Northcote Road shopping: the market, the cheese and the antiques
A street market that comes alive at the weekend, one of London's best cheesemongers and an antiques market at the far end. How to shop Northcote Road properly.
By Clapham London Editorial
Northcote Road is the best shopping street in the Clapham area, and the way to do it is on a Friday or Saturday, when the street market has its fullest run of stalls and the independents are all open. Start at the Junction end, eat your way along, and save the antiques for later. Here is what to look out for, and the shops worth crossing the road for.
The street market
The market is the soul of the road. Time Out describes it as open almost every day of the week, but it comes alive on Fridays and Saturdays, when you will find the fullest range of stalls and street food such as pizza and porchetta. These days the stalls lean to charcuterie, gifts and artisan goods alongside everyday groceries. Once it was where locals came for cut-price fruit and veg, and that history is why the street still feels like a proper high street rather than a mall.
Go before noon on Saturday. By lunchtime the pavement is a slow parade of buggies and dogs, and the best of the hot food has a queue.
Cheese, deli and wine
Hamish Johnston, 48 Northcote Road
The cheesemonger everyone on the road swears by. The Junction business district's own directory calls Hamish Johnston one of the finest cheese retailers in London. Ask for a taste before you buy, and if you are hosting at Christmas, check the shop's Christmas page early.
Bayley & Sage, 95 Northcote Road
A small food hall for the week's shop, from deli counters to wine and hampers. It is open every day from 8am to 9pm, which makes it the late option when the market has packed up.
Fashion and art
- Aspiga, 84 Northcote Road. Sustainable fashion, open 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sunday.
- Clarendon Fine Art, 50 Northcote Road. A boutique gallery, open 10am to 6pm every day. Browsing is free, and the gallery staff are on hand for enquiries.
Books for children, just off the road
Turn into Chatham Road for Fara Books for Kids at number 74, a specialist children's charity bookshop. It opens from 9am to 5.30pm every day and is a good stop when small people have run out of patience with the grown-up shops.
Northcote Road Antiques Market, 155A Northcote Road
Further down the road is an indoor antiques market, where grandfather clocks stand next to vintage jewellery and cut-crystal decanters. It is open from 10am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday and from noon to 5pm on Sunday, which makes it the one stop on the road that does not care about the weather. Give yourself time: the stalls go back further than you expect.
Where to stop for a drink
Northcote Records at 8-10 Northcote Road is a bar with live music and cocktails, a garden, and a 2-for-1 cocktail happy hour until 7pm from Monday to Thursday. It opens from 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays, so it works as the finish line after a day of shopping. At the top of the road, Archer Street at 3-7 Northcote Road is the cocktail bar where the staff sing.
A little history
According to the Junction's own history, Northcote Road grew up as a shopping street a little later than the streets around the station. The station opened in 1863 and the neighbourhood grew up around it. The independent spirit has stuck, and it is the reason people from SW4 cross over into SW11 to shop here.
Christmas on Northcote Road
The road puts on a good Christmas. The Junction's Christmas lights switch-on happens around the tree at the corner of Northcote Road and Abyssinia Road in late November, with school choirs singing along the road and a finale on a stage on Abyssinia Road. It is free and it is packed, so arrive early if you want to see the lights go on.
How to do Northcote Road
- Get there: it is a short walk from Clapham Junction station.
- When: Friday or Saturday morning for the full market, Sunday afternoon for a quieter browse.
- Bring: a tote bag and an appetite. The cheese, the hot food and the deli counters will see to the rest.
- Budget: the market, the gallery and the antiques are all free to browse, so you only pay for what you carry home.
- Finish: a drink at Northcote Records, or coffee and a pastry from one of the cafes along the way.
Northcote Road is a street that rewards a slow walk. Do one side going down, the other coming back, and you will have done it properly.
