Last updated May 2026
From its humble beginnings in the 1790s as a residential area developed by Sir Charles Pratt, Camden has transformed into one of London’s most visited boroughs. Once home to Charles Dickens, George Bernard Shaw and JB Priestley, now it’s one of the most thriving multicultural places in the UK, with its almost 300’000 residents speaking over 140 languages and dialects between them, and the local council placing diversity at the forefront of its thinking.
The area’s transformation began in earnest with the construction of the Grand Union Canal and the arrival of the railway in the 19th century, cementing Camden’s role as a pivotal industrial and transportation centre, but it’s the 1960s which marked a significant cultural revolution in Camden Town, with the rise of rock and psychedelia. Venues like the Roundhouse became the epicentre of this movement, where music, culture, politics, and youthful vigour converged, laying the groundwork for the area’s enduring association with alternative culture and creativity.
Camden Market, which started as a modest arts and crafts fair in the backyard of Dingwalls, has grown into London’s largest market (and the city’s fourth most popular attraction, with 250’000 visitors a week), open seven days a week. Its rapid expansion from a temporary Sunday market reflects the area’s burgeoning popularity and its reputation as something of a culinary destination, even if much of Camden’s best food is often actually found beyond its 6.5 hectares.
In any area boasting such vast and varied influences, wonderful food is bound to follow. And so it is in Camden, a microcosm of global flavours, both in fine dining and street food form. Today, we’re checking out the very best. From traditional fish and chips to homestyle Portuguese cooking, here’s where to eat in Camden Town, and the best restaurants in Camden.
Roger’s Kitchen
Ideal for award-winning Jamaican cooking with soul and swagger…
On a stretch of Camden Road where the iconic railway bridge (soon feature the Camden Highline) looms overhead, something rather special is happening. Crowned Best Restaurant at the 2023 UK Caribbean Food Awards, Roger’s Kitchen has the rare quality of a place that knows exactly what it wants to be – and absolutely nails it.
The eponymous chef Roger Shakes started as a pot washer in London in 1999, worked his way up to feeding A-listers at the legendary Mango Room including Grace Jones, Spike Lee, and Prince, then struck out on his own in 2020, armed with nothing but his grandparents’ recipes from Westmoreland, Jamaica.
Take the curry goat, the kind of dish that makes you abandon all sense of decorum. There’s a depth to the sauce that speaks of hours of patient cooking, the meat falling apart with just the suggestion of pressure from your fork. The chargrilled jerk chicken is just as good. The seafood platter is a proper feast that stops conversations at neighbouring tables, and at £30 is decent value, too.
The set menu (£55 for three courses) is an absolute steal, though first-timers should go à la carte to properly explore. The ‘Sparkling Saturdays’ lunch deal at £38 for two courses with drinks lives up to Shakes’ professed philosophy, that “sometimes it’s not even about money, it’s about making people happy.” Tables have been increasingly hard to come by since that award win, but persistence pays off. This is our favourite restaurant in Camden, make no mistake.
Website: rogerskitchen.co.uk
Address: 71 Camden Rd, London NW1 9EU
Poppie’s
Ideal for fish and chips with a heavy dose of nostalgia…
The late Pat ‘Pop’ Newland started frying fish and chips in London’s East End back in 1952, and though Pops is sadly no longer with us, his spirit – and his exacting standards – live on at every one of the four Poppies branches. The Camden outpost, just across Regent’s Canal from Camden Market, remains the most characterful of the lot.
At Poppies, just across Regent’s Canal from Camden Market, the focus is on fun (more on that in a moment) and authentic, traditional cooking. The fish, sourced from Billingsgate daily, is as fresh as that sourcing suggests, the batter is crisp and with delicate pockets of air, and the chips are just the right shade of beige. It’s a combination that’s hard to resist.
In addition to the star attraction, we also suggest trying a serving of the jellied eels. These slippery little delicacies are a longstanding symbol of London’s food scene, and the owner continues to honour this tradition by featuring them on the menu. Extra chilli vinegar, please!
