Independent shops in Clapham: books, butchers, cheese and more
A bookshop and a butcher on the Pavement, a second butcher on Abbeville Road and a cheesemonger on Northcote Road. Clapham's independents, street by street.
By Clapham London Editorial
The best independent shops in Clapham are clustered in three places: the Pavement in the Old Town, Abbeville Road, and Northcote Road over in SW11. Add Venn Street on a Saturday and you have a full day of bookshops, butchers, cheesemongers and galleries, none of them chains. Here is where to go, and what to buy when you get there.
The Pavement, Clapham Old Town
The Pavement is the short run of shops facing the Common at the Old Town end, and it packs a lot in.
Clapham Books, 26 The Pavement
Clapham Books is the neighbourhood bookshop, with a sister shop in Herne Hill. It opens from 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday, and runs events through the year. You can also support them online through Bookshop.org when you cannot get there.
M. Moen & Sons, 24 The Pavement
Next door is M. Moen & Sons, a long-established butcher and deli selling free-range and organic meat. The shop says its beef is grass fed and reared in Scotland, and that prime cuts are dry aged on the bone for at least 30 days. The deli side covers charcuterie, cheese, bread, olive oils and chutneys. It opens from 8.30am on weekdays and 8am to 5pm on Saturdays, and is closed on Sundays. You can also pre-order by email and collect, which saves queueing on a Saturday morning. Chefs shop here too: the team behind MAAI on Abbeville Road told Hot Dinners they buy from Moen.
Nardulli's, 29 The Pavement
Finish the Pavement with an ice cream from Nardulli's, the gelateria at the end of the row. In winter it opens from noon until 10pm.
Abbeville Road
Cross the Common to the south side and you reach Abbeville Road, the high street of the quiet corner locals call Abbeville Village.
- The Ginger Pig, 55 Abbeville Road. The butcher has been here since 2013, open 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 3pm on Sunday.
- Rind, 27 Abbeville Road. A wine and cheese bar from the people behind the Battersea branch, and the newest arrival on this stretch. Good for a glass and a cheese board on the way home, or for a long catch-up with friends on a weeknight.
Northcote Road, SW11
Northcote Road is the big one, with a street market that is at its best on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Hamish Johnston, 48 Northcote Road. A cheesemonger that the Junction's business directory calls one of the finest in London.
- Clarendon Fine Art, 50 Northcote Road. A boutique gallery open 10am to 6pm every day.
- Aspiga, 84 Northcote Road. Sustainable fashion, open seven days.
- Fara Books for Kids, 74 Chatham Road. A children's charity bookshop just off Northcote Road.
- Northcote Road Antiques Market, 155A Northcote Road. An indoor market of vintage jewellery, clocks and glassware, open every day.
Venn Street on a Saturday
Venn Street, by Clapham Common station, hosts a market every Saturday, and its own site gives the hours as 10am to 3pm. It is mostly food: bread, fish, cheese, veg and hot lunch. Combine it with the Pavement for the perfect Saturday shop: market first, then walk across the corner of the Common to Moen and the bookshop.
Coffee along the way
Common Espresso Bar at 10 Clapham Park Road, just off the High Street, is the chef's pick. Nikita Pathakji of MAAI told Hot Dinners its flat white is her favourite in London.
A shopping route for a Saturday
- 10am: Venn Street Market, before the queues.
- 11.30am: the Pavement for books, meat and an ice cream.
- 1pm: lunch in the Old Town, then a walk across the Common.
- 3pm: Abbeville Road for the Ginger Pig before it closes at 5pm.
- Sunday instead: head to Northcote Road, where the antiques market opens at noon.
Why shop independent here
Clapham's indies are the reason its high streets still feel like places, not just postcodes. The people behind the counter know their stock, they remember what you bought last time, and they will tell you when the good cheese has just come in. Spend a Saturday with them and you will go home with better food, better books, and a fair idea of who everyone in SW4 actually is.
Most of these shops are small, so weekends are busy, especially in the run-up to Christmas, when Moen and Hamish Johnston both put up Christmas pages for orders. If you are planning a big order, ask in the shop a few weeks ahead.
