Exploring Harringay’s nightlife

In recent years, the Green Lanes have become a thriving centre for nightlife in London. Each week both residents and visitors flock to Harringay’s ever popular traditional pubs and new flourishing trendy bars.Night time revellers have started to take a keener interest in their activities when out on the town, wanting to explore greater varietyin their drinks and expecting more from their evenings. Others enjoy the authentic feel of live music or the classic setting of a British tavern. With all of these on offer, the Green Lanes Magazine took to the street’s bars and pubs to see what local traders and their customers thought about the area’s growing night scene.

We started at one of the broadway’s oldest establishments, the Salisbury Hotel, which opened as a pub in 1899. Pub manager and nine year Green Lanes resident Phil told us that Harringay has become a nightlife destination in itself rather than just somewhere people passed through on their way to the city centre on nights out. He added that this was mainly down to urban redevelopment and the arrival of new youthful hangoutson the street, part of a process known as “gentrification” also common to nearby Dalston and Shoreditch.

The pub’s clientele have also changed with gentrification, “people have become a bit more discerning about their drinks, they’ve done their research” said Phil, adding that people want to know more about the wines, gins, beers and other beverages they enjoy, whereas “before a gin was just a gin”. For Phil, by holding on to its community feel despite these changes,Harringay “hasn’t lost its soul,” and this is what separates it from the rest of London.

Salisbury Customers:

1.       At the Salisbury, we caught up with Emmanuelle and Leonor, a Portuguese couple who moved into the area nine months ago and their friend Allan, originally from Catalonia who has lived locallyfor four years. The trio shared their thoughts about why Green Lanes is becoming a nightlife hotspot. Emmanuelle and Leonor appreciate the main street’s relaxed ambience and convenient location. They also appreciate Harringay’s cultural diversity, the variety of food available and the lack of drunk people when compared with Central London. Allan told us that the area is getting fancier with more and more chic businesses like Music and Beans and Beans assn Barley opening up, “they’re cool because they create a good environment,” he said.

2.       Lawyers Derek and Eve usually go out in Green Lanes every other week. They enjoy spending time with friends at the Salisbury and make good use of the main street’s outstanding Turkish cuisine. Derek, who lived in Harringay between 2012-2014 and just moved back to the area this year told us that on nights out “it’s usually Salisbury, kebab home” for him. Eve and friends Rodnie and Jonah added that the demographics of pleasure-seekers frequenting the area have become youngerand more vibrant than before.

Brouhaha:

Later we moved on to Brouhaha Bar which has a relaxed laid back feel and uses Secret DJ, an app which allows customers to set the mood by choosing the bar’s background music.The bar serves an array of cocktails and craft beers along with a unique Japanese menu.

Customers:

1.       Emily and Ulrich have been going out in Harringay for the last two years. Emily, originally from Wales loves the authenticity of Green Lanes and the surrounding area. “Everywhere else doesn’t seem like real London, Harringay, Wood Green and Tottenham are proper London,” she said. Ulrich from Austria explained that he used to live in South London before moving north and that crossing the river had been unthinkable at that time, but for him Green Lanes offered something different.

2.       Mitch moved to the Harringay Ladders two months ago but has been visiting Green Lanes with friends Herman and Johnny for longer. Mitch really appreciates the local area and its new bars, “I’ve got everything I need, I can go to whichever bar or restaurant I want whenever,” he said. “Three years ago, places like Brouhaha didn’t exist,” but now  “Harringay is doing great, everyone’s cleaned up their act, streets are full in the Summer and there are more families too.”

Jam in a Jar:

ThencameJam in a Jar, one of Harringay’s foremost live music venues that describes itself as “a cosy, mad house live music and cocktail bar by night”. With bands and musicians performing regularly, the bar is often packed with music-lovers, especially on Saturday nights. The bar’s owner Ozgur said venues like Jam in a Jar and its performances have brought a new image to the Green Lanes, “before, you didn’t want to come to Harringay, but now it’s completely different.” “Musicians come and play all different kinds of music, blues, salsa, jazz, African,” he added.

Customers / Musician:

1.       Music producer Pete has been living locally in for three years now and loves hanging out in Jam in a Jar with his partner Ella “this place is really the best because of the live music,” he said. For Pete, the bar is ideal for both work and fun. “I can come here and listen to great music, and I can even find new clients. If I like what a musician is doing, I can invite them to my studio to record afterwards,” he explained.

2.       Bass player Nathaniel and his Brazilian samba funk band are one of the many musical acts to entertain customers in Harringay’s growing music scene. They play at Jam in a Jar once a month and always appreciate the area and its businesses, “we’re all from South London, but I really like this bar, they support us and other bands,” he said.

3.       We also interviewed friends Sara, Yasmine, Phaye and Adele from Turnpike Lane who were out at Jam in a Jar for the first time.  They prefer nights out in Harringayto Central London because they are “guaranteed better music.” They also enjoy the area’s more authentic, natural and genuine feel.

Bun and Bar:

Up next was Bun and Bar,Harringay’s classic American-style burger joint. Bun and Bar was opened three years ago by Ilhan Arslan who branched out fromSama Foods, his family’s wholesalerbusiness on Green Lanes. “I wanted to give the street an American flavour with British behaviour,” said Ilhan, who founded the bar and restaurant as a local place for young professionals moving into the area who would usually prefer to go out in Central London. “Here we have gourmet burgers, cocktails and live music, it’s a new concept locally, all three in one,” Ilhan explained, “we’ve made cocktails and burgers a tradition in Harringay now.”

Customers:

Friends Edie, Ashley, Louise and Stephanie live locally, two of the group work in Central London but they have all recently started going out in Harringay, we caught up with them on their first visit to Bun and Bar. “The area is much nicer than it was ten years ago” Edie explained, “there’s a lot more going on too.” “We really like all the new independent restaurants like this one. It’s all so easily accessible too, everything’s on one strip,”  added Louise.