Granita was a restaurant at number 127

Upper Street Upper Street is the main street of the Islington district of inner north London, and carries the A1 road. It begins at the junction of the A1 and Liverpool Road, continuing on from Islington High Street which runs from the crossroads at Pentonv ...

in Islington. It was founded in the early 1990s by Vicky Leffman. Its decor was bright and light with a

Scandinavian style Scandinavian design is a design movement characterized by simplicity, minimalism and functionality that emerged in the early 20th century, and subsequently flourished in the 1950s throughout the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norwa ...

of pale wood. Its cuisine was modern British, fusing classic dishes such as mussels with exotic ingredients such as

lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...

. It was the setting for the Blair–Brown deal between the then- Shadow Home Secretary,

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...

, and the then- Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer,

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony ...

, in 1994. The restaurant was sold to

Hüseyin Özer Hüseyin Özer (born 1949 in Reşadiye, Tokat Province, Turkey) is a Turkish British Chef#''Chef de cuisine'', executive chef and head chef, executive chef and restaurateur, who owns a restaurant chain based in London. Early life Hüseyin Özer ...

's Sofra group in 2002 but then closed in 2003, being replaced by a Tex-Mex restaurant called Desperados. When Desperados moved to number 67 in 2013, the premises was then converted to become an

estate agent An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged ...

References

{{Restaurants in London Buildings and structures in Islington Defunct European restaurants Defunct restaurants in London European restaurants in London Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Islington Fusion cuisine Restaurants disestablished in 2003