We checked 19 Islington shops and markets, from After Noah's toys to Camden Passage's antiques, for opening hours and what they sell. Updated November 2026.
Islington has 19 shops and markets worth a Christmas shopping trip in 2026, and this guide puts them in one place with opening hours, addresses and what each one sells. After Noah on Upper Street, the Camden Passage antiques market, Loop and BookBar are good places to start.
Most hours are regular hours: few of these shops had posted Christmas times when we checked, so ring ahead in the last week before Christmas.
Dates and shopping centre hours
- Late night, Friday 13 November: the Angel Islington BID’s Winter Guide, published on 5 November, promises “late night shopping” alongside the Christmas lights switch-on at Islington Square from 4pm and Angel Central from 4pm to 7pm. It gives no closing time and no list of shops, so treat any one shop’s late opening as unconfirmed until that shop says so.
- Country Living Christmas Market: runs at the Business Design Centre from 11 to 14 November, 9.30am to 5pm. The Winter Guide offers free entry from 2pm to 4pm on Friday 13 November if you show a copy of the guide at the door, and £10 Silver tickets with the code ANGEL10 if you book by midnight on 10 November. Terms apply. Our Christmas markets page has ticket prices and the rest of the season.
- Crafts Council, 44a Pentonville Road: the council’s winter events round-up lists the Makers Market on 21 and 22 November, 11am to 5pm, and a Yodomo textile reuse sale on 13 November and 11 December, 12pm to 4pm.
- Angel Central: opens 10am to 8pm from Monday to Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sunday, and says hours may vary. The Winter Guide names Søstrene Grene, Muji, Oliver Bonas and Rituals among its shops.
- Islington Square: its visit page gives 10am to 6pm every day, with individual shops’ times varying. Its directory includes Anthropologie, Borough Kitchen and Lucy and Yak.
- Not yet dated: the council’s free festive street events and Islington Square’s Saturday market both ran in 2025. We found no 2026 dates for either on 5 November.
Upper Street and Islington Green
1. After Noah
After Noah says it has been “making your house a home since 1990”, and calls itself “a real toy shop, like they used to be”. It also sells gifts, homeware, and vintage and mid-century furniture, and it restores furniture.
The site says it is a certified B Corporation. It closes between Christmas and New Year but prints no exact dates, so ring if you are shopping late.
Open Mon to Sat 10am to 6pm; Sun and public holidays 11am to 5pm
Call 020 7359 4281
Address 121 Upper Street, N1 1QP
Website afternoah.com
Good for toys, gifts, homeware, vintage furniture
2. twentytwentyone
The design shop describes itself as set over two floors, with “a wide range of furniture, lighting, accessories and gifts”. It also sells gift vouchers and keeps a wish list online, which helps if someone else is doing the buying.
Its showroom on River Street, EC1R, shows furniture and lighting collections and closes on Sundays.
Open Mon to Sat 10am to 6pm; Sun 11am to 5pm
Call 020 7288 1996
Address 274-275 Upper Street, N1 2UA
Website twentytwentyone.com/pages/store-locator
Good for design gifts, lighting, gift vouchers
3. Waterstones Islington
The chain’s Islington branch stands on the edge of Islington Green between Upper Street and Essex Road. The Winter Guide points out what is in front of it: the surviving facade of Collins’ Music Hall, which has fronted a bookshop since 1994.
The hours below are those the branch page listed for the days from 5 to 14 November, and it had posted none for December.
Open Mon to Sat 9am to 8pm; Sun 11am to 5pm
Call 020 7704 2280
Address 11 Islington Green, N1 2XH
Website waterstones.com/bookshops/islington
Good for books, late opening
Camden Passage
4. Camden Passage antiques market
The council calls the passage “a hidden gem for antique hunters and lovers of vintage and retro clothing and collectables”. It is three market areas, Pierrepoint Arcade, Charlton Place and Camden Passage Market, with shops and restaurants around them.