It’s not just the food that draws the crowds in. The 110 seater restaurant is playful, with a nostalgic setting, transporting diners back to the later 1940’s and “London’s after the war rebirth”. If you didn’t know, fish and chips were part of British wartime history. On a recent instagram post, Poppies explains that this iconic British dish was “the only food never rationed in order to maintain morale and bring comfort in a time of crisis. It was also a method of identifying allies on the front line – if you shouted ‘fish’ and the reply was ‘chips’ you knew you were amongst friends”. We digress…
…Back to those interiors – there’s loads of memorabilia on the walls, with the fixtures and fittings all reclaimed or repurposed items from in and around Camden itself. To hammer the point home, waitresses wear period uniforms from Camden Lock Market.
We know that some of you might be cringing right now – themed restaurants are naff right? Well, like itself Camden, Poppies has somehow made it cool. And in true Camden style, there is an upstairs performance lounge with live music on Friday and Saturdays. Encore!
Speaking of Encore, since we first wrote about Poppies, the group has expanded to four London locations, with a Notting Hill branch on Portobello Road joining the original Spitalfields, Soho and Camden sites.
Website: poppiesfishandchips.co.uk
Address: 30 Hawley Cres, London NW1 8QR
Read: 5 IDEAL places to get your fish and chip fix in London
Three Uncles
Ideal for possibly the best roasted Chinese meats in the capital…
You won’t miss Three Uncles as you enter the Hawley Wharf section of Camden Market; look not for three middle-aged men dispensing advice on hanging picture frames and cracking terrible puns but rather, a glowing red signage, and swaying roast duck and crispy pork. Is there any better sight when you’re hungry?
Indeed, Three Uncles stands as something of a beacon around these parts for those in pursuit of authentic Hong Kong-style roasted meats. Founded by a trio of childhood friends and culinary aficionados – Cheong Yew (Uncle Lim), Pui Sing Tsang (Uncle Sidney), and Mo Kwok (Uncle Mo) – the establishment first opened its doors near Liverpool Street station in 2019. Since Camden, they’ve added Brixton, Brent Cross and more – six locations in all, and the standard hasn’t slipped.
Since then, it has brought its roast meats over rice to the heart of Camden, and we’re so glad that they did. From the crispy-skinned pork belly to the richly flavoured duck and the sweet, honey-glazed char siu, this is some of the most satisfying (and best value) food in all of London.
Each dish is served in a straightforward manner with no frippery, atop a bed of perfectly fluffy rice with a choice of sauces that range from rock sugar and soy to spring onion and ginger. The house chilli oil, a necessary accompaniment, adds a welcome kick. And all of this will set you back little more than a tenner. Which gives you the perfect excuse, we think, to order a second round…
Website: Threeuncles.co.uk
Address: 2nd Floor, Hawley Wharf, Water Ln., London NW1 8AA
Read: Where to eat near Liverpool Street Station
Daphne
Ideal for time-honoured Greek-Cypriot cooking in a charmingly traditional setting…
Over on Bayham Street, Daphne has been serving faithfully rendered Greek-Cypriot cuisine since the 1950s. The restaurant, run by the Lymbouri family since 1984, stands as a cherished reminder of when this pocket of London was known as the ‘Peloponnese Triangle’ due to its thriving Greek and Cypriot community.
After a 20-month closure for extensive renovations, Daphne reopened at the end of 2014. The ground floor dining room manages that rare feat of feeling both polished and homely, with distinctive dark green wooden panelling and latticed room dividers segmenting the space into intimate dining nooks.
The menu reads like a greatest hits of Greek-Cypriot cuisine. The taramasalata here is properly fishy, whilst koubes – those deep-fried bulgur wheat parcels stuffed with minced lamb – arrive crisp and aromatic. For mains, the kleftiko (slow-cooked lamb) is a standout, falling off the bone after its long marinade in lemon and herbs. The real draw might be the humble, homestyle dishes like louvi (black-eyed beans with spinach) and fadgi (a lentil pilaf with fresh tomatoes) – exactly the kind of sustaining fare that keeps regulars coming back.
