When the moon hits your eye: that's Tenore Jas Lehal/TLP

Rating: 3/5

Islington’s Tenore may have an uninspiring location on a busy road and slightly weird decor, but it still knocks most London pizzerias into a cocked hat.

That may sound like faint praise. London has its fair share of pizza hellholes (yes, Pizza Hut, I’m talking to you), but the ­Sardinian trimmings and ­immaculate service make Tenore the sort of simple local people fall in love with.

The pizzas are great. Fresh from Tenore’s wood-fired oven, their bases are crisp, springy and thin. Toppings are a welcome break from the norm, with Sardinian s­pecialities such as bottarga (salted grey mullet roe) and oddball choices like avocado keeping things interesting.

As the pizzas are huge, though, anyone who isn’t ravenous might be best off with the ­basics. My cartwheel-sized number ­covered with cooked sausage, chunks of salami and Sardinian blue cheese was delicious, but too rich and salty to cope with more than half. An ­avocado, goats cheese and buffalo ­mozzarella was far lighter.

Beyond pizza, there’s also a full menu of Sardinian dishes, including pasta and respectable starters like mint and pea soup with pecorino. The decor isn’t quite right: deep red walls and great big retro photos, pot plants and an odd loungey bit with shelves of pottery, it looks a bit like a branch of Costa Coffee tarted up with random knick-knacks. Service, though, is delightful. Both our waiters were ­exceedingly friendly, quick and keen to please.

Tenore may not make it as a city-wide destination, but as a low-key easygoing local, it puts barely a foot wrong.

Tenore, 14 Barnsbury Road, N1 0HB, 020 7278 6955, Nearest Tube: Angel Meal for two £40