The council asks shoppers to bring their own bags. Wednesday and Saturday are the safe days to go.
Open Wed and Sat 8am to 5pm; some stalls Thu, Fri and Sun, subject to change at short notice
Address 1 Camden Passage, N1 8EA
Website islingtonlife.london/things-to-do/camden-passage
Good for antiques, vintage clothing, collectables
5. Loop
Susan Cropper opened this knitting shop in 2005, and most of its yarns are natural fibres, many of them hand-dyed. It sells kits, haberdashery and gift vouchers, and has a winter holiday gifts section online.
Loop is the rare shop here with its Christmas hours posted: open 22 and 23 December from 11.30am to 5.30pm, closed 24 to 28 December, open 29 and 30 December, closed 31 December and 1 January, and back to normal on Saturday 2 January. The shop is cashless.
Open Wed to Sat 11.30am to 5.30pm; Sun 12pm to 5pm; closed Mon and Tue
Call 020 7288 1160
Address 15 Camden Passage, N1 8EA
Website loopknitting.com/pages/visit-us
Good for yarn, craft kits, gift vouchers
6. Pistachio and Pickle Dairy
This calls itself an “award winning artisanal British cheese shop”, and says its hot cheese toasties have a reputation for being “best in London”. It also makes up cheese and charcuterie platters and celebration cakes, so ask about Christmas orders.
Its site shows only that day’s hours, which were 10am to 6pm on the Thursday we checked. Confirm other days before you travel.
Open 10am to 6pm on Thursday 5 November; other days not published
Address 6 Camden Passage, N1 8ED
Website pistachioandpickle.com
Good for British cheese, toasties, platters
Essex Road
7. Flashback Records
Founded in 1997, Flashback has three independent record shops in London, and this is the Islington one. It buys and sells vinyl, CDs, cassettes and other collectibles.
It says it opens every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and it has posted no shorter hours for Christmas Eve.
Open Daily 10am to 7pm; closed 25 and 26 December and 1 January
Call 020 7354 9356
Address 50 Essex Road, N1 8LR
Website flashback.co.uk/pages/about-us
Good for vinyl, CDs, collectibles
8. Ray Stitch
Rachel Hart set this up as a fabric shop, and it calls itself “the most stylish fabric shop in London”. It sells fabric, patterns, haberdashery and sewing books, and runs a sewing school.
Its home page gives the address as 66-68 Essex Road in one place and 66 in another. Check the site for current classes if you are thinking of one as a present.
Open Mon to Sat 10am to 6.30pm; Sun 11am to 5pm
Address 66-68 Essex Road, N1 8LR
Website raystitch.co.uk
Good for fabric, haberdashery, sewing classes
9. Molly Meg
An “independent design led children’s store established in 2009”, with a permanent shop on Essex Road since October 2015. It sells toys, gifts, children’s furniture and party supplies.
The Christmas section of its site lists advent calendars, decorations, crackers and stocking fillers. It also hosts workshops for adults and children.
Open Mon to Fri 9.30am to 5pm; Sat 10am to 6pm; Sun 11am to 4pm
Call 020 7359 5655
Address 111 Essex Road, N1 2SL
Website mollymeg.com
Good for toys, stocking fillers, advent calendars
Clerkenwell and Exmouth Market
10. Botanique Workshop
A “London florist and artisan gift store” with a second shop on Columbia Road. Alongside flowers and plants it sells homeware, jewellery, pressed flower cards and seeds.
For Christmas its site has wreaths to order, wreath kits and ticketed wreath workshops, held in a studio opposite the shop. It says it opens as usual on bank holidays except at Christmas, and closes at 6pm on those days.
