What’s on in Islington This week

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What’s on in Islington This week

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Mike
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February 16, 2026

What’s On This Week in Islington, Hackney, King’s Cross, Shoreditch + Nearby

Monday 9 March to Sunday 15 March 2026

This week’s guide covers Islington, Highbury, Finsbury Park, Dalston, Hackney, Stoke Newington, Shoreditch, Clerkenwell, Farringdon, King’s Cross, Holloway, Archway, Hoxton, Hackney Wick, Barnsbury, Canonbury, Haggerston, Caledonian Road, Pentonville Road, Old Street and Tufnell Park. I’ve focused on real listings, current venue schedules, markets, bars, LGBTQ+ picks, food recommendations and hidden gems from official venues plus current London listings sources.

Monday 9 March

Theatre & performing arts

American Psycho — Almeida Theatre, Islington

Time: 7:30pm • Price: ticketed

A strong Monday theatre pick if you want one of the hottest tickets in North London. The run continues through March, and several dates are already sold out or tight on availability.

BLINK — King’s Head Theatre, Islington

Time: evening performance • Price: ticketed

A smaller, more intimate option than the Almeida, and a good fit for a local date night. It is running through mid-March and sits squarely in that “discovery theatre” lane your guide needs.

Live music

The Xcerts — The Lexington, Pentonville Road / King’s Cross

Time: evening • Price: ticketed

The Lexington is still one of the best small-room gig venues in this patch, and Monday’s listing gives you a proper Pentonville Road live music option.

Trendy bars

For a lower-key start to the week, Little Bat, Homeboy, and 69 Colebrooke Row / The Bar With No Name are three of the best Angel cocktail options. Little Bat is known for quirky interiors and a strong cocktail list, Homeboy leans into Irish whiskey, Guinness and hip-hop/R&B energy, and 69 Colebrooke Row remains one of Angel’s best hidden speakeasy-style bars.

Tuesday 10 March

Live music

Leith Ross — Islington Assembly Hall, Islington

Time: 7:00pm • Price: £27.78 total listed • Notes: 16+

This is one of the week’s strongest Islington Assembly Hall bookings if you want a proper seated or standing hall show without heading central.

CARDINALS — The Garage, Highbury

Time: doors 7:00pm • Price: £15

A smart Highbury gig pick with a smaller crowd and a strong indie-room feel. The Garage remains one of the best venues in the area for mid-sized touring acts.

Theatre

The Rat Trap — Park Theatre, Finsbury Park

Time: performances during the week • Price: ticketed

Park Theatre’s centenary revival gives Finsbury Park a genuine culture-night anchor this week. It runs until 14 March, so this is your last full week to catch it.

Community / food & drink

Tasting Tuesdays: Agave Edition — Little Bat, Angel

Time: 6:00pm–8:30pm • Price: from £22

This is a useful Tuesday add-in because it gives you an actual bar event, not just a venue recommendation. It is a stronger “something different” pick than a standard cocktail booking.

Hidden-gem bars

If you want East London drinks instead, Ridley Road Market Bar is one of the best Dalston late-night additions to your weekly guide. It bills itself as part tropical bar, part cultural hub and part 70s disco, with happy hour running 6pm–9pm Tuesday to Friday.

Wednesday 11 March

Family-friendly

Mini Marvels: Early Years Sensory Play — Estorick Collection, Canonbury

Time: 10:00am–11:00am • Price: ticketed

A very good under-5s culture pick and an easy way to bring Canonbury into the guide. It is relaxed, sensory-led and much more useful than simply listing the gallery.

The Everywhere Bear — Little Angel Theatre, Islington

Time: various performances this week • Price: ticketed

One of the best family recommendations in your whole patch right now. It is aimed at young children and is exactly the sort of reliable Islington family booking that performs well in search.

Live music / comedy

Primal Fear — O2 Academy Islington, Angel

Date: Wednesday 11 March • Price: ticketed

O2 Academy Islington’s official listings show Primal Fear on this date, giving you a solid heavier music option in Angel.

