The Marquess Tavern

The Marquess Tavern stands on Canonbury Street in the village pocket of Canonbury, a short walk from Canonbury Overground and Highbury and Islington. Built more than 150 years ago, the Grade II listed pub has dramatic double-height ceilings and was, by local lore, a favourite of George Orwell, who lived nearby. Hot Dinners rates its supper club among Islington's better neighbourhood tables.

This is a destination gastropub for a long lunch or a proper dinner, not a quick pint. The room is grand and family-friendly by day, and the kitchen leans into pies and roasts. Anyone after a cheap round or a sports screen should look elsewhere on Upper Street.

The headline is the architecture. Double-height ceilings give the main room a scale most pubs never reach, softened by worn wood, a roaring fire in winter and an easy local feel. It manages grand and welcoming at once.

The space works for families and groups by day and turns more candle-lit at dinner. Reviewers note it can get loud on busy nights and during events, which is the trade-off for such an open room.

The drinks list is a gastropub setup, with a few cask and keg beers, a considered wine list, and pints landing around 6.50 pounds. It is pitched to drink alongside a meal rather than to anchor a session.

The food is the real draw. The pies and the Sunday roast get the loudest praise, with the supper club menu flagged by Tripadvisor reviewers. Order a pie with a pint of bitter, and book ahead if you want the roast.

Daytimes pull a family and local crowd from the surrounding Canonbury streets, with prams and groups made welcome. Evenings shift toward couples and friends in for dinner.

Service draws mixed notes, praised when quiet and slower on busy event nights, a common pattern for a big-room gastropub. It reads as a neighbourhood dining pub rather than a drinkers' local.

• "The room is stunning and the pies are the real deal. Great Sunday roast." — Tripadvisor
• "Lovely Canonbury local, fantastic food and wine, can get loud when full." — Google review (n=520+)
• "Orwell's old local apparently. Worth it for the building alone." — r/london

• A booked Sunday roast in a grand room
• Pie-and-a-pint dinners in Canonbury
• A family-friendly lunch with space to spread
• Avoid if you want a cheap, quick pint

Sources: The Marquess official site (2026-05); Hot Dinners; Tripadvisor; CAMRA; Google Maps reviews (n=520+).