Eating out in Clerkenwell & Farringdon
12 May 2025
Farringdon station is incredibly well connected for getting out and about, but there is no need to hop on a train to go out for a great meal when there are so many excellent options in the area known as Clerkenwell since medieval times.
Just next to Farringdon station is the popular smart canteen chain Farmer J,
famous for their healthy and appealing field trays and bowls. Select your own ingredients for breakfast, lunch or an early dinner since they close at 8.30pm. As the immediate area surrounding Farringdon station mostly serves local office workers, they do close at weekends.
The main eating heartbeat can be found at Exmouth Market, around an 8 minute walk up Farringdon Road from the station. Here you will find a huge amount of choice every day of the week and late into the night. Our favourites include Santore, a rustic Italian wood fired pizzeria with outside seating. Whilst there is no shortage of pizza restaurants in London, we once saw it half taken by a large group of visiting priests from Rome tucking in enthusiastically, giving Santore the (papal) seal of approval.
On the corner of Rosoman Street is the relaxed retro themed Coin Laundry.
Open every day, the menu is modern British and European with lots of vegan and vegetarian options. They have a decent drinks menu too with cocktails although we have no idea why it is called Coin Laundry since they prefer card payments and there are no washing machines.
Macellaio RC is located in the middle of Exmouth Market and is well established as a mildly theatrical dining experience for steak lovers or as they call themselves “Teatro della Carne”. The staff provide the contagious enthusiasm and will take you to the raw materials in the display fridge for you to select your choice of cut. Watch out for their signature lard candle that melts into the blowtorched bread and a wine list that tours the whole of Italy. Open every day for lunch and dinner.
Next door is the institution known as Moro, and next door to that is little hermano Morito,
both serving Spanish and North African tapas. Moro’s inventive style includes dishes such as seabass ceviche with cumin and pomegranate, chicharrones with cumin and lemon dressing and Malaga raisin ice cream with sherry. The food on your plate will come from each side of the Straits of Gibraltar. The restaurant first opened in 1997 and we have stumbled upon their cookbook in unusual corners including a little café in rural Cornwall. Open for lunch only on Sundays and lunch and dinner the rest of the week.
Exmouth Market’s opposite corner is home to Caravan, a small chain of eateries and coffee roasters. Obsessed with the detail of bean sourcing and preparation, you’d be hard pushed to find a better cup of coffee locally. During the week they serve breakfast, renamed brunch at weekends, and they are open for lunch and dinner every day apart from Sundays. Our favourites include chorizo and potato hash with saffron buttermilk dressing, Korean buttermilk fried chicken with kimchi pancake, fried egg and gochujang ketchup, Dingley Dell pork schnitzel followed by caramelised brioche with miso caramel and ice cream. Treat yourself to a tiramisu martini or one of the many alcohol-free cocktails.
Away from Exmouth Market you may like The Dovetail; a Belgian themed bar serving moules mariniere and beef carbonade (Flemish beef stew). Wash it down with a cold beer from a huge range including the fruit flavoured ones for people who don’t really like the taste of beer. Located on Jerusalem Passage which runs between St Johns Square and Aylesbury Street, it is open until late every day except Sundays.
Mugen
on Leather Lane is an established contemporary Japanese restaurant where the food looks far too pretty to eat. Choose from izakaya style sharing plates, fresh sashimi, hot pot or set bento boxes. They also offer take away but like many places, they are closed on Sundays.
Finally, Smiths of Smithfield. Located opposite Smithfield Market on Charterhouse Street, this whole building is a TV chef institution with a bar serving snacks on the ground floor, private dining rooms on the first floor, the Grill on the second floor and a covered rooftop restaurant with south facing views at the top. The general rule of thumb is that it gets a bit “posher” (ie more expensive) every time you go up a floor but the Grill still does an 8oz flat iron steak and chips lunchtime special for £25 (subject to change) and the bar does really good smash and plant burgers.
