Finsbury Park can be a little rough in some areas, but go up Stroud Green Road and there are cool pubs, restaurants and great shops for every type of food you could wish for!
Finsbury Park is the centre of the universe. I can't prove this of course, as I am not a cosmologist, but it often feels that way. Lots of people get on and off the tube there, the transport links are amazing (always plenty of buses) and it just has everything you need not far away. There are little cafes, ethnic food shops, an Aladdin's cave with all the little DIY bits you could want, and some nice, friendly pubs. Never too far from a pretty park too. Finny P has a really lovely charm that does feel like home.
I lived in Harringay, on the North side of Finsbury Park for 7 happy years. It's a residential area of Victorian terraces, 10mins walk from Manor House (Zone 2, Picc Line)and 5 mins walk from Harringay Shopping Arena. I feel it perfectly located in London because it has the urban feel of living in central London, but still with lots of green space around with Finsbury Park itself, Parkland Walk (to Highgate) and the Railway Nature Reserve all on our doorstep. At the Shopping Arena, there is 24hr Sainsburys, Fitness First, Next, etc. Green Lanes specialises in great BYOB Turkish restaurants however there are also recommended Italian, South American and Spanish restaurants. In addition to Manor House tube, the area is well connected by public transport Harringay BR (Moorgate to WGC & Stevenage)and Harringay Green Lanes BR (Gospel Oak - Barking), many (night) buses – 341, 141, 29, 279, 254, 253 thro Islington, Camden, Old Street, Stoke Newington to Trafalgar Square, Aldwych and Waterloo.
The transport connections are unbeatable in London to every area day or night. The park is very pretty and accessible and as a girl I feel very safe here. There is a lot of shops and developments under way which make this a fairly priced and great spot to live.
Hey,
I’ve lived in Finsbury Park for 3 and a half years now and I’ve no complaints. I reside in one of the side roads running off Stroud Green Road.
For fresh visitors to the area in daylight, they might think it has a grotty look about it as it’s not as polished as your typical high street with brand name shops etc. However, once dusk arrives it takes on a vibrant, I could say even sexy look and feel about it. There are many restaurants/bars/pubs on Stroud Green Road and surrounding area. You will not struggle to find a location that caters for your hunger or thirst. This is a great area to live in if you like to wine and dine friends or family as I frequently do.
In the morning and evening rush hour, Finsbury Park is busy due to the fact Finsbury Park Station is in Zone 2 and has a major bus station alongside it. This only makes the area more attractive in terms of travel and of course visiting the City and West End is easy and quick.
The moment I turn off Stroud Green Road it feels like I’m in a different place as it’s a quiet residential area. It is clear that many professionals and families live alongside each other in this area and there is a lovely feel about it.
I’ve lived in Haringey for most of my life and this is without a doubt one of the nicest areas to live in taking into consideration all the above. There is also the big park itself which us locals can take advantage of especially if you like to jog. In the summer, the park is lovely and the atmosphere is on point! There is nothing better than chilling out after a hard days work on the grass (the legal stuff of course!).
The following locations are favourites of mine:
Petek Restaurant – Turkish Food
Kats Restaurant – Thai Food
The Faltering Full Back – Pub
The Worlds End – Pub
The Dairy – Pub
Finsbury Park is the place to be!
Ian
Stroud green is a great road as it has 2 supermarkets on it, lots of very good resturants and 4 cool pubs. People think it is rough but its not, just some interesting characters.
- the many multicultural restaurants (Italian, Turkish, English, Thai, Korean, Indian, Japanese, ...)
- the Park and the trail/path to Highgate - great for jogging
- relaxed atmosphere
- the many great pubs with live music etc.