Open Mon to Sat 8.45am to 7.30pm; Sun 9am to 6.30pm
Address 31 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL
Website botaniqueworkshop.com/pages/contact
Good for wreaths, flowers, handmade gifts
11. Marby and Elm
Marby and Elm sells “bespoke letterpress stationery and jewellery all handmade in the UK”, with a Christmas section, posters and one-off artworks on its site. The hours are short, afternoons only from Tuesday to Saturday, so check before making a trip.
Mondays are by appointment.
Open Tue to Sat 12pm to 5pm; Mon by appointment; closed Sun
Call 020 7278 4882
Address 53 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL
Website marbyandelm.com
Good for letterpress stationery, jewellery, prints
12. magCulture
magCulture describes itself as a magazine shop as well as an events producer and editorial consultancy, with “We love magazines” as its battle cry. It also sells greetings cards, and its new arrivals are listed online if you want to see what is in before you go.
It closes on Sundays and public holidays.
Open Mon to Sat 11am to 6pm; closed Sun and public holidays
Call 020 3759 8022
Address 270 St John Street, EC1V 4PE
Website magculture.com/pages/contact
Good for independent magazines, greetings cards
King’s Cross end of the Cally
13. Housmans
“The longest continuous-running radical bookshop in Britain”, established in 1945 and at King’s Cross since 1959. It specialises in radical politics, including feminism, pacifism, Black politics and environmental justice, and also stocks fiction, graphic novels, poetry and children’s books.
It sells gift cards, T-shirts and its own Housmans Peace Diary. It closes on all bank holidays.
Open Mon to Sat 11am to 6.30pm; Sun 12pm to 6pm
Call 020 7837 4473
Address 5 Caledonian Road, N1 9DX
Website housmans.com/about-the-shop
Good for books, gift cards, Peace Diary
Highbury, Canonbury and Finsbury Park
14. La Fromagerie Highbury
The shop calls itself “a local neighbourhood favourite for over 30 years”, with a cheese room, a shop and a small cafe. Its online range includes gift boxes, cheese boards and celebration cheese cakes.
Its site gives two different sets of hours: the home page has the times below, while the Highbury page has an earlier Friday finish and shorter hours on Saturday and Sunday, so ring first for those days.
Open Mon to Thu 9am to 6pm; Fri 9am to 10pm; Sat 9am to 7pm; Sun 9am to 5pm (home page times)
Call 020 7359 7440
Address 30 Highbury Park, N5 2AA
Website lafromagerie.co.uk/pages/highbury-n5
Good for cheese, gift boxes, Christmas food
15. Highbury Vintners
“An independent wine merchant on Highbury Park, with fourteen hundred hand-picked wines”, from an £11 midweek bottle upward. The building has been a drinks shop since the early 1900s, it says.
It opens a few bottles for free tastings every Friday from 5pm to 7pm, with no need to book, which is a useful way to choose a Christmas bottle. Its site prints no opening hours, so ring first.
Open Not printed on its site; Friday tastings 5pm to 7pm
Call 020 7226 1347
Address 71 Highbury Park, N5 1UA
Website highburyvintners.co.uk
Good for wine, free Friday tastings
16. BookBar
An independent bookshop, wine bar and social space, as its site puts it, between Highbury and Finsbury Park. Its site has Christmas and gifts sections, and a service it calls Shelf Medicate.
It stays open to 9pm from Wednesday to Saturday, and it closes on Mondays.
Open Tue 10am to 6pm; Wed to Sat 10am to 9pm; Sun 11am to 6pm; closed Mon
Call 020 3457 5186
Address 166 Blackstock Road, N5 1HA
Website bookbaruk.com
Good for books, wine, evening browsing
17. Estorick Collection shop
The museum of modern Italian art on Canonbury Square has a shop you can enter without a gallery ticket: “admission to café and shop free”, it says. Its online shop lists exhibition catalogues, books, bags, bookmarks, cards, fridge magnets and gifts.
The museum says shop and cafe are wheelchair accessible, and it opens until 9pm on the last Thursday of each month, which is 26 November, though it does not say the shop stays open too.