O Céu da Língua — Islington Assembly Hall

Time: 5:00pm early session, late session also available • Price: ticketed • Notes: 16+

This blends stand-up, spoken word and poetry, so it works as both a comedy and culture recommendation. It also gives Assembly Hall more than one listing in the week.

Nightlife

Wednesday Club — Egg London, King’s Cross

Time: 11:00pm–4:00am • Price: ticketed

A reliable midweek option for house, tech house, electro and hip-hop. Egg’s current listings show Wednesday Club active in this period.

LGBTQ+ events

Art Dating Club – Sapphics — Dalston Superstore, Dalston

Time: Monday 9 March on current schedule, worth flagging for the week • Price: check venue

Transmissions x Neverwatchingmovies: Pariah (2011) — Dalston Superstore

Time: Wednesday 11 March, 10:00pm–2:30am

Dalston Superstore remains one of East London’s key queer venues, and the March programme shows both community-led and nightlife-led events.

Thursday 12 March

Theatre & performing arts

Bitch Boxer — Arcola Theatre, Dalston

Time: 3:30pm & 7:00pm • Price: £20–£29

This is one of the strongest confirmed theatre picks in Dalston this week. It’s a one-woman show with a clear hook and short run, which makes it a genuine “don’t miss.”

Britten Sinfonia: Nature and Rapture — Barbican Centre, Barbican

Time: 7:30pm • Price: ticketed

A strong Barbican recommendation for Thursday if you want classical music rather than straight theatre. It also gives you a properly verified Barbican listing in the week.

Live music

Hope Winter + Essence Martins — The Grace, Highbury Corner

Time: 7:30pm–11:00pm • Price: ticketed

A good Highbury live venue addition and exactly the kind of smaller neighbourhood listing that makes the guide stronger.

Lauren Ash: “Call me when you get this” — O2 Academy Islington

Date: Thursday 12 March • Price: ticketed

A second confirmed O2 Academy Islington listing for the week, which is useful because it gives the venue real coverage across more than one day.

Cool bars / date-night drinks

For a Thursday date night, Nightjar Shoreditch is still one of the best polished cocktail recommendations near Old Street. It is described as a speakeasy with inventive drinks and live music programming, and works well if you want something more grown-up than a pure club night.

Friday 13 March

Theatre

I’m Every Woman / Sadler’s Wells week — Sadler’s Wells, Angel

Sadler’s Wells’ official March schedule shows Turn It Out with Tiler Peck & Friends from 12–14 March and Russell Maliphant Dance Company – Landscapes from 11–14 March, making this one of the strongest Friday culture anchors in Angel.

Voices of Faith Festival — Barbican Centre

Dates: 13–15 March • Price: book via event platform

A multidisciplinary festival pick that adds more variety than a single-performance listing. Good if you want something more thoughtful and arts-led over the weekend.

Live music

Passion Mango — The Grace, Highbury

Time: 7:00pm–10:00pm • Price: ticketed

Useful if you want a smaller Highbury gig before heading elsewhere for drinks.

Jon and Roy — The Garage, Highbury

Time: doors 7:00pm • Price: £22

A strong Friday live music choice in Highbury and one of the best ways to get The Garage into the week with a named show.

Seamus Fogarty — MOTH Club, Hackney

Time: 7:00pm • Price: £16.95 listed

This is one of the better Hackney live music picks of the week and gives MOTH Club a proper Friday event slot.

Clubs & nightlife

fabric Friday — Fabric, Farringdon

Fabric’s official March calendar is live for this period, and the club remains the obvious “proper London club night” recommendation for Friday. Even where individual listings change quickly, the official March programme confirms active Friday events.

All About House — Egg London, King’s Cross

Time: 10:00pm–6:00am • Price: from £5 before 11pm listed

A reliable King’s Cross house night and one of the best-value big club options of the week.

