by I have been in Highbury for 10 years.
I grew up in Kensington High Street, then moved north. I used to have a place just off Upper Street with a boyfriend, and then we split up and I bought a house around the corner. It’s old London proper with a school, hair salon and nail salon.
I’m an Arsenal fan, I love the area, I love that it’s so close to Central London and I see a lot of artists and designers moving to north west London and Finsbury Park.
Eating and drinking
There are so many, especially around Upper Street.
Delicious seafood, natural wines, great sharing plates and truly fresh food are on offer at Western Laundry near Drayton Park. It has an industrial feel, but is a great date spot.
Black Ax Mangal is famous for their squid ink flatbread with smoked cod fish. They do experimental food like prune donuts with pig cheeks and things like that, with a different menu every day.
Farang is a great Thai restaurant near Clissold Park. It’s a really affordable Michelin star restaurant that nobody knows about.
There are many pubs. The Smokehouse does a lot of sharing meat platters and is great for a Sunday roast. The Draper’s Arms is great, and so is the Gunner’s Arms. They are all Arsenal pubs.
Where I work out
I love cycling and running, and I like running through Highbury Fields, then past the Arsenal Stadium and then round to Clissold Park.
Islington Square is a new shopping area and inside is a really good Third Space Gym which has just opened. It’s got us, and it’s worth it just for the steam room.
To commune with nature
I have two sausage dogs, so we do a lot of walking. I recently happened upon the New River Walk, which is an aqueduct built in the early 1600s to bring water to London. It is 28 miles long and now it is a beautiful path.
There are lots of ducks and wonderful old cherry blossoms, and they put benches along the way so it’s a secret garden.
Grocery shopping
Budgens in front of me, of course.
But on Highbury Road there are a series of independent shops that I give the dogs up to. There are Bourne fishmongers, and Frank Godfreys butchers.
Opposite those two are the Italian delicatessen Da Mario, good for delicious pieces of fresh antipasto, and the artisan cheesemonger La Fromagerie, which has a small cafe. It’s like the Bermuda Triangle, you can get lost, and they offer a lot of flavors, so even if you don’t buy anything, you usually leave feeling full.
For culture repair
The Union Chapel is a great music venue to discover new people and big stars. It’s in this old church, and mostly by candlelight so it’s very romantic.
The Almeida Theater is amazing. The last thing I saw was Tammy Faye, a musical with tunes by Elton John. Sadler’s Wells is very good for contemporary dance and ballet.
House of Hodge is a lovely charity bookshop. I don’t go to the cinema, but Screen on the Green has sofas and you can order pizza to your seat.
Getting around
There is Highbury & Islington for the Victoria line. It’s on the Overground, one stop to Hampstead Heath for wild swimming and dog walks.
I’m not good on the bus, I have no patience, so I mostly use Lime bikes to cycle to my office in South Kensington.
Dream street
Highbury Terrace Mews near Highbury Fields is full of wonderful houses. They are all very interesting from an architectural point of view, you think all the writers and poets must have lived there.
My dogs often run out nearby, and I have a good nose there when I’m looking for them.
Something you only see in Highbury
Arsenal highlights and cons. You know when there’s a game on and you come out of the Underground and the whole area is buzzing.
What is the catch?
If we lose, the energy is not good, and you can really feel it. But still I love it.
In three words
Buzzing, green, home.
Minnie Kemp is a designer at Firmdale Hotelswhich has just opened its new Warren Street Hotel in New York.
Schools
William Tyndale Primary School in Upper Street, and St John’s Highbury Vale CofE are rated excellent by Ofsted, although there are many others.
For secondary schools, St. Mary Magdalene mixed schools and City of London Academy are excellent, as are Highbury Fields and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson girls’ schools, as well as Central Foundation for boys.
What does it cost
Purchased in Highbury
Average flat price: £679,280
Average house price: £1,817,180
Rent in Highbury
Average flat price, pcm: £2,490
Average house price, pcm: £4,210
Source: Hamptons & Land Registry