Best place I've lived in my six years in London - vibrant, diverse and perfect for 20-somethings
Harringay
The place I lived as a student - enjoyed it back then and still enjoy it as "Grown up" professional - full of interesting places to eat out and the famous Yasser Halim grocers and bakery mean access to fresh veg and bread of all kinds. Also Baldwins the master butchers provide some of the best meat for miles and is used by certain well-known chefs. The Salisbury and Garden Ladder Pub and bars ensure good wine, beer and food and friendly atmospheres. In spite of all these things Harringay retains an authenticity that "gentrified" areas tend to lose - a truly multicultural area - here there is a genuine sense of community served by the award-winning "Harringay Online" and will shortly be hosting the Harringay festival - arts n food n drink n good company. Come and check out one of London's best kept secrets :)
This area is all ways busy, it is Turkish area but there are a lot of students who live around here. There are a few local bars and great transport links.
Great friendly area - with lots happening, safe and interesting to be around in.
Lots of shops and multicultural area.
Harringay is the area of Jewish deli's and turkish markets, crowned by a shopping mall and many a pub like everywhere in London, adjacent to Finsbury Park on the far corner. Nonetheless, or maybe because of this, living here is fantastically multicultural and connections to the inner city are fantastic. Definitely a lovely place to buy fresh olive at the store only to then have a pint down the road.
Very multicultural
Good transport connections
Comparatively cheap
Good local amenities,
Turkish food shops on green lanes, large Sainsburys, and retail park.
The pretty side of Finsbury Park in nearyby
London N4
A great area with a quiet safe family feel with excellent parks everywhere.
Eating out is good and cheap, and independent food shopping is excellent, with one of Retail Week magazines's top 100 shops in the world to visit. Just two decent bars, but good stuff goes on in them, but local nights out in Crouch End are good too. Transport links are great.
Finsbury Park is such a lovely vibrant area... :)
Manor House
I like living in Manor House because it is one stop away from Finsbury Park which has both the Piccadilly and Victoria lines. Transport links are convenient. It is also near two parks, Finsbury Park and Clissold Park. Where I stay, it is less than a 10 minute walk to Stoke Newington Church Street, where you can find many nice restaurants and pubs, along with some very pretty independent shops.
It's a vibrant mix of all people. There's excellent transport links. It's close to Highbury, Islington and Stoke Newington. Green lanes (little turkey) is bustling with fruit stalls and restaurants. There are 2 wonderful parks to visit run around play tennis football etc... and most of all, I LIVE THERE. What better reason to move this way...
Great place to live is close to all amenities and not far from the centre
In fact the area is unpretentious, friendly, multicultural, there are many local, not posh but high quality restaurants, very good links to all kinds of transport including overground, tube, day and night buses and it is starting to be discovered by young artists from all over the world.
Creative neighbourhood
Stroud Green
A great place to live, excellent transport, loads of bars and affordable places to eat, and a HUGE park !
Relaxed, multicultural area, with excellent transport links.
A good mix of interesting people and places, within easy reach of great green spaces and shopping areas.
Stroud Green, 10 minutes from Finsbury Park, is an urban village with a wide range of independent shops, award winning restuarants and cafes. Bohemian and trendy Crouch End has now spread to Stroud Green. Among the wide choice of restaurants there are Indian vegetarian, Thai, Turkish and Italian. Only 5 minutes away is the Parkland Walk, a former railway line, which is now a wooded path running from Finsbury Park to Highgate.
Perfect London location, has everything you could want.
Stroud Green has a lot of positive aspects. Firstly it has great public transport links. You can be in the West End in minutes either by bus, tube or overground (24 hours 7days a week). The atmosphere is quite laid back, with a lovely multi-cultural feel, which is immediately apparent when you start walking up Stroud Green as there are numerous wig shops and grocery shops selling a rich variety of food from around the globe.
One thing that Stroud Green is well known for is the restaurants and bars. There are some great places to eat and drink to suit lots of tastes and budgets.
if you like the great outdoors, you have Finsbury park with good facilities (even has a boating lake), the parkland walk (where you would forget you were in London) and Hampstead Heath is a short bus ride away and you can't get any better than that in London!
The area is very residential in parts, but has some great houses, with some very beautiful wide tree lined streets. I'd say that Stroud Green is on the rise and the property prices and rental accomodation is becoming sought after!