Cafeography
London · Clerkenwell & Farringdon

Cafés in Clerkenwell & Farringdon

Little Italy's church and delis, Exmouth Market's terraces, Leather Lane's specialty bars and Smithfield's all-night cafés.

Photo: Sofía Marquet, Pexels License

Clerkenwell forms the south-western corner of the London Borough of Islington, postcode EC1, and Farringdon, opened in 1863 as Farringdon Street, is the only station inside it.1 The station now serves the Elizabeth line and Thameslink as well as the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.1 To the south, meat has been traded at Smithfield for more than 800 years, under Horace Jones's market halls of 1868.2

In the 1850s about 2,000 Italians settled in south-west Clerkenwell and neighboring Saffron Hill, which became London's Little Italy.1 Most of the community had moved on by the 1960s, but the area is still called the spiritual home of London's Italians, and its coffee runs from Italian sandwich bars to Prufrock, founded by a world barista champion.14

Local tip: For coffee before an early train from Farringdon, Smithfield Cafe on Long Lane never closes, and Dose, a few doors along at 70 Long Lane, opens at 07:00 on weekdays.

At a glance

77Cafés listed
13With opening hours
00:00Earliest opening
00:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: La Forchetta, from 00:00 (Mon–Fri Open 24 hours · Sat 00:00–16:00, 21:00–00:00 · Sun 00:00–07:00, 21:00–00:00).
  • Most listed streets: Clerkenwell Road (7), Long Lane (4), Goswell Road (4).
  • Most common features: indoor seating (14%), outdoor seating (13%), takeaway (9%).

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Coffee chains in Clerkenwell & Farringdon

Little Italy on Clerkenwell Road

St Peter's Italian Church, at 136 Clerkenwell Road, was consecrated on 16 April 1863 and modeled on the Basilica of San Crisogono in Rome.3 It is the center of the processione held in mid-July, and next door Terroni of Clerkenwell, at 138–140 Clerkenwell Road, is one of the Italian businesses that survive.31

La Forchetta has three cafés in the area, on Cowcross Street, Greville Street and St John Street, and Caffé Stella is at 5 Kirby Street. Clerkenwell Green, at the center of the old village, has had no grass for more than 300 years; Lenin edited issues 22 to 38 of the newspaper Iskra at 37a Clerkenwell Green in 1902–1903.1

Prufrock, Leather Lane and Clerkenwell Road

Gwilym Davies, the 2009 World Barista Champion, founded Prufrock, whose café is at 23–25 Leather Lane.4 It opens 07:30–16:30 on weekdays, 08:00–17:00 on Saturday and 09:00–17:00 on Sunday. The weekday street market on Leather Lane, running since around 1666, has turned to street food since the 2000s.5

Clerkenwell Road has its own short run of cafés: Knockbox Coffee at 33–37 and Roni's Cafe at 39. Dose, at 70 Long Lane, opens at 07:00 on weekdays and closes at 15:00.

Exmouth Market

Exmouth Market is a semi-pedestrianized street with a market of 32 stalls, and it has been a market place since the 1890s.6 Its church, Our Most Holy Redeemer, was built in 1887 and is described as London's only Italian basilica-style church.6 Traders reinstated the street market in autumn 2006, and nearly every restaurant, café and bar now sets tables outside.6 Be-oom at No. 27, Doh'hut at No. 30 and Tabac Café at No. 45 are along it.

Smithfield's night cafés and the London Museum

The market's night hours shaped the cafés around it. Smithfield Cafe at 59 Long Lane is open 24 hours, and La Forchetta at 92 Cowcross Street runs around the clock from Monday to Friday. Snoozzze Coffee, opposite at 91 Cowcross Street, opens at 08:00.

Those hours may not last. In November 2024 the City of London Corporation announced that the meat market would close in or after 2028, and in December 2025 it agreed with the Greater London Authority to move the markets to Albert Island in Newham.2 The London Museum is moving into Smithfield's old General Market building and opens there on 28 November 2026.72

Sources

  1. Clerkenwell, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Smithfield, London, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. St Peter's Italian Church, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. A reluctant World Barista Champion: a conversation with Gwilym Davies, World Coffee Portal (September 16, 2022), accessed October 2026
  5. Leather Lane Market, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  6. Exmouth Market, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  7. London Museum, London Museum, accessed October 2026
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In Clerkenwell & Farringdon, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Wi-Fi Open late

FAQ

Clerkenwell & Farringdon cafés: questions

Where is Little Italy in Clerkenwell, London?

London's Little Italy grew up in south-west Clerkenwell and Saffron Hill in the 1850s, when about 2,000 Italians settled there. Its center is St Peter's Italian Church at 136 Clerkenwell Road, consecrated in 1863, which leads the procession in mid-July. Terroni of Clerkenwell, next door at 138–140, is one of the Italian businesses that survive.

Who founded Prufrock Coffee on Leather Lane in Clerkenwell, London?

Prufrock was founded by Gwilym Davies, the 2009 World Barista Champion. Its café is at 23–25 Leather Lane, on the street market that has run since around 1666, and opens 07:30–16:30 on weekdays, 08:00–17:00 on Saturday and 09:00–17:00 on Sunday. Knockbox Coffee and Roni's Cafe are nearby on Clerkenwell Road.

Is Smithfield Market in Farringdon, London, closing?

Yes. In November 2024 the City of London Corporation announced that Smithfield's meat market would close in or after 2028, and in December 2025 it agreed with the Greater London Authority to relocate the markets to Albert Island in Newham. The London Museum opens in Smithfield's old General Market building on 28 November 2026.

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