Canal No 5 in Islington

I've been in here three times now informing them that octopus is classed as a sentient creature here in the UK. At first they were listening to my point but towards the end, every time, they play the 'i don't speak English well' card. Very frustrating. Not going here until they take octopus off the menu.

They have a selection of cakes and sandwiches at ok prices and the coffee was very hot ( a rarity these days) had taste, but not a lot. I guess you can’t have everything.

Amazing place, the people that worked there are all really friendly! would highly suggest going there for a coffee or some really good food with an amazing view of the canal.

Good quality coffee without the pretentiousness. The shop offers both inside and canal side seating

A charming little café by the canal.

Beautiful place. Amazing Chips and seafood and a wonderful owner 😋

Chilling on the canal side, friedly staff very tasty chai latte :-)

Terrible experience. Poor quality and greasy food, bad service, high prices!!!!!

The food was absolutely disgusting. Both myself and my dad ended up having stomach issues later in during the day. We had to wait a long time for the “food” to arrive (about 30mins).

El lugar es particularmente bonito, nos costó un poco llegar por las indicaciones de Google Maps y llegamos de noche por lo que tuvimos que estar adentro por el frío terrible que estaba haciendo. Yo pedí un Mocha y estuvo muy bueno, el personal fue amable y la vista era muy bonita por afuera. Considero que es una buena opción de día para poder disfrutar de la terraza y el sol en un espacio tranquilo.

If you’re walking from Limehouse to Paddington, (or the other way round!) This café is roughly half way. Clean toilets too...

Beautiful spot, atrocious coffee - I’ve had better from petrol stations

Haven't tried the food, but delicious coffee drinks and plenty of outdoor seating by the canals

Now called Galata Cafe Visited here today. Very relaxed and chilled atmosphere. Staff are very friendly and accommodating. Located near the canal a beautiful spot to sit and reflect near the water. They have a covered area so nice to sit and even watch the rain. Food portions are very generous. My friend ordered Fish fingers and chips ... The chips were super yummy ... I would return and definitely recommend a visit. Thank you for your service today :)

The place is amazing, the owner and staff are wonderful people. Fish is great. They are very interested. Thanks a lot.

Went on a Sunday 3rd of September, supposed last day of British Sunshine. Working whilst drinking with much ambience surrounding me. Views of Canal Boats going and coming, morring and stoping for a cute drink.. nice.

Used to be a gentile cafe now is a loud disco dive bar esque kebab shop 🥴😩

If you're a tourist and you're looking for something authentic to do in London, I'd recommend a walk down the canal from Dalston to Angel. If you're going to do that, stop at Canal No 5. It's a beautiful spot on the canal with scenic views, barges, old east london buildings and the canal. The menu is great, offering octopus, fresh fish calamari, and mackerel sandwiches. The portions are generous and the side salad is decent, rather than your usual sad lettuce. The only wine option is a Hardys red, white or rosé, but the rest is so good it's forgivable. Staff are really friendly and accomodating.

Ein gemütliches Bier nach einem stressigen Sightseeing Tag genießt du hier direkt am Regents-Kanal. Das Schleusenwasser rauscht. Idylle.

Location ist schön. Bezahlt man auch. Aber Ok.

Great view of the regents canal! Good coffee as well!

If you’re a young person of colour do not come here. The people that worked here constantly came over to our table telling us what to do and what not to do. At first we were polite and understood but after being approached 3+ times within half an hour being offered unsolicited advice when they did not do the same with the other tables, it became very uncomfortable to the point where we just got up and left. Avoid at all costs!

Delicious food and friendly staff with a beautiful view!

Lovely view, very nice coffee and drinks

I cannot recommend this more lace enough. Superb café - staff are friendly, coffee is great (I had a cappuccino) and just a lovely spot to stop and admire the admire the canal. Also, they were also super helpful when I fell over running along the canal when it was raining - helped me to my feet, brought me water, gave me a seat to recover and brought be bandages.

