The Hope in Islington

Returned to London after many years and wanted to have breakfast in a proper caff (greasy spoon). The Hope was perfect. They have all the traditional menu options and other variations including vegan options. The owners were so lovely and friendly and up for a chat. Wished we could have come back to try the lunch menu. Cash only. Good value.

This cafe is a gem! The menu is extensive and excellent value. There are 7 breakfast combos and 2 veggie options. A hot main and drink costs less than £15, bargain.

Proper cafe, great food and friendly staff! Old style cafe and a real gem!

I came here today to take away vegetarian Greek lunch dishes! It was delicious! The lasagne and moussaka were excellent. The lady was very kind and allowed me to bring my dog inside whilst we waited. I hope they take cards soon in the future as I don’t always have cash on me and would love to come back for lunch again. Thank you!!! 😊

Generous portion, good price, and authentic food. Rare find in the expensive London.

Full English for 12£ (cheaper/smaller options available), comes with coffee or tea Lovely owners and vibe, highly recommend!

Friend took us to her local and had a nice solid late lunch - and a jam roly poly!! Food was delish, Staff were lovely. Need to come back to have the crumble… 😊😊

DO NOT GO TO THIS CAFE!!! I have just been held hostage inside for refusing to pay for an absolutely disgusting meal. Everything overcooked and not the slightest bit fresh, reheated stale vile food. Upon telling them that I didn't like the food and not going to pay for all of it, they became extremely rude and aggressive shouting and grabbing me and locked me inside. Snatched my sunglasses off my head and refused to give them back. I was the only person in the cafe and they would not let me out and was screaming and shouting in my face pulling and grabbing me. Police were called and I am traumatised from this. Extremely aggressive couple running this place. Cash only so you know they are on the fiddle too! AVOID AVOID AVOID

Such a shame, this place looks so lovely and welcoming. I was practically salivating when I walked in, just to find out that it is cash only? In 2024?? I had no cash or physical card on me so they lost out on a customer who would be a returning customer if not for this unusual payment policy. Any money saved from the lack of card fees will be outweighed by loss of business as most people don't carry cash with them in this day and age. What a shame, I hope this can change soon as it really did look like a special place to have a breakfast!

On the positive side this place serves generous portions at reasonable prices. On the negative it's cash only, which in 2024 is both unusual and highly suspicious. In fact, it's very rare for a hospitality venue to be cash only nowadays and doesn't make any sense from a business perspective, as the potential business lost, far outweighs any money saved on card fees!

Fabulous experience. The Breakfast was of the highest order. Friendly staff too. Highly recommend to all

A great old time cafe with a menu of traditional greek food. They encouraged a scheme of 'buy a meal for someone else'' a great place to eat and people watch (the world eats here)

Been going here for years and the lady is always friendly. The quality of the food is really low though. They get the cheapest sausages possible so don’t expect a decent full English despite the high price. They also only accept cash which seems dodgy. Had to cancel an order because of an emergency and the lady was rude and hung up on me despite going to this place for years and spending a lot of money with them. Won’t be returning. I could put up with the bad food as there are limited options for cafes but when the lady started being rude that was the last straw.

Love The Hope! An old school London caff and all the better for it. Usual fry-ups etc but Greek and vegan dishes available too. Places like this are a dying breed in London these days. Go there while you can.

This place is the real deal; not many caffs left have period furniture. Don't buy food in the Emirates Stadium, instead save your money & fill up here for the same experience your ancestors had, & you'll probably help Arsenal more: getting to eat at this place every fortnight is a valid reason to choose an Arsenal season ticket over one of their nearby competitors, and I don't even speak as an Arsenal supporter.

I have come here a few times in the past once in 213 and come here for some thing to eat has in the town the women is sill very rude hasn't better rude to my husband is very aggressive she seems to not like some people and be rude to them she is not English she is Greek would she like people to say bad things about being Greek her husband is all OK you are in your sixty now time to stop working and think about your behaviour to other people

proper 'greasy spoon' with great value all-day breakfasts as well as other options. The #7 bargain breakfast will keep you going all day!

Superb. Lovely Sue and her husband Chris ( both Greek) have been running this cafe for nearly 40 years. Mostly by themselves. Massive choice and all cooked to order. Roast lamb is our usual choice. Very reasonable and if you give a generous tip it will help to pay for the homeless they often feed. Good people are few so do go here often. It won’t be here for ever.

