Stroud Green Road
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Stroud Green Road is in north London, in the London Borough of Islington (one half of the upper part of the road is in the London Borough of Haringey). (Grid reference: TQ 311 871.) It is not widely known, given its role as a populous thoroughfare, linking the area of Crouch Hill with the important station complex of Finsbury Park. More than just being a street, Stroud Green Road's serves its local residents as a neighbourhood in and of itself. There is an array of assorted bars, shops and restaurants, as well as an unusually high proportion of independently owned retailers. Stroud Green Road's only national chains are Tesco, Nando's, Miso. It has been claimed that the road is surprisingly reminiscent of a Paris street, presumably since it is lined at parts by trees, and fairly wide by London standards. Stroud Green Road can become a considerably noisy and convivial place when the crowds spill out from Arsenal FC's Emirates Stadium or a popular music concert in Finsbury Park, both nearby. It is reported that Ho Chi Minh lived at the Haringey end of Stroud Green Road while recruiting for his cause and sometimes working as a ship's cook [citation needed]. Bob Hoskins is also reported to have lived in the area during his childhood [citation needed].
Amongst Stroud Green Road's various bars and restaurants, the street is home to the first and original branch of Italian-owned North London restaurant chain La Porchetta - now a renowned pizza restaurant. There is a diverse selection of pubs along the road too. One such pub, The Flag, was an underwhelming gay bar for many years but despite recently reopening as The Big Fat Sofa (intended to appeal to a more general clientele) has since closed down. The aforementioned pub The Old Dairy is a venerable, large establishment which combines a "countryside" atmosphere with live bands, poetry slams and a big screen for FA Premier League football matches. Over the road The Larrik is a clean and spacious pub which attracts Australian and New Zealand exiles, though lacking atmosphere it is somewhat reminiscent of a branch of All Bar One. Further along towards the station, Chapter One has a pleasing mixture of comfy leather sofas and traditional "barfly" seating, appealing to a more diverse and international customer base. Owned by Irish landlords, the establishment is now gaining a reputation for serving a broad and varied menu of Mexican dishes alongside its huge selection of alcoholic drinks. Further south, The White Lion of Mortimer and The Worlds End (sic) are rather less salubrious, the former an all too bland Wetherspoons outlet and the latter of interest primarily to supporters of Arsenal Football Club.
Shopping is very good on Stroud Green Road as well. There are two fair-sized supermarkets, Woody's (formerly the Yesim Food Centre) and Tesco Metro, besides a large number of independent retailers including newsagents, off-licences and specialist clothing shops. Wig shops are surprisingly prevalent, for a street of this size. Restaurants range from the standard Indian and Chinese to the more exotic Mauritian and Caribbean. Particular mention should be given to Cats, a fun Thai eaterie with a real Bangkok tuk tuk parked in the front window replete with fairy lights! In the summer, despite being in the heart of inner north London, the locals (English, Irish, Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, West African, Polish, Czech, Turkish, Australian and Albanian) call this strip of road "The Stroud Green Riviera."
The street more or less acts as the undefined area of Stroud Green itself, a part of London that seems to exist on some maps but not on others. Nevertheless, Stroud Green Road is a microcosm of what London Mayor Ken Livingstone once described as "The world in one city." There can be few places with such a tension-free racial, cultural and class mix.
Transport
The street runs north from the transport hub of Finsbury Park, and stops just short just 150 yards south of the North London Line station Crouch Hill. The street was supposed to receive its own underground station on the Northern line as part of the Northern Heights plan of 1935. London bus routes W3, W7, and 210 run the length or Stroud Green Road, terminating at Finsbury Park. The low railway bridge of the Great Northern Electric Railway at Finsbury Park severs the possibility of running bus routes directly from areas north of Finsbury Park such as Stroud Green Road directly into central London.