The pricing remains remarkably fair, with most mains around £15. This is time-honoured cooking done with care and integrity, served in surroundings that transport you straight to the Mediterranean. As owner Nicholas notes, some 70% of customers are regulars – in today’s fickle dining scene, that speaks volumes.
Instagram: @daphne_restaurant
Address: 83 Bayham St, London NW1 0AG
Andy’s Taverna
Ideal for a long, loud Greek feast in a Camden institution…
Andy’s Taverna is as old as Sgt. Pepper’s, conceived during the Summer of Love back in 1967. It was here a decade before punk found the Roundhouse and two before Britpop colonised The Good Mixer, and calling it an institution is, for once, acceptable.
It belongs to the borough’s Greek-Cypriot history, the same thread that gave nearby Daphne its roots, back when this pocket of NW1 had enough Hellenic presence that the area picked up the nickname the Peloponnese Triangle. Where Daphne flies the Cypriot flag, Andy’s is mainland Greek, run for years by Petros Ochtaras with a hands-on warmth that has kept the tables full while other Greek spots in the area have sadly shuttered around it.
The food is taverna cooking done straight-as-a-die and all the better for it: mezedes to start, dips and warm bread, grilled halloumi, dolmades, spanakopita, then the bigger plates of souvlaki and lamb kleftiko, the latter slow-cooked until it barely holds together, just like me during a heatwave. The sea bass and bream are flown in from Greece, the kitchen’s allegiances clearly with provenance over food miles. It’s grilled and served prosaically with a side of chips and a big ol’ wedge of lemon. Bliss, really.
Portions land somewhere between generous and actively confrontational, daring you to leave the last of your moussaka pushed up the side of your plate as if that hides your shame. Since you’re going down either way, the smart move is to hand the menu back and let Petros order for the table, family-style, plates in the middle, everyone reaching across, sleeves and elbows soaked in sauce by the end of the meal.
The room leans into the fantasy, as you’d hope it would, blue and white throughout, a terrace garden for the summer, Greek music nights that pull a mixed-age crowd. It is not subtle and it is not trying to be, but when I excitedly smashed a plate in a moment of ouzo-inspired madness, I was evicted from the premises.
They let me back in for a final baklava and a Greek coffee, both of which were wonderful. Here’s to another half century.
Website: andystaverna.com
Address: 23 Pratt St., London NW1 0BG
Epicurus
Ideal for a proudly messy Levantine reworking of the American diner…
After all that, a Levantine diner named after a Greek philosopher feels almost inevitable. Epicurus the thinker preached moderation and simple pleasures, which is a bold choice of patron saint for a restaurant whose burgers arrive piled past the point of dignity. Shiri Kraus and Amir Batito cut their teeth at The Palomar and The Barbary before opening The Black Cow, their Middle Eastern steakhouse that sat across the road at Hawley Wharf. Parked in the North Yard of Stables Market, this follow-up takes the American diner apart and reassembles it with Levantine hands.
The cooking is rich and unserious, much like the Roy siblings. Halloumi comes crisped and tossed with za’atar, chermoula and orange, salty and sharp at once. The Sloppy Yossef rebuilds the American sloppy joe in a burek wrap, the beef heavy with cumin, harissa and caramelised onion, meant to be torn apart by hand. At least, we think that’s how you’re meant to approach it. Those funny looks make sense now…
Burgers are loaded and graceless, the Sammy Burekas piling tatbileh aioli, triple-cheese bureka, harissa bacon jam and a runny egg onto one bun for £19. Sharing platters stack up grilled meat with gravy and pickles. Suppliers are local, the beer and ice cream both from Camden, which keeps a globe-hopping menu tethered to its postcode.
On warmer days, the cobbled terrace outside feels like the ideal spot for a pistachio baklava shake spiked with whisky. And then a second. It’s that kinda place.
Website: epicuruscamden.co.uk
Address: Unit 90 Stables Market Camden, Greater, London NW1 8AH
Pick & Cheese
Ideal for when all you want is a comforting plate of cheese…
Camden’s fromage aficionados congregate in one place and one place only when they’re looking to get their kicks, and that’s at the formerly, prosaically named Cheese Bar, now known as Pick and Cheese.
