Tinderbox
It’s easy to miss, but the entrance is just past the floating ‘halo’, that looks like a crown of thorns. Go up the stairs at the back of the take-away coffee booth.
The first floor opens into a long, boxy space with lots of different seating areas: diner-style booths, a balcony, a mezzanine, shared tables and even some old leather airline seats.
Tinderbox offer a good range of loose leaf teas from Suki, starting at £2.25. There are samples of each of the leaves in small glasses on the counter.
Teas include English breakfast, chamomile, green and Earl grey. I usually have mint tea if it’s evening, but the green and white tea is also good. It is served in a chunky teapot with china cup.
If you are in the area Tinderbox is a good spot for a cuppa, although my favorite places for tea at Angel are Candid Arts Cafe and Bill’s, which I still love for the massive enamel pot with two tea bags for a bargain £1.95. Itsu do really good tea in glass pots, but I find the and music really annoying and seats designed so you don’t hang around for long.
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 Price of a Cuppa : |
from £2.25 pot for one |
 Leaf or Bag : |
Leaf |
 Crockery : |
Chunky infuser pot |
 Music : |
background |
 Service : |
Self-service |
 Food : |
Snacks, sandwiches, cakes etc. |
 Kitty says: |
Fantastic view; open late |
| Address: | N1 Islington Parkfield Street, Islington N1 0PS |
| Website: | none |
More places for tea near Angel, Islington:
White Lion Street
Torrens Street
Caledonian Road
email
Not far from where N1 is now, used to be one of the most fashionable tea gardens in 18th century London, the White Conduit House. Crowds would gather at the gates, eager to get the best seats to be served tea, cream and the house specialty White Conduit Loaves, which were small sweet buttered rolls. People like the poet Oliver Goldsmith visited, and Thomas Lord played cricket there, before moving his cricket club to Marylebone. Fashions change and the White Conduit House was built over in the 1820s. A Victorian pub stands on the site on Barnsbury Road, now a Georgian restaurant.
You can hear more about Islington’s food history on my walk Islington London’s Larder on February 21st – see http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/5089133736 for details
This is brilliant Rob – to discover that I am staying yards from a former tea-garden and the original Lord’s is great. I love the Georgian restaurant and have been for tea..will write a quick post – and mention your walk naturally:) Thanks!