The Microhood: Upper Street, Islington

What’s it got that we love?
It’s hard to believe that Upper Street was once just a hardworking Islington artery. Now that has all changed: this is one of north London’s most elegant thoroughfares. In one miraculous mile, from Angel’s Underground station to Highbury Corner, the discerning will find enough smart shops, restaurants and pubs to detain them – along with two concert venues, two cinemas and Islington Town Hall, scattered with wedding confetti at weekends. This is the beating heart of Islington.

Upper Street was once a drovers’ road. Cattle were supplanted by clothiers as London expanded in the 18th and 19th centuries. Areas such as Canonbury and Barnsbury became smart inner suburbs, with terraces of handsome houses punctuated by pretty pubs. That’s why the N1 postcode has a special magic. “There really is a little bit of everything here,” says Dan Fox, Savills head of residential in Islington. “Once you’re here, you tend to stay.”

How’s the shopping?
Excellent. As Fox says, there’s a mixed bag of emporia, making this an “alternative to the West End” – which is easily reached from here. Independent hotspots are thriving, including design stores Aria and Twentytwentyone for mid-century-modern classics, Gill Wing for jewellery, and After Noah for vintage furniture and an “old curiosity shop” atmosphere.

For an afternoon of browsing, head to Camden Passage, a pretty alley at Upper Street’s join with Essex Road. Come late in the week, grab coffee and cake at Austrian Kipferl or Pistachio & Pickle, then get busy at the antiques market. “It’s one of my favourite spots,” says Fox.

Hang out at…
Where to start? Upper Street is a global laboratory for food and drink. “There’s such a range, it’s hard to choose,” says Fox. Ottolenghi is a Middle Eastern institution; Preto, a great Brazilian steakhouse; Tenshi does excellent sushi; and Frederick’s is where the smart set have been dining since 1969. There’s a glorious cluster of restaurants at the corner of Theberton Street, including Le Sacré Coeur, a favourite of Fox’s team for steak baguettes at lunch.

The pubs span classics such as the Island Queen on Noel Road, the Drapers Arms in Barnsbury and the King’s Head on Upper Street: one of the oldest pubs around. Behind it is the new Islington Square development, with more upscale shopping, as well as the King’s Head Theatre. There are two significant concert venues, too: Islington Assembly Hall and the Grade I-listed Union Chapel, a late-19th-century gem that has hosted giants from Patti Smith to Elton John. For walks, try the garden squares off Upper Street, and leafy Highbury Fields at its top end. But the area’s finest passeggiata is Regent’s Canal, with a host of waterside bars.

Where to buy?
The two hot zones are Canonbury to the east of Upper Street’s northern reaches, and Barnsbury to the west. They’re smart but, as Fox says, “still relatively good value compared to central and west London”. Of the beautiful streets and squares, Barnsbury Square is probably the finest.

For more affordable areas, look east towards Essex Road and north to Newington Green, which, as Fox says, is “really buzzing”. There are flats in converted period properties and purpose-built apartments, too. Once people are in the neighbourhood, they stay. “It’s a forever place,” says Fox.

Little black book
Aria; Twentytwentyone; Gill Wing; After Noah; Kipferl; Pistachio & Pickle; Ottolenghi; Preto; Tenshi; Frederick’s; Le Sacré Coeur; Island Queen; Drapers Arms; King’s Head; King’s Head Theatre; Islington Assembly Hall

Pictures from top: Islington Town Hall (Alamy); a stretch of the Regent’s Canal (Alamy); shopping in Camden Passage (Alamy); and Compton Terrace gardens (Alamy)