Something of a Camden Market legend, you might think you’d walked into a new branch of Barrafina upon entering; the horseshoe counter seating around a central bar is reliably a throng of chatter and cheer. That’s until you cast your eyes towards the end of that bar, and into several ceiling high fridges full of wheels of the good stuff.
The operation has changed somewhat since the relaunch as Pick and Cheese back in August of last year. There is now a rotating belt of different cheeses and charcuterie, forever spinning, cyclical like life or, indeed, a cheese wheel, with plates priced according to colour; white plates (a little Keen’s Cheddar, perhaps some Lincolnshire Poacher) are £4.35, all the way up to more exclusive or labour-intensive yellow plates of goats’ cheese doughnuts or yoghurt, lemon and honey cheesecake, at £6.55.
Dedicated to celebrating the very best of British cheese, with every item on the menu showcasing the surprising diversity of the UK’s cheese-making talent, diners don’t come just to sample the raw material here; arguably the biggest draw are the ‘off-belt’ grilled cheese sandwiches, which are served with a gentle, almost austere reverence for the cheese they’re showcasing. You’ll find no overloaded, gimmicky sarnies here. The simple cheddar and onion is a case in point; funky but fresh, it’s sublime.
For a proper indulgence, every Wednesday Pick and Cheese offers Bottomless Cheese sessions, which sees an hour and fifteen minutes of 25 different cheeses and charcuterie, all-you-can-eat style. It will set you back the princely sum of £29.50, which isn’t bad for a feast of cheese lasting almost the length of a football match. Now all you need alongside it is a glass or two of the Louis Guntrum Riesling, which is richly poised, and perfect for the more acidic elements of a little Ogleshield.
The conveyor belt concept keeps on churning; Pick & Cheese has since expanded beyond Camden, with a Berlin outpost already up and running and a New York City branch on Fifth Avenue confirmed for 2026. Not bad for a concept born from a grilled cheese sandwich stall in Bermondsey.
Website: pickandcheese.com
Address: Unit 93 – 94, Chalk Farm Rd, Chalk Farm, London NW1 8AH
Tokyo Retro
Focusing on a more ‘maternal‘, homestyle Japanese cooking, this izakaya on Camden High Street is run by two Japanese women who fled Clapham in 2022 when their landlord hiked the rent at their original spot on Abbeville Road by 170%. We’re kinda glad they moved on. Just sixty seconds’ walk from Mornington Crescent tube, the new outpost has already built a following among homesick Japanese expats and locals who care implicitly about the difference between real sushi rice and the sticky stuff you get elsewhere.
On the menu, expect izakaya classics rendered faithfully. So, that’s liberally glazed but not overly sweet nasu dengaku, takoyaki octopus balls that are just the right side of gummy, and chicken karage that’s craggy and perfect for it.
Do be aware that Tokyo Retro only opens in the evenings, Tuesday through Saturday. Book ahead or risk disappointment – word has spread since they arrived in NW1, and the small space fills quickly. It’s worth the effort; it’s a wonderfully welcoming restaurant to sink into. The owners remember faces and preferences, treating regulars like family members who’ve come round for dinner.
Yes, service can slow down when they’re busy. Yes, the space is humble and unassuming. But when you’re eating grilled eel this good, who cares about the wallpaper?
Instagram: @tokyo_retro
Address: 13 Camden High St, London NW1 7JE
Purezza
Ideal for dairy and gluten free pizza that actually tastes great…
Holding the distinction of being the UK’s first entirely vegan pizzeria, a title it has proudly held since its inception in 2015, Purezza is the brainchild of Stefania Evangelisti and Tim Barclay, born out of a desire to revolutionise plant-based dining.
Established in Brighton, the UK’s Vegan Capital, Purezza is the first plant-based pizzeria in the UK. They specialise in vegan, gluten-free sourdough pizzas that are innovative and full of flavour. They have expanded their operations with branches in Camden (were we’re dining today, of course) and Manchester too, maintaining their high-quality standards across all locations.