Lovely coffee and superb location on the canal. Nice team of lads working there, always friendly.

A return visit to old haunts today and I've not been to this incarnation of the towpath cafe. Coffee was decent as was the croissant I had with my beverage. Apparently this place functions as a restaurant, well the menu lists seafood, so might be worth visiting to check that out.

Just had coffee and cake here very nice people served me, very polite and friendly. I will certainly come here again , all of the food looks very yummy. Also great views of the City Road lock/ canal, very peaceful watching the world go by

Great location, ideal for a stop when doing a walk on the canal. However coffee was not great and the flat white was not properly done.

Always nice in the summer weather by the canal. This was always a favorite spot of mine, but the opening times were random and it was always changing staff, or decorating, and overall was inconsistent as a business, however nice… it has since changed hands and although I think the previous guy still holds a share, it’s been transferred to another company called Galata, after the Turkish tower, and is mainly seafood fare, so for updated situation on this location check out the listing next to it “Galata, cafe and bistro”

Great location and good coffee however the food(had a muffin which was definitely a couple of days old) was not as great…will definitely come back for the coffee and the views.

Now is Galata coffee. With great atmosphere, lovely staff, cold beer and tasty, yummy homemade burek (Turkish savory spinach and cheese pastry). Have I said lovely staff? Yes, they are. Have I said good food? Yes, it is!

Not to argue the view is lovely I love this place and been a regular customer It seems like it changed ownership quite few times in 2022. We ordered a macchiato the milk was burnt same for the coffee. And the cappuccino was also burnt (served as a pint). Very disappointing

A kind note for bartenders here (if they dare to call themselves such) — there’s a color guide on any Aperol bottle, you can check how this cocktail should look like. It shouldn’t be transparent. Charging £12 for a glass of ice doesn’t feel reasonable.

It is a great place, the walk and the crowd and the food.

Great coffee in a lovely location.

Excellent coffe place and view on front of the towpath canal. Pastries and tapas really good and testeful..

Fabulous coffee. Peaceful water watching

It's a lovely place to sit with my dog.

The place is real nice, don't have to mention the perk to be next to the canal, a good place to have a lunch if is not raining

Took aaaages. Like fully 45 minutes for the staff to even acknowledge us and serve. Lucky it was a nice day and we were happy to wait. But plenty of people got served before us despite arriving 30 mins later.

Lugar supet agradável , bastante cómodo e o staff muito educado com Cappuccino muito jom.juntamente com.o croissant de amêndoas

Fantastic food and friendly staff can't wait to go back

A star for the incredibly nice spot. Just one because the experience got ruined by terrible, rude and unfriendly staff. A real shame.

Nice location, friendly service food was very good. Virgin Mary was a bit too spicy... Quite pricey but justified by location and quality.

Stopped off on the way to the Narrowboat Pub and was greated by a very friendly and smiley owner. Took a seat next to the canal and listened to the water fall coming off the lock. Had a double gin, which was nice. Really pleasant relaxing place for a drink. Didn't have any, but the food looked pretty good as well.

The view is good but the waiters are forgetting people's orders and the coffee is just instant served with dirty spoons.

Staff is rude service takes forever (15 min for 2 drinks to go)

Really poor service… waited an hour and a half for my food and when it arrived it had clearly been microwaved and was hard and inedible… the only nice thing about this place is the location Also their iced matcha latte is just matcha powder ice and milk not blended at all so there’s huge clumps of matcha… gross

£2.60 for a flat white, waiter service and a lovely view.

Had to wait 50 minutes for our food over lunch time. There were multiple tables asking where their orders were too and the staff couldn't really answer. When they food arrived it was really average. The bread tasted like charcoal. I regret going here for lunch. It's a good location for a drink on a weekend but I wouldn't recommend ordering food, especially if you don't have 2 hours to kill.

The chicken was inedible it's a pitty because the place is very nice...