Great workers cafe. Really enjoy having my lunch here

Lovely old school cafe. Food, service, and prices are all great. Worth noting that it’s cash only but there’s a few ATMs nearby. We were also allowed bring our small dog in with us which is a plus!

Fast food? McDonald's eat your heart out. The fried breakfasts arrived before the tea had cooled to drinking temperature. They were just the right size and beautifully fresh. The sweets took longer because the custard had to be made. The jam roll was particularly good and, again just the right size. What I loved was that you can "pay forward", pay for the meal of somebody who needs it at some time in the future.

A proper old-school cafe, with great food and a warm welcome. A real bonus for me are the plant-based dishes also on offer. Today's options were vegan Shepherd's Pie or Fasolada (white bean casserole). Fasolada was a no-brainer... who wouldn't want a real Greek dish prepared by a real Greek chef? Delicious, hearty, authentic food - clearly made with love. Excellent value too. See also: Jay Rayner's Guardian review. (Please note - I'd already partly eaten my lunch before I thought to take a photo!) *Just popped back in* for a truly delicious Fasolaki (green bean casserole). Gorgeous!! And again, for the Shepherd's Pie!

Good home cooked food at a good price. Very friendly owners

Good local cafe, ideal stop for a bite before Arsenal home games. Service good and good solid food.

Got a full English comes with 2 slices I said I have toast she charged me extra 30p for toast the sausage was over cooked hard as nails after all that even the toast was burnt & it's cash only

Very friendly staff and good food.

We visit The Hope when we go to the Arsenal. Fantastic old school cafe that gets very busy on match days, get in early to get a table. We really enjoy the Greek specials...very good value for money. The place has plenty of character. Not many independent cafes like this left in London. A must visit if you want hearty food in North London.

Cash only. Between the two of us we only have £10 in cash. Fine, we’re hungry but we’ll get one dish and split it. “Could we have an extra fork, please?” “No, that will be an extra £1.50.” (Which we don’t have.) We thought she was joking. We laughed. She yelled at us for laughing and told us the extra cost is for the extra work to wash the fork. I wanted to leave on the spot but we’d already paid. The food was ok. If you don’t have any desire to provide basic service and treat customers with basic respect, don’t work in the service industry. Also, please respect the law and pay your taxes.

Quiet, good selection of English fare (fry up for me) and traditional Greek food

Absolutely fantastic food , and we got the Win 👍 go on the Arsenal 🙂 Great place , great food ,proper 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Always good food and old style cafe for everyone

Wonderful Old School Cafe great service and traditional Greek food with vegetarian options,went in there on Match day(arsenal v Fulham)as Fulham fan,it's cash only and had to go to cash machine,meanwhile 2 wonderful Arsenal fans offered to pay,so lovely and friendly,lovely friendly staff,a great experience and but of a blast from the past but in a good way,on top of that we drew at Arsenal!

I think this was the our most satisfied restaurant experience on our London trip.Maybe not promises too much but at least it's not artifical. We entered in this restaurant just with instict and just after trying some food, we said fortunately. "Traditional" breakfast or others, you can eat good food there as it says. Je pense que ce fut l'expérience de restaurant la plus satisfaisante de notre voyage à Londres. Peut-être que cela ne promet pas trop, mais au moins ce n'est pas artificiel. Nous sommes entrés dans ce restaurant par instinct et juste après avoir essayé quelque chose à manger, nous avons dit heureusement. Petit-déjeuner "traditionnel" ou autres, on y mange bien comme il est dit.

Incredible food, people and honestly such a lovely place

Great style works cafe strong tea and great breakfast 👌

No nonsense cafe. Good food at a good price. Cash only

Although the current owner didn't know a lot of details, this is where George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley signed their record deal. We had a great cup of coffee here and the owner was very kind and patient as we soaked it all in as Wham! fans.

An absolute gem of an old school cafe. Wish I lived nearer as I would be a regular. Great food, friendly service and great vibe.

It's fast and the breakfast is of good size, but flavour a bit lacking, especially the bubble & squeak.

It's a family run business and always give you special attention.. I have been going there for years and love it!

Great food and service at this traditional working man's cafe 👌

The Hope is a very authentic Café. Its Greek owners seem very friendly. They have seating for 48, and old style Victorian benches for seats. They’ve been opened for 32 years so, can imagine they have many regulars. Egg, Chips and Beans were very affordable at £3.90. There’s a toilet available with a well stocked cold drinks fridge to include Alcohol. Very surprised there’s a charge of £1 for hot water (in an existing mug).

