Top Islington bakery Quince is ready to open its own cafe, Clementine

19/8/26 - updated with launch details and the opening date

Anna Higham's Islington bakery Quince is, quite rightly, lauded as one of this city's best bakeries. So the news that she's getting ready to open her own cafe should make North London residents sit up and pay attention. Clementine will be an all-day cafe, opening up across the road from the bakery, serving up brunch and lunch. She's taking over a space that has previously been a pub in various incarnations, but frankly, we can see it working much better in the area as a cafe.

If you haven't made the trip to Quince, then let us give you a bit of a primer about the place. Anna's big on celebrating traditional British baking traditions and local produce. She's promising porridge, soup and toasties at the new cafe along with tattie scones, pies and buns. "More bakes, more of that good flour used, more beautiful fruit for you to enjoy," is how she puts it.

The new cafe will seat just 20, with a seasonally changing menu and will open from the morning to the afternoon. Breakfasts include tattie scones with scrambled Cacklebean eggs or Scotch pancakes with Abbey Farm butter and poached plums. There's also a sausage sandwich made with bespoke sausages from Newington Green butcher Stella's. Later in the day they'll add scones with cream and jam and brown butter buns, while lunch includes a Westcombe Dairy cheddar toastie, a chicken and tarragon pie, and a late summer vegetable soup.

Marcus Westlake, previously at Forno, is in charge of the kitchen here and after the launch, he'll be taking over as head chef. There's no news on whether they'll open in the evening, but we would imagine they'll introduce plans for that when the cafe is up and running. 

What with The Baring, Pophams and Goodbye Horses all being in the immediate vicinity, this part of Islington is now a bona fide foodie hub.