A popular al fresco street dining area will return to south London this weekend

One of the most sought after commodities in a London summer is outdoor drinking space. Opportunistic tipplers will attempt to recreate the laidback al fresco vibes of an Italian or French summer pretty much anywhere: in a jam-packed beer garden, in a dusty park, or on a tiny pair of rickety kerbside cafe tables. But try as we might, it’s hard to romanticise your life in the great inner London outdoors, when there’s a constant stream of big red buses, click-clacking Lime bikes and scraggly grey pigeons.

For a brief moment in the aftermath of the pandemic, we got a glimpse of a more peaceful, more beautiful world of outdoor dining, with pedestrianisation schemes popping up from Seven Dials to St Johns Wood. Clapham’s Northcote Road was a highlight: in 2020, 2021 and 2022, happy diners hung out on outdoor tables on this pretty market street, enjoying food and drink from its many stallholders, bars and restaurants. When Clapham’s Labour council scrapped the scheme in 2023, citing prohibitively expensive annual running costs of £2.5 million, there was an outcry: a petition to save it gathered more than 5,000 signatures. 

Now, it looks like there's a return to the good times for Clapham bon vivants. The Conservatives are in charge of the authority once more after the May 7 election, and they’ve announced the return of weekend road closures on Northcote.

Conservative councillor Tom Pridham, Cabinet Member for Opportunity, said: ‘We are delighted to bring back the weekend pedestrianisation over the summer, supporting local businesses while once again transforming Northcote Road into a destination for both residents and visitors.’

The closures will take place every Saturday and Sunday from July 11 to August 30, and will last from 6am til 10pm. So that means you’ve got tons of time to feast on pizza, porchetta or Peronis on one of the street’s long communal wooden tables. Squint hard enough, and you could be in rural Italy - and July’s forecast suggests you'll get the weather to match, too. 

Did you see that 15 London neighbourhoods are getting new outdoor dining areas this summer?

Find more stellar al fresco eateries with Time Out's pick of the best outdoor restaurants

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