The lady who served us was so lovely, the panini was delish and she was so nice to our kids,definitely going back!

This is a proper London cafe with a 5 star full English, let me begin, yes some people might be turned off by the owner but once you get chatting to her she is a sweet women, i think she is Italian and you know well she is because all that food that comes out of the kitchen is top quality! The fried bread with the fry OMG! That made my heart feel good. The fry had mushrooms beans tomatoes, oh and the HASH BROWN I FORGOT OMG! Crispy on the outside but fluffy on the inside! Sausages bacon black pudding, i did not get any eggs so she gave me extra sausage and hash brown! Please go here its a top place, only downfall for me if i had to pick one is you have to pay for butter but still a 5 for me!

A working person's cafe and meeting place. In a a trendy area.

Entré por un café pero es muy variada la oferta de platos y ya tienen algunos menú fijos más baratos. Al parecer es uno de esos lugares emblemáticos de comida inglesa típica o tradicional.

Had a lovely breakfast. I will come here almost everyday now. Lovely couple and service too. Thank you

Great food and excellent owners.

Had a lovely Spanish omelette, great service, very friendly and prompt

Best place for breakfast before the football match. Great service, 🤗

Very good cafe old fashioned nice food and nice people very cheap and friendly DEFENITLY RECOMMENDED

A great little traditional cafe in Holloway near Islington Central Library. The service is excellent, fast and diligent. My breakfast was served in a blink of an eye. It is a greasy spoon but the spoon are clean and shiny. The prices are very good and is a lot of choices even for vegetarians customers. I will come back soon to enjoy this charming cafe.

The woman who serves is very rude and aggressive but compliments to chef very nice breakfast

Great little place run by a Greek couple - good, honest food at an honest price. It’s a workers cafe in name, but has a strange charm about it - I walked in and felt like home somehow. Lots of Greek and vegan and vegan Greek options too, in addition to the usual sausage chips etc.

Friendly service & good food, for very good prices

Old school cafe tasty food lovely service bear in mind this is cash only but we'll worth taking cash out for the food you get here. Lots vegetarian options and new vegan too. Must try the feta and spinach pie

Been here many times and its always very good . The food is great and the speed of service on this visit would put mcdonalds to shame .

Family owned restaurant.. Always great

Value for money its good to feel your getting your monies worth

I just went in and had the best greek veggie stuffed tomatoes and courgettes and homemade chips. The service is friendly and this place has a great atmosphere

I can not believe this is still happening in the UK in 2022!! Just because an Asian girl took a fork from this shop before now they are charging for providing cutlery for every Chinese customer?! First of all, you can not presume they are Chinese just by their Asian face! Second even though they are, you cannot presume every Chinese will take your cheap used fork then charge them extra fee! That’s absolutely discrimination, and I am so SHAME ON YOU, this should be reported, and guys! we should be ZERO TOLERANCE towards the ra ,cist people like this so that our children will be living in a more fair and happier world!

I had Full English. It was delicious. Waiting time less than five minutes.

这是我第一次在英国遇到种族歧视 This is the first time I have encountered racial discrimination in Britain. My girlfriend and I ordered a full English breakfast and a dessert. The waitress only gave us a set of tableware, and I said, "Can I have one more fork?". She said it would cost 1.5 pounds, because a 2-year-old Chinese girl took her plate worth 2.5 pounds before. And then she asked me, "Can you understand?". I can't understand. We are Chinese, and that not means we are thefts. The whole meal is as disgusting as eating flies. I hope this restaurant will close early

Had a lovely Fish Finger Sandwich today. Really nice traditional old cafe. I’ll be coming back to try the Greek food soon!

What a fabulous proper caf. Serves an amazing full English 😋 definitely coming back

Fantastic place with lovely staff. Bubble and Squeak is a real highlight. Couldn't reccomend more highly.

Pop in for a tea and a great cheese roll . One of the best and l kid you not maybe the best in London . About a quid and 90p a tea

Like the American Diner the Hope is an institution. Serving typical British Food, and some Greek dishes it is frequented by genuine London people often looking for a hearty meal at a very reasonable price. Breakfasts are supurb and will set you up for the day.

