Since opening in 2024, Quince in Islington has grown into one of the city’s most loved bakeries. With its commitment to the finest British ingredients and focus on Britain’s baking heritage (as opposed to a more usual French-leaning style) it has, in many ways, gone against the grain.
Now owner Anna Higham has announced a new cafe, Clementine, set to open in September, just yards from Quince on the New North Road in Islington. Clementine will also celebrate British produce, but unlike its older sibling, a tiny shop with no seating, it will serve breakfast, brunch and lunch. The food will be British – think porridge, soup and toasties, tattie scones, pies, buns and scones with jam and cream.
Before opening Quince, Higham worked as a pastry chef for a wide range of restaurants, including The River Cafe, and under Gordon Ramsay. She never intended to turn the bakery into a group of venues, but always had a cafe at the back of her mind. It would be a place to “keep exploring our culinary vocabulary without the limits of our bakery menu”, she tells Broadsheet.
When a pub across the road became free Higham swooped in. “Having a space where people can sit and meet will be wonderful,” she says. “I’m excited about how we can deepen our support of the farms we already work with. We’ll be able to buy more and buy a broader range of ingredients than Quince, strengthening the relationships we already have.”
Like Quince, Clementine will be hyper-seasonal. Higham is yet to reveal menu specifics, but it will draw heavily on Britain’s culinary heritage. “There is a huge breadth of inspiration to be drawn from British cooking,” says Higham. “It has been my focus for so long now I don’t think I could veer from it if I tried. It also feels more true to me and my cooking. I don’t have a reason or connection to cook European or American or anywhere else’s food. I’m Scottish and have lived in England for a long time and understand those flavours and dishes. It’s the food that I feel most connected to.”
Other British cafes have opened in London in recent years – think the Scottish Auld Hag in Angel and the Welsh Bara in Peckham. Higham says it’s “wonderful seeing people exploring what their national foods look like through a modern lens. We’ve moved on from denigrating regional British food and [are] finally allowing ourselves to be proud of what we have”.
Quince opened after a fundraising campaign raised more than £40,000 in 2023, and Higham says a similar crowdfunder, which launched today, is aiming to raise £50,000 to help fit out the new space and cover the equipment needed. An official opening date, along with the first menu, will be announced in August.
Clementine will open in September at 190 New North Road, N1 7AA.
