Love Ottolenghi's , but they're closed for time we need , anywhere else like it apart from Fig & Olive Islington [London]?

[melsy]

I have a friend meeting me off the train at Kings Cross station and we didnt want to go to far in a taxi , preferably near or in Islington , as I can easily get home from there & she needs to get to Shoreditch by taxi again later in the evening & doesn't want the cost of the day to mount.

Ottolenghi's http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/ is perfect , as they have savoury snacks and lovely cakes and patisserie, but they close around 5 to set up for dinner and we would like to go somewhere to sit from 4-8.

I thought somewhere for tea might be nice , but we fancy something much more relaxed than say The Wolseley or Ritz.

A few weeks back we went to Fig & Olive and sadly had an incident with a fly in our food, was a real shame , as its the right kind of place for an afternoon nosh! So we wont be going back there in a hurry!

It would be great to get some suggestions , as were a bit stuck & where better to come than the wonderful chowhound for some ideas.

[limster]

Compared to Ottolenghi, Cocomaya has slightly more refined technique in the baked goods and more elegant eye candy (but different types of baked items). They also offer a small selection of salads and sandwiches which are somewhat comparable to Ottolenghi in quality (but stylistically a little less exuberant) and slightly less expensive (but also a smaller serving).

[therubyslippers]

I can't think of anywhere quite like Ottolenghi. Best I can come up with in that area is Camino - Spanish tapas. Bit pricey, but you can stretch out the tapas to fill a lot of time: http://bit.ly/l4mYP. Not too far away is Cigala on Lambs Conduit Street (http://bit.ly/WoRau), again for tapas. If you don't know the street, there are lots of small cafes and pubs on there, plus some independent shops to while away the time.