Their pizzas are far from the typical, bland, artificial-tasting vegan options. They use large wood-fired ovens to bake pizzas that could rival any traditional Neapolitan pizzeria. The dough is allowed to mature for forty-eight hours, and their signature vegan mozzarella, made from brown rice, took two years to perfect. It’s as close to the real thing as you can get in a vegan version.
The name Purezza, which translates to ‘purity’ and sounds, erm, a bit like ‘pizza’, reflects their commitment to using fresh, seasonal vegetables to enhance their pizzas. Their Parmagiana Party pizza, crowned as the ‘National Pizza of the Year’ at the National Pizza Awards back in 2018, is a must-try. This recognition was a significant achievement for a vegan pizza.
That was 2018, and things have gone even better since, Purezza’s pear and blue pizza a case in pointp – think a luscious white base, creamy mozzarella, and the bold tang of blue cheese, softened and sweetened with juicy pears, crunchy walnuts, and a fiery twist of chilli jam. There’s a joke in here about pizza pear-fection, but someone else has already made it.
Purezza is arguably the best vegan pizza in London, and perhaps even in the entire UK. It’s certainly one of our favourite restaurants in Camden.
Website: purezza.co.uk
Address: 45-47 Parkway, London NW1 7PN
Read: The best pizza restaurants in Brighton and Hove
La Patagonia
Ideal for the all-Argentinian steakhouse experience done right…
This family-run establishment prides itself on delivering the finest Argentinian food in London, with a menu that promises to transport you straight to the heart of South America.
La Patagonia largely succeeds in that aim, its transportative quality certainly not harmed by the restaurant’s central parrilla – complete with crank handle and chain – and the sizzling steaks that have bedded down so happily on its bars.
Before you get stuck into Argentina’s finest prime sirloin (£27.90 for 300g), first get lost in the savoury folds of the restaurant’s homemade empanadas, the traditional beef mince version, piquant from green olives, has pastry that boasts that chalky quality that defines a truly great Argentinian pastry. Then, it’s on to the headliner, which throws its bolero hat into the ring of London’s best steaks, with a gnarly yet uniform bark from the high heat of the charcoal grill and a pleasant pinkness within. That faint, reassuring tang of the farmyard brings you home.
Unsurprisingly, it’s an all Argentinian wine list here, with an eminently drinkable Malbec San Telmo Reserva clocking in at just £6.75 a glass. Lovely stuff. Just be sure to book if you’re heading here at the weekend; this place gets busy.
Website: lapatagonia.co.uk
Address: 31 Camden High St, London NW1 7JE
O Tino
Ideal for Portuguese homecooking that nourishes the soul…
We end our tour of Camden’s best restaurants in the warm embrace of O Tino, a beloved spot that has been doing gloriously satisfying Portuguese homecooking since 2009. It’s a lovely place to settle into, with husband and wife team Florentino and Elisabete working the floor and Liga Portugal 2 matches ticking away on the tele (at least on our visit here, anyway).
Unsurprisingly, salt cod features heavily on the menu, with bacalhau the focal point of five or six dishes. We went for the classic dish of bacalhau a bras, which sees salt cod mixed with scrambled eggs and crisp matchstick potatoes, and this was a fine version indeed, as good as we’ve eaten in Lisbon. Alongside, clams in white wine called for plenty of bread for mopping up those briny, beautiful juices. Mop we did.
The only, though, is the arroz de marisco, the country’s beloved seafood rice dish. This one needs to be ordered with 24 hour’s notice, but you won’t regret deploying a little foresight. Pair it with a glass of Vinho Verde and you could be in a little backstreet of Lisbon.
If you’re up for a quick lunch, O Tino also does an excellent job of piri-piri chicken, here served with chips and salad for just £14. Result!
Website: otinorestaurant.co.uk
Address: 1 Plender St, London NW1 0JS
And if you haven’t found anything that quite takes your fancy here, then just up the road, Kentish Town has a restaurant scene that is positively flourishing. Join us as we celebrate it next. Oh, you’re sick of us? See you later then!
