lemongrass.[4]
It was the setting for the Blair–Brown deal between the then-Shadow Home Secretary, Tony Blair, and the then-Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, in 1994.[5][6]
The restaurant was sold to Hüseyin Özer's Sofra group in 2002 but then closed in 2003, being replaced by a Tex-Mex restaurant called Desperados.[1][2][7][8] When Desperados moved to number 67 in 2013, the premises was then converted to become an estate agent.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Watt, Nicholas (26 September 2003). "Granita's gone. Can the deal live on?". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ^ a b Peachey, Paul (26 September 2003). "Legendary Granita restaurant closes down". The Independent. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ^ "Restaurant spy: Granita", Evening Standard, 13 December 2002
- ^ Jay Rayner (1 October 2000), "Sound Bites", The Observer
- ^ McGreevy, Ronan (6 June 2003). "The pact that put Blair in charge". The Times. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ^ Akbar, Arifa (6 June 2003). "Granita, a byword for the pact that has hung over New Labour for a decade". The Independent. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ^ David Harris (31 January 2002), Granita restaurant sold
- ^ Muir, Hugh (11 May 2007). "Tex-mex table for one awaits Gordon Brown". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ^ Imogen Blake (20 March 2013), "Piece of Labour history lost as Blair and Brown's Granita pact restaurant is plastered over", Islington Now