Clementine

Oh, what a charming little place! Anna Higham (previously at River Café and Flor) has opened a new café over the road from her acclaimed bakery Quince. 

Oozing with autumnal energy, but somehow not at all twee, this nook on New North Road feels as if Gilmore Girls was reincarnated as a produce-led Islington breakfast spot. Warm in both the literal and metaphorical senses; the interior is kitted out with comfortable light wood furniture – stools in the window make for an excellent people-watching spot – bookshelves are filled with cookbooks and there are sweet watercolour paintings of delicious-looking produce.

Food at Clementine is seasonal and hearty

There’s a big table in the middle of the space for people to share, and a few smaller tables for two. A soothing soundtrack of The Smiths, Cocteau Twins and Air plays. On a Wednesday morning in October the place is packed, and a queue forms outside the door. 

Just like at its sister bakery, the food at Clementine is seasonal and hearty. The breakfast menu – consisting of tattie scones, sausage sandwiches, country toast with butter and homemade jam and steaming porridge topped with molasses and cream – feels like the kind of warming fare a Scottish farmer might rustle up before a day in the fields. A heavenly flat white with a heart swirled on top comes in a dainty cup and saucer. Scotch oat pancakes are light and amazingly soft. They are generously topped by slowly-melting dollops of honey butter, and laced with crunchy flakes of sea salt, along with wonderfully gooey roasted apples. I feel like I’ve just discovered the cosiest brekkie in town.