The 20 best things to do in Harringay and Green Lanes

One of the greatest boozers in London – full stop – this enormous Victorian beauty comes replete with a tasty Thai kitchen, an exhaustive bar selection and characterful taxidermy critters. Given the size of the place, it’s ideal for big groups (you can spill out onto the benches outside in warm weather) while the cosy booths are great for a date or long overdue catch-up. The Salisbury featured in the Bob Hoskins flick The Long Good Friday and Robert Downey Jr.’s Chaplin, so you know it’s cool.

Every London park has its own flavour – Victoria is hedonistic while Hyde is more wholesome – but Finsbury Park has range. You can join the fortnightly volunteer sessions at not-for-profit community education project Edible Landscapes or attend a world-class festival such as Wireless. Or you can split the difference with a tinnie, some top Turkish food and the certain knowledge that, should supplies run out, you’re minutes away from one of the best-stocked roads in London.

The first Dusty Knuckle bakery launched in Dalston in 2014 and was such a lip-smacking hit that this Green Lanes café and restaurant followed in 2021. Once you’ve tried their fiery egg, chilli and cheese focaccia, you’ll see why industry body British Baker named them one of the UK’s top artisan bakers. They also run a trainee programme for young people who face barriers to employment. All in all: good eggs.

Green Lanes is full of surprises. It might look unassuming from the outside, but here is a wonderland of glam in an otherwise pretty down-to-earth stretch of the city. A cocktail bar that prides itself on quality – the pisco sour is a work of art – Brouhaha opens out into a cute Hobbit-style beer garden where you can snaffle grub from the Japanese kitchen.

There’s a reason this beloved Turkish restaurant has been in business since 1999, and it’s the same reason it’s always busy. The rich portions of mezze, kebab and pide are as generous as the atmosphere is welcoming. If you visit the ‘hood and don’t try Gökyüzü, can you really say you’ve done Green Lanes? Like the strip itself, it’s chaotic yet friendly, unpretentious but stuffed with high-quality ingredients and bursting with oodles of character. Get stuck in and add to the melee.

Founded and formerly owned by El Hornet of drum-and-bass titans Pendulum, this expertly stocked grocery shop is an oasis of posh cheeses, bougie snacks, fancy jars and tins, and high quality frozen meals. Head in for a browse and you might find frozen dumplings from east London’s My Neighbours the Dumplings, curry paste from Bib Gourmand-winning Higbury thai restaurant Farang, sourdough from Spence Bakery or artisanal sauerkraut from London Fermentary. It’s so zen, in comparison to Green Lanes’ delightfully chaotic energy, that you won’t want to leave – which is a good excuse to have a go (or three) on its vintage Donkey Kong arcade game.

It’s hard to stand out among the amazing Turkish restaurants on Green Lanes, but an immaculate patisserie sets Antepliler apart. Located next to the main business, with a pared-down interior and glass cabinets full of gorgeous creations, it looks more like an art gallery than a destination for sweet treats. Those cabinets, though, are filled with exquisite cakes and baklava that’s lighter than air yet deeply satisfying – another example of the everyday beauty that lines these streets.

With Mr. Rabbit, a little plaster bunny, keeping close watch across the beautifully kept gardens, this red-brick library is the very definition of wholesome. There are regular events for children (such as Playful Crafts for Under 5s and the older kids’ Comics Club) and Shared Reading groups for adults. In an area where so many are passing through, this is a real – and essential – community hub.

For big gigs you’ll need to head up to Ally Pally or the Tottenham Stadium. Down here, though, we’re in the thick of music’s grass roots. The Finsbury pub regularly hosts scrappy new indie bands in its sweatbox of a back room, while Jam in a Jar takes a more genteel approach with jazz acts and jam sessions every Thursday. The latter are very freewheeling and very Green Lanes.

It’s a bit of a walk up towards Turnpike Lane, but well worth the trek to play dress-up with a dizzying array of retro garments. From cases full of costume jewellery to racks stuffed with neon-coloured trackie tops, leather jackets, jeans, footie shirts much more, you’ll be hard-pressed to come away from this Turnpike Lane vintage and second-hand shop empty handed. They don’t do refunds, though, so make sure you definitely need those cow print dungarees with the bell bottoms.