La Danse — The Cross, King’s Cross

Time: 6:00pm–3:00am • Price: ticketed • Notes: The Cross says 25+ and dress code applies

A stronger “dinner, drinks and dance” recommendation than a pure rave listing. It also gives The Cross a real verified event in this guide.

HONEY HONEY — Electrowerkz, Angel / Islington edge

Time: 10:00pm–4:00am • Price: ticketed

Electrowerkz is licensed until 6am daily, and the current listings show this specific Friday event in the week.

Village Underground Friday — Shoreditch

Village Underground’s event pages are thinner in search snippets for this exact week, but the venue remains active with March programming and is still a strong Friday or Saturday nightlife recommendation near Shoreditch High Street and Old Street.

Queen of Hoxton — Hoxton / Shoreditch

Queen of Hoxton remains one of the best rooftop and late-bar picks in the area, with regular DJs, rooftop drinking and weekend party energy. It is better treated as a “book a table / go for drinks then dance” recommendation than a single-ticket club listing here.

Trendy late bars

Ridley Road Market Bar is one of the best Friday adds in Dalston if you want a bar that can turn into dancing without feeling overly formal. Supermax is one of the best King’s Cross hidden bars, tucked under Happy Face Pizza with a late-night 70s-Italian-speakeasy feel.

Saturday 14 March

Markets & daytime plans

Urban Food Fest — Islington Square, Upper Street

Time: 11:00am–5:00pm • Price: free entry

One of the best easy Saturday plans in Islington. Street food, desserts, makers, live music and a simple route into Upper Street for drinks later.

Canopy Market — King’s Cross / Granary Square

Time: Saturday 11:00am–6:00pm • Price: free entry

A very strong King’s Cross day-out anchor. Pair it with Granary Square, Coal Drops Yard and a canal walk.

Broadway Market — Hackney

Time: 9:00am–5:00pm Saturday • Price: free entry

A classic Hackney weekend browse for food, vintage and local makers.

Stoke Newington Farmers’ Market — St Paul’s Church, N16

Time: Saturday market hours • Price: free entry

A strong slower-paced local-food option if you want a more neighbourhood feel than Broadway Market.

Family-friendly

Family Workshops – The Everywhere Bear — Little Angel Studios, Islington

Dates: 14–15 March • Price: £10 adult / £10 child listed

Aimed at ages 3–8, and one of the best family workshop listings of the weekend.

Live music

Altın Gün — Islington Assembly Hall

Time: 7:00pm • Price: £32.39 total listed • Notes: 16+

One of the strongest Saturday live music picks in Islington. Great booking if you want something music-led rather than club-led.

French Police — O2 Academy Islington

Date: Saturday 14 March • Price: ticketed

O2 Academy’s official listings show French Police on this date, giving the venue a third confirmed appearance in the week.

Clubs & nightlife

Soca Frenzy — Scala, King’s Cross

Time: 11:00pm–5:00am • Price: from £13.55

A funer, more anthem-led late-night option than some of the more serious electronic clubs.

Garage Nation London — Scala, King’s Cross

Date: Saturday 14 March • Price: ticketed

A strong alternative for garage and old-skool fans.

fabric Saturday — Farringdon

Fabric is also active on Saturday in the official March programme, so it remains a top-tier recommendation if Friday sells out or you want the bigger weekend crowd.

Sports

Arsenal v Everton — Emirates Stadium, Holloway / Highbury

Kick-off: 5:30pm local time

This is the big local sports anchor of the week. Expect pubs in Holloway, Highbury and Angel to be busy before and after the match.

Sunday 15 March

Community / spiritual / wellness

Gong Bath Meditation with Cathy Eastburn — Union Chapel Bar, Islington

Price: book ahead

House of Rainbow Monthly In-Person Fellowship — Union Chapel Bar

These give Union Chapel real Sunday coverage even though the bigger music bookings sit just outside this guide window. They also add wellness and LGBTQ+ community depth.