We have been waited for bit of chips for 35 mins. That's all I'm going to say. I reckon this place was a cafe? 🐡 despite cheap chairs and all missing meals on the menu. Americano was I don't know basic and dull.

Those were 30£ very poorly invested! We waited over 30 mins for a steak sandwich to arrive. And not only it came cold with barely any pieces of meet, in a random burger bun, and with a chunky piece of cheese, but also the fries arrived 20 mins later!!! on top of the terrible food quality, the waiters didn't seem to care at all for the service. Avoid it if you can

Lovely spot for coffee and friendly staff!

Very bad. We ordered drinks and a cheese & cold cuts platter. Badly presented, we did not dare to eat the cheese because it looked poorly preserved and cold cuts looked ‘old’ and dry. Beers were room temperature. Toilets were filthy. Staff working in the kitchen were not wearing a mask. Overall higene of the place was concerning.

I really enjoy the ice latte here. Wonderful view,a sense of tranquility in the lunch break, just perfect.

Great location, but 25 minutes for a coffee :/

non mi hanno portato una extra fetta di pane.

We just had lunch at Canal no. 5 and I wouldn’t recommend it. The food took almost half hour despite them not being busy. I asked how long our food would be and they said ‘it’s coming”, but no apology or friendliness. When the food arrived, the fries were cold and over seasoned. The salad was awful, no taste and not restaurant/cafe quality. We are local and have been coming here for years for coffee and this was the first time we ordered a meal. We won’t be coming back again unfortunately. Such a shame as they have a prime spot, their service and food simply doesn’t match up. They should visit towpath (a further 10 min walk along the canal) to draw some inspiration from their amazing service.

Nice coffee, cake, location, service :)

I always had just passed here during walk, and finally visited here! It has a great canal view and very friendly customer service. Had Full English Breakfast and Eggs Benedict with tea. Was a very windy day but there was a heater outside so it was okay. (don't really know whether they have indoor seats as well.) The price could be a little bit expensive but it's compatible. The beans in English Breakfast is quite special cos I think it's home made one. Also black pudding is amazing even though I didn't really go for it usually. They have Brunch, Lunch, and after Lunch menu. we had a great time here, and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone cos it's really nice to have Brunch in great canal view! You can hear water falls from canal :-)

Nice location, and easy online ordering system. However waited 20 minutes with everyone else around me getting their food and drinks. No sign of order (a juice) and when I enquired where it was, then told they had run out. To be fair they offered a drink on the house (+1 star) but to be left waiting that long and ignored, isn't good enough. I left.

Lovely breakfast, lovely staff and location is wonderful

Nice location next to the canal, modern technology for reading menu and ordering. Very fast service, staff very professional and polite.

Nice coffee, great location and lovely staff.

Poached egg overdone. Very nice staff

Friendly costumer service amazing location and nice food too!

I have been to this place several times over the last few years. As the majority of the reviews mention, Canal No 5 is located in a prime location and is a great place for drinks and people watching. However, what not many people see to be reviewing is the friendly BUT disorganised customer service. My 2-star review is an average of all of my visits up until this past weekend. Before my most recent experience, I would have given Canal No 5 a 3.5 star simply for its food and coffee and perhaps the fact that you can enjoy some drinks and people watch on a sunny day. But I like to be direct, and I can assure you that the food is not as great as it was three years ago and the coffee isn’t exactly impressive. This brings me now to how an overall experience can down-star an overall review. The staff at Canal No 5 are friendly but disorganised. I understand that things are different due to Covid rules, but this doesn’t take away the fact that staff members need to learn to communicate better amongst themselves and with customers around their sit-down policy. My most recent experience at Canal No 5 was that I was told to put my name down on a list and wait for a table. No problem there. It all seemed clear to me until a table became available and two entitled locals who were walking walking along the canal decided to take over the table that I had been patiently waiting for. Since I had been told that I was the first person on the waiting list, I was quite shocked when no one called my name and when none of the staff approached the people who had taken over my table. I actually decided to approach the staff and ask, “Wasn’t that my table?” which was then addressed with, “Let me ask my colleague.” Without going into a rant, let’s just say that nothing was done to address the situation and the entitled customers were allowed to stay sitting at a table for which they never had to write their names down nor wait! I’m sorry to say, but customer service matters and this place seems to lack it. It’s the staff members’ bad communication with their customers that really put a sour note on my review. My general recommendation to Canal No 5 is to treat customers equally and to implement a table-waiting policy that is fair to everyone and that they can truly commit to. In my case, I think Canal No 5 had the opportunity to make things right by at least apologising or offering me a complimentary coffee once I was finally offered a table. I know that times are tough in the service industry, but I do believe that customer service skills are lacking here and it could really improve people’s experiences moving forward. Thanks for taking the time to consider my review.

