The Drapers Arms occupies a powder-blue Georgian building on Barnsbury Street, a quiet Islington side street about halfway between Angel and Highbury and Islington. It was gastro-fied in 2001 and has stayed one of London's most respected gastropubs since.
Come for the food, especially the Sunday roast, with a pint or a glass from a smart wine list. Skip it if you want a quick anonymous pint, because this is a dining pub where the kitchen leads.
The Drapers Arms is in Barnsbury, Islington, London.
Get Directions Ask Our TeamDownstairs is the pub proper, battered tables and chairs around a bright green central bar. Upstairs is a calmer dining room with high ceilings, candelabras and a chequerboard floor.
The Infatuation describes it as the kind of neighbourhood pub every area wishes it had, equal parts local boozer and serious restaurant.
There is real ale on the bar and a wine list that runs deeper than most pubs, so order a pint of cask or ask the staff to point you at a glass that suits your plate. Pints sit around seven pounds.
The food is the real draw. The roast belly pork, beef or chicken with Yorkshire pudding is the order on a Sunday, and the kitchen holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its value cooking.
The crowd is Barnsbury locals, Islington families on a Sunday, and food-led visitors who book ahead for dinner.
It runs busiest at Sunday lunch and on weekend evenings. Midweek the downstairs bar is the easy walk-in option.
Belly pork or beef with all the trimmings.
Bib Gourmand cooking in a calm upstairs room.
The kitchen, not the bar, sets the pace.
More across the city in our best bars in London and best craft beer bars in London guides. Browse the London pubs, London Bar Guide, Islington bars, or find gastropubs near me.
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