Best workers cafe in the area, good portions & tasty food. Relaxed & friendly place. Jay Rayner visited & fab article in The Guardian 22 May 22, search for: The Greasy Spoon Chronicles The Hope Workers Cafe

As I recall basic interior but none the worse for that. (ain't been in there since before pandemic, glad the cafe survived). When I use to frequent the place I always enjoyed the food. Worthy of a 4? Yeah I reacon so, just.

Little gem of a place, so reasonable and massive choice, really friendly staff too.

So friendly and wholesome. The food is fresh and reasonably priced

One of a kind. My favourite place to eat off Holloway Road

Great value wonderful service 🥰

On what I thought first thought to be a lovely cozy pub hidden in central london, I was bemused to see the server maximus dancing behind the bar whilst people were waiting for drinks, when I asked where my drinks were he replied “they’re on there way my hips don’t lie”. When I didn’t laugh he said yeah it’s not a joke then proceeded to ask me for my ID (I’m 60 years old) on showing him he then proceeded to pour my pint

5* cafe, the type you hardly ever see in London any more… A lot of options on the menu here, perfect for brunch, lunch or dinner. I already go here with my family and my friends before a match and really can’t recommend it enough.

Went here for breakfast, great food and old-fashioned atmosphere. Not very busy, hope they can carry on.. do try and visit you won't regret it!

A nice place. Lots of choice of good value food. Lots of interesting dishes with all the usual English Breakfast choices of course. Well decorated and very clean and tidy. Our local.

Had a full English breakfast. It was excellent. Fried bread and a properly cooked tomato. Exclusive coffee too. All for just £17.80 for two. A wonderful find which I will definitely visit again when I am next in Islington. Thank you.

Delicious home-made food with huge portions for a cheap price. They have a classic English breakfast, lots of English food options and a few Greek meals such as moussaka. Warm service. They only take cash.

Proper home cook food Also specialise in Greek mediterranean food plus your normal cafe food Would recommend anybody to go there and try the food is excellent

Lovely old school cafe! Great for vegetarians and vegans too. They are Cash only though which is the only thing stopping me from going back.

Friendly atmosphere, classic interior, amazingly tasty home cooked food (the chips are all fresh) and reasonable prices. The Hope is a gem!

During today's visit I worked out I've been going to The Hope Cafe for 37 years, I miss the bench seats, big clock and steamed puddings from long ago but the service is still as welcoming and friendly as you'll find and they do a cracking fry up. It's also by far the best cafe of its type for vegetarian options and everything is very reasonably priced. A true gem.

I have been in this cafe several times, and have never been disappointed. The staff is always friendly, and they offer a good selection of different variation of the typical English breakfast, as well as other typical cafe meals. The food is very reasonably priced. Truly worth visiting!

Very clean friendly and food really nice one of the real old school full breakfast cafes left excellent enjoy coming here

Great cafe. Honest food, reasonably priced, great hosts.

Great food that doesn't cost the earth!

A cafe from yesteryear still going today . Food is good and very cheap . Very busy on arsenal home games obviously .

Best greasy spoon on Holloway Road

Ordered Moussaka delightful. Quick friendly service. Clean. Other mates ordered hearty meals. Fab. Will be back xx

Great breakfast options at a decent price

Nice place with even nicer fish & chips. No culinary heights but decent food served with a smile Nice lady runs it smoothly.

Proper fry up. Always go for the #5 with a fried slice and it never disappoints!

Been coming here for years, but not on match days, as I'm a Yid deep in enemy territory 😁 Very nice people and very good box standard cafe food. What gives this place an extra touch is the greek specials. Quality and very reasonably priced. This is a cash only place, but there are nearby cash machines so not a problem.

Great local cafe, amazing staff and great food. Hidden gem!

brilliant - great food - good service - and very good prices.

If im fairly honestz wasnt the best food i got from a cafe. I ordered something simple, a Cheese burger with Chips. I have to say that it wsn't up to standards unfortunately cause they do nice food and got good reviews, but the chips tasted very cheap and the beef burger was lifeless and hard, couldn't really finish it. Was really a waste of £5, wouldn't be returning unfortunately.

A proper London working man (and women’s) cafe (caff!) Decent food at a good price with a good service. It’s not fine dining but who wants a fine dining all day breakfast?! Well worth a visit.

A very good, old fashioned, cafe. Breakfast served all day. Plenty of other choices on the menu for lunch too. The quality of the food is very good and the staff are really delightful to talk to. Highly recommended. Bags of authentic atmosphere.