London area guide: Highbury
Spanning from Blackstock Road down toward Angel, you’ll run into independent businesses, local families, and a lot of Arsenal fans – so if you’re new to London, just bear in mind you won’t be able to get a seat in a pub on match day... and it gets kinda wild in Highbury, in general, on these days, but that's part of what makes the place feel like a community along with beloved shops, quirky cafes, and buzzy restaurants and pubs.
Here's your London area guide to Highbury.
Cafes and food shops
Urban Social
Just a few moments from Highbury & Islington station, Urban Social is the place to get your caffeine fix before exploring the neighbourhood. This warm and welcoming coffee shop also serves a savoury brunch menu that includes a selection of avocado toast, breakfast burritos, and variations of a full English breakfast. All in all, a great place to start the day in North London.
Profile Coffee
A bright pink coffee shop is hard to miss, especially when the menu is just as vibrant as the exterior. Profile Coffee is a sleek cafe close to Highbury Fields, offering speciality roasted coffee in a beautiful setting. With calming interiors and meticulously crafted coffees and baked goods, everything here feels intentional.
La Péché Mignon
Lunch in Highbury Fields might not be exactly the same as lounging in the Jardin du Luxembourg, but with a picnic from La Péché Mignon, you won't be able to tell the difference. This rustic French café specialises in traditional baguettes, quiches, and pastries. It also has a small food shop where you can pick up French ingredients, including a selection of natural wines.
One Root Bakery
This local gem embodies what we love about Highbury. The owners close at half-term for a month or so in the summer so they can go on holiday with their kids, there are love letters written by local schoolchildren on the walls, and they know regulars by name. Best of all, they do a mean spread of pastries – from chocolate babkas to a stellar vegan sausage roll and everything in between.
Fink’s Salt and Sweet
Tucked on a residential side street along Blackstock Road is Fink’s, a beloved North/East London bakery, deli, and gift shop. Head over for a packed sandwich, an oat flat white, or a funky seasonal pastry to stroll with. While you wait for your coffee, you can peruse the shop section for cards, jams, candles, and wine, expertly picked by the staff. They make everything from scratch and prioritise local sellers and suppliers – most of which are sourced from within walking distance. Their Mountgrove Rd location is the original, but you can find outposts on Gillipsie Road and Clissold Park.
Restaurants & bars
The Nook Wine Bar
For anyone searching for the perfect "girl dinner", The Nook Wine Bar is the ideal spot for a light bite and glass of wine. Choose from a selection of Mediterranean small plates paired with red, white, orange, or sparkling wines. The cosy atmosphere makes for a classic catch-up with a friend or a romantic date.
In the summer, look out for the Sunday Sessions with DJs spinning vinyl.
Bank of Friendship
Highbury’s favourite pub. Full stop. When the weather's good, head to the courtyard to enjoy a drink in the sun or a slice of pizza (Yard Sale Pizza to be exact).
The Tamil Prince
If you're looking for the atmosphere of a cosy pub, but a menu that's a bit more exciting than your traditional fish and chips, head to The Tamil Prince. Occupying a gorgeously renovated pub, the restaurant serves a small, but delicious menu of South Indian sharing plates – be sure to order the signature buttery roti.
The food is so good you’ll even want it for breakfast, and luckily for you, you can get breakfast at The Tamil Prince. The morning menu includes savoury lentil doughnuts and Indian-inspired pancakes served with various chutneys.
Beam
Beam is a much-loved brunch restaurant for good reason. This Middle-Eastern-inspired cafe serves some of the city’s most delicious sweet and savoury brunch options in the city. You can't go wrong with their Mediterranean breakfast or brioche French toast. Their gorgeous Highbury location also offers hearty lunch dishes and refreshing smoothies if mornings aren’t your jam. Grab a seat on the pavement or by the window for some great people-watching along Blackstock Road.
Shopping & things to do
BookBar
Book shopping is one of life’s simple pleasures, and at BookBar you can savour the experience even more. This bookshop/coffee shop/wine bar allows you to peruse the shelves a little longer and enjoy your purchases with a hot cocoa or a glass of wine. While you do so, you can’t help but eavesdrop on the friendly staff excitedly recommending their favourite picks to anyone who will listen.
BookBar is also the hub of a thriving literary community in Highbury. Be sure to keep up with their social media to catch special events, like author visits and their monthly book club that brings together readers across London.
House of Hodge
For bookshopping on a budget, House of Hodge is a tiny secondhand bookshop with even smaller prices (paperbacks average about £2.50). Run entirely by volunteers, the community bookshop includes a selection of used fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, and children’s books. There’s no inventory as it’s solely stacked by donations, so you’ll find something new every time. 100% of proceeds support a variety of animal welfare and literacy charities.
Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
If you’ve made your way round the bigger London galleries, why not try something a bit more unique? Housed in a charming Georgian townhouse, The Estorick Collection is the only gallery in London devoted entirely to modern Italian art. Take in paintings and sculptures from 20th-century Italian artists, from the Futurists to the Surrealists.
The museum hosts special events such as Thursday lates and life drawing classes in collaboration with Cass Art Supplies. Be sure to also stop in at the museum's cafe to enjoy Tuscan dishes, coffee, and Italian pastries served al fresco in the serene courtyard.
Blue 17 Vintage
As vintage shopping in London becomes increasingly commercialised, Blue 17 Vintage remains a refuge for unique fashion and fair prices. Since the 1980s, the shop has stocked vintage clothing and kept the thrill of bargain hunting alive and accessible. It also prioritises disrupting the fast fashion cycle by providing information on clothing recycling and sustainable shopping on the shop’s blog.
Found something you regret not picking up? Head to the website where each item is available for online purchase.
Da Mario
If you're itching for authentic Italian food and don't feel like putting yourself through a RyanAir flight, head to Da Mario, a resident of Highbury since the 1960s. It stocks everything you need to prepare a traditional Italian feast, including pasta, wine, cured meats, cheeses, and sweets. It’s a great spot for gifts, too – like Da Mario’s olive oil, pressed from the owner’s own olive grove in Lazio, Italy. On a nice day, grab a bottled Aperol Spritz and a sandwich from the deli counter and walk to Clissold Park.
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