It’s not often thought of as a shopping destination, but Clerkenwell –the southern tip of the borough of Islington – is a Mecca for cool little independent shops. There’s something for most people, and this guide to the coolest shops in Clerkenwell will tell you all about them.
So…here are the coolest shops in Clerkenwell…
For design lovers, there’s magCulture, Magma and Present & Correct.
For homewares and gifts, there’s Space, Marby & Elm, Magma, and (again) Present & Correct.
For fashion: Antoni & Allison and Dress for Less.
For vintage shopping, there’s Pennies Vintage.
For books and magazines: magCulture and Magma (again).
For Italian food, there’s L. Terroni & Sons, the oldest Italian deli in London.
And finally, for charity shopping, there’s EMWWOUL, an independent charity shop.

You’ll find all addresses and website information are in a handy summary at the end of the article; there’s a map, too. Opening times may vary, please check the shops’ websites.
At a glance...
- 0.1 Around Exmouth Market
- 0.1.1 Best shop in Clerkenwell for eclectic gifts: Space
- 0.1.2 Best shop in Clerkenwell for witty letterpress stationery: Marby & Elm
- 0.1.3 Best shop in Clerkenwell for all the magazines in the world (or close enough): magCulture
- 0.1.4 Best shop in Clerkenwell for quirky contemporary fashion: Antoni & Allison
- 0.1.5 Best shop in Clerkenwell for underground sounds and zines: Kindred
- 0.2 Around the northern part of Clerkenwell
- 0.3 On and around Clerkenwell Road
- 0.4 Around Whitecross Market
- 0.5 Coolest shops in Clerkenwell: addresses and websites
- 1 Coolest shops in Clerkenwell: map
- 2 Where to go from there?
Around Exmouth Market
Not sure where to start? Exmouth Market is as good a place to start as any. Exmouth Market is both the name of a street lined with an array of wonderful shops and restaurants, and the name of a small food market that takes place there on weekdays. If you’d like to catch Exmouth-Market-the-market, it’s open Mondays to Fridays around lunchtime (about 11am to 2pm). For the shops and restaurants on Exmouth Market-the-street, the opening times will vary, but will usually be standard opening hours.

Best shop in Clerkenwell for eclectic gifts: Space
25 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL
Space is a cool gift shop, with an eclectic inventory of jewellery, diaries, cards, kids stuff, and all sort of stuff you didn’t know you wanted until you saw it. So, a bit like a quirky indie version of Flying Tiger Copenhagen, then.
Best shop in Clerkenwell for witty letterpress stationery: Marby & Elm
53 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL
More cool & quirky at Marby & Elm, with an emphasis on graphic design and letterpress printing. Lots of it is quite …er… sex centred? Anyway, their cards are printed in-house on luxurious paper and are a joy to handle. They also sell inks inspired by selected London areas, check out those wonderfully witty names: Bethnal Green (green ink), Love Lane (invisible ink – brilliant!), or Blackfriars (black ink).