Markets & walks

Islington Farmers’ Market — Chapel Market, Angel

Time: 10:00am–2:00pm • Price: free entry

One of the best local Sunday markets in Islington, with produce from within 100 miles of London. Well-behaved dogs are welcome, so it is a useful dog-friendly recommendation too.

Columbia Road Flower Market — near Shoreditch / Hoxton

Time: 8:00am–2:00pm official, often 3ish in practice • Price: free entry

Still one of the strongest Sunday classics in East London. Go early for a better browse and fewer crowds.

Guided tour / local history — Union Chapel Guided Tour

A strong Sunday cultural add-in if you want something slower and more local-history focused.

Theatre / family

Touch of Class 2026: Mother’s Day Special — Hackney Empire

Date: Sunday 15 March • Price: ticketed

A useful Hackney Empire listing tied neatly to Mother’s Day.

Women’s football

London City Lionesses v Arsenal Women

Date: Sunday 15 March

A good sports inclusion for readers following Arsenal Women as well as the men’s side.

Best bars, hidden gems and LGBTQ+ picks this week

Best Angel / Islington bars

For cocktails and date-night drinks, the strongest Angel recommendations are Little Bat, Homeboy, and 69 Colebrooke Row / The Bar With No Name. Little Bat also has a verified Tuesday tasting event this week, Homeboy runs live music Thursdays and Sundays plus brunch at weekends, and 69 Colebrooke Row is still one of the area’s best hidden-gem bars.

Best Dalston / Hackney bars

Ridley Road Market Bar is one of the best trendy East London additions to your guide, with cocktails, DJs and late-night energy. It also has a clear happy-hour offer running Tuesday to Friday, which makes it useful for both editorial and social content.

Best King’s Cross bars

Supermax is the standout hidden-gem bar around King’s Cross, while The Cross works if you want drinks, rooftop energy and late-night dancing in one place.

Best Shoreditch bars

Nightjar Shoreditch is still one of the smartest cocktail recommendations near Old Street, and Queen of Hoxton remains a reliable rooftop and party-bar pick in Hoxton.

Best LGBTQ+ venues

For queer nightlife and community, Dalston Superstore and The Glory remain two of the most useful East London venues to spotlight this week. Union Chapel’s House of Rainbow adds a Sunday community and fellowship angle rather than pure nightlife.

Best food, brunch, roasts and coffee

Sunday roast

The Drapers Arms is one of the strongest Islington roast recommendations and is MICHELIN-listed. The Pig and Butcher and The Tamil Prince are also very strong if you want better-known Islington gastropub options.

Brunch

For brunch, Sunday in Islington and Homeboy’s bottomless brunch are strong Angel picks, while Lantana Shoreditch remains a solid East London standby.

Michelin / must-try restaurants

Plates London near Old Street remains your best Michelin-starred fine-dining recommendation in this wider geo cluster. For Michelin-listed pub food around Islington, The Drapers Arms is still one of the most useful names to surface.

Coffee

For cosy coffee and canal-walk energy, Batch Baby in Haggerston is still a great independent stop before a Regent’s Canal route towards King’s Cross.

Easy day-out routes

Islington Saturday

Urban Food Fest at Islington Square → Upper Street stroll → Almeida or Sadler’s Wells → Little Bat / Homeboy / Bar With No Name.

King’s Cross Saturday

Canopy Market → Granary Square → Coal Drops Yard → Supermax or Scala.

Sunday East London

Columbia Road Flower Market → Shoreditch coffee → Nightjar later, if you want a polished end to the weekend.

Places to stay

Budget: Premier Inn London King’s Cross and hub by Premier Inn King’s Cross remain the most practical bases for this whole patch.

Luxury / stylish: The Standard, London and St Pancras Renaissance are still the best-known higher-end King’s Cross bases if you want easy access to Islington, Shoreditch and Clerkenwell.