Sicilian Avenue is gradually reopening, with its first shops announced.
Smuggled away between Bloomsbury's Southampton Row and Southampton Place, the dainty diagonal shopping parade is a frilly Edwardian nod to Roman classicism — a Disneyesque flourish of ionic columns, sculptural urns, oriel windows and the occasional turret for good measure. Totally unnecessary, utterly charming. The late John Betjeman called the place an "architectural joke", and he meant it in a good way.
Since opening in 1910, Sicilian Avenue has been a strip of bookshops, florists and umbrella merchants — paced by Holborn's great and the good, including locals like Virginia Woolf and Bob Marley. More recent tenants have included the superbly-named Planet of the Grapes wine bar, and a Spaghetti House — both fitting the Italian good life brief, although I'm not sure how many Sicilians might agree, after a plate of spag bol at the latter. During a Londonist visit in 2018, the place was notably pianissimo — sandwich boards scattered hither and thither, but few punters to show for it. Tasteful 'Shop to Let' signs swung above shop doors. Sicilian Avenue was in need of a reboot.
We clearly weren't the only people who thought so, because in spring 2020, Sicilian Avenue was purchased by real estate investment firm Tristan Capital Partners, and soon after closed for "structural adaptation", its tenants tipped out altogether.
For more than four years, this Little Italy has shut up shop — most of its beautiful looks hidden away by hoarding boards — but not for much longer. Acknowledging they've encountered "many challenges" in restoring the partial Grade II-listed avenue buildings, Tristan Capital Partners is now finally opening Sicilian Avenue (several months after the 'summer' we were promised earlier in the year).
Whose coming to Sicilian Avenue?
None of the boutiques and restaurants that previously called Sicilian Avenue home (including, sadly, the Holborn Whippet pub) will return. The 12 commercial units at street level are being leased to independent traders. Now, the first three have been announced:
- Flying Horse Coffee's fourth coffee store and its first in Central London. (Open now)
- Wellness on-the-go massage company BACKWORKS opens its second massage studio. (Coming in spring 2026)
- MATCHADO opens a new London café, combining mindful Japanese tea experiences with sweet baked treats. (Coming in spring 2026)
Other shops and cafes will be announced soon.
