Islington Area Guide

In Islington, it’s very much a case of North meets East London. A variety of cool hangouts await, from jazz clubs and upmarket cinemas to the hip and picturesque shopping streets of Camden Passage. Once overlooked, improved appearances and infrastructure brought about by the 2012 Olympics have seen this neighbourhood soar in popularity. Islington has one of central London’s most complete supplies of Georgian and early Victorian houses. Excellent transport links and proximity to business hubs and schools see families, couples and young professionals all looking to make a home in Islington. Islington has some 46 primary schools, three of which are academies, and one a free school.

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Highlights and attractions

As well as tidy streets of charming period houses, buzzing restaurants and great shopping, plenty of new waterside homes are springing up along the Regent's Canal in Islington. Islington has one of central London’s most complete supplies of Georgian and early Victorian houses. Islington has a cultural life all its own. The Almeida Theatre is among the capital’s leading venues, producing its own plays including Chimerica by Lucy Kirkwood, named the best play at the 2013 London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

Commuting

Tube: Angel Tube station is on the Bank branch of the Northern Line. Its Zone 1 location means it’s only five minutes to Bank and seven to London Bridge. Highbury & Islington station is in Zone 2, and a journey to Oxford Circus takes seven minutes on the Victoria Line, while the Overground connects to Clapham Junction, New Cross, Canada Water, Shoreditch and Stratford.

Trains: A commuter train run by Thameslink Great Northern links to Old Street and Moorgate on weekdays.

Buses: Islington is well served by buses, with 19 routes connecting through Angel. These include the 4 (to Waterloo), 214 (to Highgate Village), and 38 (to Victoria). There are also several night buses.

Cycle: Cyclists love living in Islington as it is relatively flat and offers straightforward routes to the City and the West End. Angel has several Boris Bike docking stations.

Nearby points of interest

Emirates Stadium - 1 mile SE
Arsenal Stadium - 1 mile SE
Hampstead Heath (Park) - 2 miles W
Regent’s Park - 3 miles S
Regent's Park - 3 miles SW
St Thomas Church - 3 miles E
University of London - 3 miles S
Lords Cricket Ground (Stadium) - 3 miles SW
Springfield Park - 3 miles E
Madame Tussaud's London (Museum) - 3 miles S
British Museum - 3 miles S
Lincolns Inn Fields (Park) - 3 miles S
St Bartholomew-the-Great (Church) - 3 miles SE
St Andrew, Holborn (Church) - 3 miles S
City Temple (Church) - 3 miles S
St Bartholomew-the-Less (Church) - 4 miles S
St Giles-without-Cripplegate (Church) - 4 miles SE
London School of Economics and Political Science (University) - 4 miles
Dr Johnson's House (Museum) - 4 miles S
St Botolph's Aldersgate (Church) - 4 miles SE
St Dunstan-in-the-West (Church) - 4 miles S
Postman's Park - 4 miles SE
Prince Henry's Room (Museum) - 4 miles S
Christ Church Greyfriars (Ruin) - 4 miles S
St Anne and St Agnes (Church) - 4 miles SE

Food and drinks

Expect to queue for lunch at the communal table at the original Ottolenghi restaurant in Upper Street. Frederick’s in Camden Passage, with its glamorous conservatory, is a long-standing Islington favourite. Newer arrivals are Trullo, an Italian restaurant, and Le Coq, specialising in roast chicken, both on St Paul’s Road, the Smokehouse on Canonbury Road, serving smoked and barbequed meat, and the Almeida in Almeida Street. The top gastropubs for food and atmosphere are the Duke of Cambridge, which pioneered organic and locally-sourced food, in St Peter’s Street, the Draper’s Arms in Barnsbury Street, the Barnsbury in Liverpool Road and the Albion in Thornhill Road.

Here are some of our favourite places to eat and drink:

12:51

It’s named after a song by The Strokes, there are vinyl sleeves on the walls and the tables are all scuffed up, but it’s quality all the way at this near-flawless solo venture from chef James Cochran (ex-The Ledbury and the Harwood Arms). Flavours are new-Brit with a Scottish/Caribbean kick reflecting Cochran’s roots, while compositions are complex but never OTT.

Bababoom Islington

A hip kebab diner for the twenty-first century, the Islington sibling of Bababoom in Battersea serves up the real Middle Eastern deal from a cleverly designed, bespoke charcoal grill. Ingredients are lovingly prepped, portions are generous, and fillings are modishly off-piste (marinated mutton shawarma with whipped feta, smoky pink ‘kraut, pomegranate seeds and harissa, say). Don’t forget to order some well-oiled za’atar bread, dukkah fries and sticky sumac wings too. Weekend brunch is also worth checking out.

Frederick’s

Old enough and wise enough to deserve the title ‘Islington classic’, dapper family-run Frederick’s (born in 1969) just keeps on keeping on – driven along by loyal customers who greatly appreciate its lofty conservatory, striking contemporary artworks, pretty hidden garden and gently fashionable modern European food. Menus change with the seasons at this ritzy local treat, while fixed-price deals and Saturday brunch ensure that it’s great value as well as great fun.

Shops

Islington has a good spread of national chains and independent shops stretching along Upper Street to Highbury & Islington station with additional shops on Chapel Street, in the little alleyways in and around Camden Passage, and along Essex Road and Cross Street.

Chapel Street has a market every day of the week except Monday, with a farmers’ market every Sunday, and M Manze’s is a traditional pie and mash shop.

The N1 shopping centre off Upper Street has branches of H&M, Gap, Monsoon, French Connection, Gourmet Burger and Wagamama, but it is the independent shops and restaurants that make Islington an interesting place to spend a day shopping and eating.

In Upper Street, the three Gill Wing shops are a reliable source of gifts, children’s toys and jewellery. Folklore sells interior accessories and furniture with a minimal Scandinavian slant. Twenty Twenty One, Co-Existence (in Cross Street) and Aria (in Barnsbury Street) all sell interior accessories and furniture from some of the great names of modern design. Atelier Abigail Ahern sells dramatic interior accessories against a backdrop of dark walls. Albam and Nigel Hall are menswear boutiques, and womenswear boutique, Diverse – this year celebrating its 25th anniversary - take their place alongside chains such as Whistles, Jigsaw and Hobbs.

Camden Passage was once famous for antique shops; today a few survive but the lanes with their small shops are now more likely to be occupied by the ultra-stylish and the quirky, such as fashion boutiques Workshop, Wandering Minds and Loop, one of London’s best shops for hand-knitters.

Schools

Islington has some 46 primary schools, three of which are academies, and one a free school. St Mary’s and St Mary Magdalene Academy are popular choices, the latter taking students all the way through to sixth form. St. Aloysius' College for boys continues to be a popular choice. Parents looking for private education often look to schools in nearby Highgate and Hampstead.