All our apartments in Clerkenwell are fully self catering with kitchens that will allow you to prepare all of your own meals should you wish to, but our guess is that you didn’t come to London to cook. With so many excellent options, why not try one or two on our recommended list?
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London is perfect for older children.
The English summer season is packed with events intended to reward us all for our patient hibernation, bringing us together to experience something special. Summer 2026 is no exception and with something for everyone depending on your passion, below is just a small selection of what London has to offer this year: Solo Queens – Olivia Dean, Raye, Ariana Grande & Lily Allen are all playing at the O2 this summer. It’s not too late to get tickets at this huge venue. The Lads – The Weeknd, Bruno Mars and Bon Jovi are all playing at Wembley this summer too. The Fringe event – prefer your music a bit more underground? The Brick Lane Jazz Festival returns over 3 days in June, showcasing a huge range of new and established acts across a range of local intimate venues. The Outdoorsy One – Garth Brooks, Maroon 5, Lewis Capaldi are all playing British Summer Time. Since 2013, this has been an annual institution in outdoor music right in Hyde Park and the scale and organisation of it has to be seen to be believed. On the other hand, if it rains you will definitely get wet but that’s part of it isn’t it? One for the Geeks – Dungeons and Dragons Fan Expo is being held in the O2 on the 21st and 22nd of August. This is one for D&D traders and gamers who take things seriously. For Foodies – Taste of London food festival comes to Regent’s Park offering five continuous days of feasting in June. Masterclasses are on offer as well as a chance to purchase direct from artisan suppliers and plenty of cocktail opportunities. For Designers – Clerkenwell Design Week takes place over 3 days in May with the usual plethora of talks and events as well as hundreds of brands and emerging talent exhibiting their latest offerings. A feast for the eyes with plenty of high quality options for you to rest your legs in style too by testing out one of the many chairs. The Perennial Classic – still impressive for its scale, popularity and colour; the Chelsea Flower Show. Held in the vast grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, this veritable institution is televised for the BBC and never fails to deliver. Its scale has to be seen to be believed. Warning: has the power to convert even the most reluctant gardener. The Grand Master – with the full programme not announced until late April, expect an eight week season of daily orchestral classic music concerns set in the Royal Albert Hall. “Prommers” can expect the pinnacle in the famous “Last Night of the Proms” which traditionally celebrates patriotic music of the United Kingdom. Pick up a “Day Promming” last minute ticket for just £8. The Decadent Option – for some of the most impressive set and costumes you will ever see, The Royal Opera House is a distinguished cut above the competition. Offering a range of both opera and ballet performances, this summer’s highlight is a classic; The Marriage of Figaro runs from the 4th of June to the 2nd of July 2026. The Niche – tagging onto the end of the season to such an extent that it is almost off season, The Lapada art and antiquities fair returns to Mayfair’s Berkeley Square at the end of October. Exhibitors cover nearly every discipline across the art and antiquities spectrum, meeting strict knowledge and expertise requirements with highly vetted wares only. Browsing essential, purchases optional. The Warm Up Act – tickets to Wimbledon can be virtually impossible but the lesser subscribed Queen’s Club Tennis Championship takes place just before in June. Head over to West Kensington to assess the favourite’s form played on grass. For Children – a lovely venue in the heart of one of the Royal Parks; Regent’s Park’s Open Air Theatre is showing Anansi the Spider for the over 4s in August and September. Bring an umbrella. The Comedies – Shakespeare’s wonderful classics A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Love’s Labour’s Lost and As You Like It are all being performed throughout this summer. Which will you choose? The Spectacle – Back by popular demand, War Horse is on at the Olivier Theatre on the South Bank between 16th May and 30th July 2026. Based on the famous novel by Michael Morpugo, it is performed entirely by the Handspring Puppet Company with life size horses. The Musical – it shouldn’t be funny but it is; The Book of Mormon continues its run at the Prince of Wales Theatre in the West End. Expect jaw dropping irreverence and a certain crisis of faith. Each of these events is between 2 and 60 minutes' travelling distance from each of our 7 centrally located buildings.