Open Wed to Sat 11am to 6pm; Sun 12pm to 5pm; closed Mon and Tue
Call 020 7704 9522
Address 39a Canonbury Square, N1 2AN
Website estorickcollection.com/visitor-information
Good for art books, cards, gifts
18. The Armoury, Arsenal
The club’s main shop at the Emirates sells kit, souvenirs and gifts, and does personalised shirts. Arsenal describes these as usual hours and warns they may vary on match days, so check the fixtures before you go.
The club has a second shop, The Arsenal Highbury, at 75 Drayton Park, N5 1BU, open 10am to 5pm from Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.
Open Mon to Sat 9am to 6pm; Sun 10am to 4pm; varies on match days
Call 020 7704 4120
Address Emirates Stadium, Hornsey Road, N7 7AJ
Website arsenaldirect.arsenal.com/ourStores
Good for football gifts, personalised shirts
19. New Beacon Books
The bookshop describes itself as “specialists in African and Caribbean literature since 1966”. The address sits on Stroud Green Road in Finsbury Park, and postcode records place it just over the boundary in Haringey.
Readers at this end of the borough will still know it as local. It opens four days a week only.
Open Thu to Sat 12pm to 6pm; Sun 12pm to 5pm; closed Mon to Wed
Call 020 7272 4889
Address 76 Stroud Green Road, N4 3EN
Website newbeaconbooks.com
Good for African and Caribbean literature
Names on older lists that we left out
- Cass Art, Colebrooke Row: the Islington store page now says the lease has ended and the store is “permanently closed”. Cass Art’s King’s Cross store at 14/15 Stable Street, N1C 4AB, opens Monday to Saturday 10am to 7pm and Sunday 11am to 6pm.
- Present and Correct: the stationery shop long associated with Clerkenwell now gives its address as 12 Bury Place, WC1A 2JL.
- Haygen, Map Gift Shop and Get Stuffed: all appear on older Islington lists. We could not find a working site for any of them, so we could not confirm hours or that they are still trading. That is not a report that they have closed.
- Holloway and Archway: we did not find an independent gift shop on Holloway Road or in Archway with a site we could check. If you know one, please tell us.
Plan the rest of the trip
Things to do in Islington, what’s on this month, Christmas shows, Santa’s grottos, Christmas dinner, ice rinks near Islington, Christmas travel, parking and the local directory are all on this site.
How we chose
We picked shops that have a public record: the shop’s own site, the Angel Islington BID’s Winter Guide, the council’s Islington Life listings and older published shopping guides as leads only. We preferred independents and included chains only where they are what people look for. We checked each one on 5 November 2026, and we say where a site left something out. Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@islingtontoday.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@islingtontoday.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.
Frequently asked questions
Is there late night Christmas shopping in Islington in 2026?
Angel Islington BID’s Winter Guide promises late night shopping on Friday 13 November, the night of the Angel Central and Islington Square light switch-ons, but it prints no closing time and no list of shops. Angel Central’s regular hours already run to 8pm from Monday to Saturday, and Waterstones on Islington Green listed 8pm closing for the dates it showed. We found no other late-night date when we checked on 5 November.
Which Islington shops open on Sundays before Christmas?
After Noah, twentytwentyone, Waterstones, Loop, Flashback, Ray Stitch, Molly Meg, Botanique, Housmans, La Fromagerie, BookBar, the Estorick Collection, the Arsenal Armoury and New Beacon Books all list Sunday hours. Marby and Elm and magCulture close on Sundays. Hours can change close to Christmas, so check before a special trip.
Which Islington shops have published their Christmas closing dates?
Loop has: its last day before Christmas is Wednesday 23 December, and it is closed from 24 to 28 December. Flashback closes on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. After Noah says it closes between Christmas and New Year, without giving dates. Housmans closes on all bank holidays, and magCulture on public holidays.
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