Great canal-side cafe to grab a snack and enjoy the night lights of the surrounding buildings.

Reasonably priced cuppa tea, perfectly placed next to the canal.

Lovely place especially in the sun! Go there by yourself or with your friends and the vibes and the location will make you feel like you’re at a movie

Great location on the canal with decent coffee

The heart of London and you'd never realize it !

Covid-19 Update: es ist ein Zelt mit Heizpilzen aufgestellt, damit man draußen Essen kann. Das Frühstück ist sehr lecker. Abstand wird eingehalten. Curtado kann ich sehr empfehlen. Sehr schöner Blick auf den Kanal. Der Rosé schmeckt wirklich gut. Zum Wein bekommt man immer Brot. Kellner sind alle sehr freundlich.

Good food, good coffee. Service is slow and awkward, which is a shame.

It's a coffee tht I have seen it a lot during my walks. Is located right next to the canal, always joyful, always full of life, with the beautiful sitting area outdoors you can have a lovely time there. Pet friendly. Romantic. Family friendly. Simply great

Enjoyed a nice steak sandwich on the towpath opposite the canal lock. Friendly service.

Great outdoor cafe by the canal

Cute canal cafe with outside sitting and heaters for colder days

Fresh pastry, good coffee and sun, a perfect morning mix

Great spot for drinks during day and evening. Wouldn’t recommend the food platters, overpriced for what it is.

A quiet and relaxing place, good food, so many options on the menu. Staff was okay, attentive and friendly,

Perfect spot for coffee or a few drinks while enjoying the canal view. The food and service was great even though it was a busy, sunny evening.

Cute cafe right on the canal in Islington. A lovely sun trap and a great place to have a drink and watch passersby and boats float by. Friendly and polite service. Good coffee.

Nice chilled vibes by the canal

A real gem on a quieter and sunny part of the canal. Lovely staff and excellent coffee made by Italians - the best!

so friendly and helpful, we love it here, doggy ice cream served too!

Waited 30 mins for chips and waiter said that our order has been ‘lost’ once we followed up. No compensation was offered

Friendly staff but I was served cow's milk in my coffee instead of soya which resulted in my being ill for several hours. Please be more careful.

Lovely walk by the canal and boats to canal cafe where i belatedly celebrated my birthday with a cake complete with candles. Very friendly staff at cafe and plenty of outdoor tables, some with umbrellas to keep cool in this heatwave. Enjoyable day.

Lovely little cafe, perfect in most every way. The only downside is that it doesn't always open quite when expected. 😅

Lovely spot with great food and very helpful staff.

Why take the tube to Islington when you can meander along the canal and stop here for a coffee break

My Poor Dogs full of the Bicycling Maffia

Such a great care on the canal, beautiful mix of old and new architecture to look out onto. The coffee is really good but the pastry is what you should come for. Their cinnamon buns are excellent.

Best amphibious cafe in the world.

Great soft machiato and nice service in a peaceful place.

Great coffee, delicious cake & very helpful staff!

Amazing canalside cafe, only open in the summer but cozy inside too