Having started baking and selling loaves during lockdown, bakery owner Sophia and her husband Jesse now have seven Sourdough Sophia bakeries dotted across central and north London. The first though, was down the road from her north London flat in Crouch End. She's agreed to share her favourite food and drink places close to home.
Mellis Cheese
23 Broadway Parade, London N8 9DE
I.J. Mellis originally is a cheesemongers in Edinburgh that’s been going since 1993, and they then opened Mellis Cheese on the Broadway Parade back in 2024, and it’s their only shop outside Scotland. They are so knowledgeable in there - I am a huge cheese fan and so I usually just go in and ask what is best on the shelves that day, and always leave happy. They’re also open every day of the week which is amazing.
Pachara Asian Store
16 Broadway Parade, London N8 9DE
My kids love going here for bubble tea, so we find ourselves at Pachara a lot. It’s founded by Pear who grew up in rural Thailand before moving here in 2009. She first launched a Thai food stall at Stroud Green Market, and then opened this shop. She also sells really fresh sushi, and I love taking away some of Pear’s very own Thai sauces which are exclusive to the shop.
Les 2 Garçons
14 Middle Lane, London N8 8PL
This restaurant opened at around the same time as we did, and it’s just such a great neighbourhood restaurant to have on our doorstep. The head chef Robert is such a nice guy, and we’re lucky to call him a regular at Sourdough Sophia - he always orders a sausage roll and says hello to the whole team every time. Robert was head chef at Marco Pierre White’s three-star Oak Room, and now runs Les 2 Garçons with Jean-Christophe Slowik. It’s Michelin Bib Gourmand and in the Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants, serving up hearty French country food.
Floral Hall
132 Crouch Hill, London N8 9DX
This is my favourite bar in the area. It’s a former antique dealer’s shop that Steve and his co-founder have turned into a dim, twinkling corner bar on the quiet Crouch Hill stretch, well away from the Broadway. My go-to order is a negroni sbagliato with focaccia and burrata and, we love to sit on one of the cosy, dim corner tables.
The Railway Tavern and Roshan’s Kitchen
23 Crouch End Hill, London N8 8DH
We’ve been coming here for years, and particularly loved it when our daughter was tiny and we were so sleep deprived, and in need of heading to a proper local for a quick drink and a change of scenery for an hour. Our favourite dishes are the pork belly or the goat curry with string hoppers. They have a really cosy inglenook that is great to sit by in the colder months, and on a hot day their beer garden is amazing.
See also
For more of these local area guides, visit the My Manor page.
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