Best shop in Clerkenwell for all the magazines in the world (or close enough): magCulture
270 St John St, EC1V 4PE
If the word “magazine” brings to your mind WH Smith, you’re in for a bit of a surprise in MagCulture. This is magazines as coffee table material, magazines as work of art, thick as books and with prices to match. All the same, it’s an inspiring journey through food (“Serviette”), fashion (“Luxiders”), art (“The Modernist”), travel (“Fare”), design (“Shoplifters”), and current affairs (“Discontent”). They do stock several recognizable names too (Vogue, Private Eye, Wired, National Geographic, The New Yorker, to name a few). Well worth a visit.
Best shop in Clerkenwell for quirky contemporary fashion: Antoni & Allison
43 Rosebery Ave, EC1R 4SH
Cool, quirky (but very wearable) clothes. The website is really cool and quirky (but very useable) too.
Best shop in Clerkenwell for underground sounds and zines: Kindred
15 Mount Pleasant, London WC1X 0AR
Electro, dubstep, garage, jungle, grime, reggae, dubstep, hip hop, drum’n bass….you get the picture. They sell records (remember those?), cassettes (surely nobody remembers those?), books and zines, clothing, prints, and they run an underground radio. How cool is that?
Around the northern part of Clerkenwell
Best shop in Clerkenwell for design led office goods: Present & Correct
23 Arlington Way, EC1R 1UY
Tucked away in a quiet street at the back of Saddler’s Well theatre, don’t miss one of the very best shops in Clerkenwell (one of the very best shops in the whole of London, in fact). They sell a unique range of stationery and office products, from the useful (ruler stickers) to the wonderful (cat postage stamps) and everything in between, all beautifully (and very tidily) laid out in a bright, airy, minimalist space. If sleek Scandi minimalism and vintage French chic had a child, Present and Correct would be that child.
If you only visit one shop in Clerkenwell, make it this one.
Best shop in Clerkenwell for vintage shopping: Pennies Vintage
41A Amwell St, EC1R 1UR
Pennies Vintage is well known for their vintage clothes from the 1920s and earlier, with a large selection of floaty beaded wedding dresses, and a jumble of beautiful vintage bags, jewellery, china and knick-knacks. Less well known is that they’re also strong on lovely fluffy vintage cashmere knitwear at more than reasonable prices. This probably makes them one of London’s best kept secret for affordable cashmere, and who doesn’t like that?
Best shop in Clerkenwell for preloved designer clothes: Dress For Less
391 St John St, EC1V 4LD
Dress for less is packed with a huge choice of designer clothes, designer bags and designer shoes, as well as jewellery, scarves and miscellaneous accessories. They have a website, but – trust me – the shop stocks so much more. So much to look at! I left empty-handed this time, but there’s always a next time…
On and around Clerkenwell Road
Clerkenwell Road is part of a long stretch of roads that goes all the way from Marble Arch to Old Street. The Clerkenwell part is not that long, and has some fantastic shops.
Best shop in Clerkenwell for design and art books: Magma
119 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5BY
If you liked MagCulture and Marby & Elm, you’re going to adore Magma. At least, I did. The Clerkenwell Road shop is actually an eastern outpost (the flagship is in Covent Garden), but it’s plenty large, and packed with uber cool, sometimes quirky, always interesting magazines, books, posters, games, gifts, and even useful everyday things. If you only visit one shop in Clerkenwell, make it th- oh, I said that about Present and Correct, didn’t I? OK then, if you only visit two shops in Clerkenwell, make Magma the other one.

Best shop in Clerkenwell for Italian food: L Terroni & Sons
138 Clerkenwell Rd, EC1R 5DL
L Terroni & Sons is London’s oldest Italian delicatessen, serving up slices of Italy since 1878. It’s both a well-stocked delicatessen and a small busy café with an extensive menu, and it really does feel like stepping into an authentic little corner of Italy. Highly recommended, whether you’re shopping or eating.
Best shop in Clerkenwell for sustainable gifts: I Only Popped in for a Card
126 St John St, EC1V 4JS
Another wonderful gift shop. The colourful inventory in this one is particularly eclectic, with clothes and cookbooks alongside the cards that give the shop its name. Their aim is to promote sustainable brands that use ethically sourced materials.
Around Whitecross Market
I love a good charity shop (that’s thrift store for any American readers), and if there’s one thing Clerkenwell is not strong on… it’s charity shops. Well, you can’t have everything. And there IS one charity shop, conveniently located on Whitecross Street, so you can combine sampling the great street food of Whitecross Market and doing a bit of thrifting.
Best charity shop in Clerkenwell: EMWWOUL
Coltash Court, 148 Whitecross St, EC1Y 8QL
An independent charity shop in aid of ethnic minorities widows and widowers. A great mix of designer items (on my visit, there was a pair of Todds loafers in decent condition that I was very tempted to buy) and more standard charity shop fare, with an excellent selection of books in a small room at the back. Totally worth a visit.
There you go, a round up of the coolest shops in Clerkenwell. Have I missed anything? Let me know!
Coolest shops in Clerkenwell: addresses and websites
Exmouth Market https://exmouth.london/
Space 25 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL https://www.ifounditinspace.co.uk/
Marby & Elm 53 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL https://www.marbyandelm.com/
Antoni & Allison 43 Rosebery Ave, EC1R 4SH https://www.antoniandalison.co.uk/
Kindred 15 Mount Pleasant, London WC1X 0AR https://kindredeverything.com/
magCulture 270 St John St, EC1V 4PE https://magculture.com/
Dress For Less 391 St John St, EC1V 4LD https://www.dressforlesslondon.com/
Pennies Vintage 41A Amwell St, EC1R 1UR https://penniesvintage.com/
Present & Correct 23 Arlington Way, EC1R 1UY https://www.presentandcorrect.com/#
Magma 117-119 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5BY https://magma-shop.com/
L Terroni & Sons 138 Clerkenwell Rd, EC1R 5DL https://terroni.co.uk/
I Only Popped in for a Card 126 St John St, EC1V 4JS https://www.ionlypoppedinforacard.com/
EMWWOUL Coltash Court, 148 Whitecross St, EC1Y 8QL (no website)
Coolest shops in Clerkenwell: map
Where to go from there?
Have you tried charity shop shopping in Pimlico?
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